Rising Sun Country Park
- Nicole Blacklock
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
Visit Rising Sun Country Park
Rising Sun Country Park is a genuine green oasis in the heart of North Tyneside, 162 hectares of grassland, woodland and ponds built, rather wonderfully, on the site of a former colliery. There are four well marked trails of varying length, a lake with bird hides for spotting ducks and geese, and, right in the middle of it all, a proper working community farm that's completely free to wander into.
The lowdown:
Where: Rising Sun Countryside Centre, near Benton, North Tyneside, NE12 9SS
When: The park is open at all times, every day of the year. The Countryside Centre and café open daily from around 9am.
Cost: Free to enter, with donations welcome at the farm
Parking: A large, free car park sits beside the visitor centre, with disabled parking available. There's additional parking at the neighbouring Asda Benton if needed, and buses run close by too.
Why your wild child will love it: the Green Trail, a gentle twenty minute loop around Swallow Pond, is perfect for smaller legs, while older children might fancy tackling the full Heritage Trail, a proper two hour trek right around the park. The community farm at its heart has cows, goats, donkeys, Shetland ponies and rather a lot of geese, and there's a children's play area and water play feature near the visitor centre too.
Contact: Further information at visitnorthtyneside.com.