We’ve rounded up some great places to visit in and around Sunderland and South Tyneside if you’re looking for ways to keep the kids entertained during the holidays.
13. Ocean Beach fair, South Shields
Ocean Beach Pleasure Park is open with social distancing measures. A new contactless Fun Card replaces the former ticket and token system, which can be bought in advance online. Every ride uses a certain number of ‘credits’ per person, per ride, with the number of credits required clearly signposted at each attraction. Credits costs £1 each – so if a ride costs 1.5 credits it is £1.50 and so on. Photo: JPI Media
14. Lambton Estate, near Chester-le-Street
Lambton Estate has opened to the public for the first time since the Lion Park closed 40 years ago with 15km of new footpaths. The park will be open on Sundays only over the coming months. The Lambton Estate is home to numerous grand properties, including Biddick Hall and its gardens and Lambton Castle itself, a huge imposing castle which dates back to the 1820s. There's three walking routes in total and Hedworths is a relatively flat 1.7km woodland walk, ideally suited to young families; Photo: JPI Media
15. Sea glass hunting, Seaham Beach
Go hunting for beautiful shapes of glass, smoothed by the sea over the decades and returned to shore. Sea Glass can be found on many beaches around the world, but the amount of glass and the different colours you can find at Seaham make it a ‘must-visit’ site for collectors. Seaham and Sunderland were home to many bottleworks and glass making factories during the Victorian and Edwardian eras and the discarded glass from those times is what forms the glass 'pebbles'. Photo: Ceri Oakes