Golden beaches, a Victorian winter garden and a stadium full of red and white: Sunderland is the North East’s seaside city.
Sunderland stands at the mouth of the River Wear on the North East coast. It was once described as the largest shipbuilding town in the world, and it was also famous for its glass making. Its history goes back much further: the Venerable Bede, one of the greatest scholars of the Middle Ages, began his life at the monastery of St Peter here in the seventh century.
Sunderland became a city in 1992. Today it is known for its beaches, its football club and its warm, proud people, known as Mackems. This guide covers six things to see and do.
1. Roker and Seaburn
Roker and Seaburn are Sunderland’s seaside resorts, with wide, sandy beaches stretching along the coast north of the river. They are some of the best beaches in the North East. On sunny days they are full of families.
Roker Pier, with its red and white lighthouse at the end, was completed in 1903. It is a lovely walk out to the lighthouse, with views along the coast. On some days, tours take you through the tunnel inside the pier to the lighthouse.
The promenade runs along the seafront from Roker to Seaburn, with cafés, ice cream parlours and play areas. Roker Park, a Victorian park, is nearby. The painter L.S. Lowry loved this coast and often stayed at a hotel in Seaburn.
The beaches have Blue Flag awards, and they are popular for swimming, surfing and walking. The coast is also rich in wildlife. The beaches are a short drive or bus ride from the city centre.
2. Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, in Mowbray Park in the city centre, is one of the most popular free attractions in the North East. The museum tells the story of Sunderland, from its shipbuilding and glass making to its people. It has a collection of paintings by L.S. Lowry.
The Winter Gardens, a large glass building attached to the museum, is full of tropical plants from around the world. It is warm and green all year round. A treetop walkway lets you see the plants from above.
The museum has collections of natural history, art and local history. Children love the displays of animals. Entry is free.
Mowbray Park, around the museum, is a lovely Victorian park with a lake, statues and gardens. It is a peaceful place in the heart of the city. There is a café.
3. The Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light, home of Sunderland AFC, stands on the northern bank of the River Wear, on the site of a former coal mine. It opened in 1997, and it holds around forty nine thousand fans. It is one of the largest football grounds in England.
Sunderland is one of the most passionate football cities in the country, and match days are full of red and white. The club has a long history, and its fans are famously loyal. The atmosphere can be extraordinary.
Stadium tours take you behind the scenes, into the dressing rooms and onto the pitch side. A miner’s lamp statue outside the stadium remembers the colliery that once stood here. The stadium also hosts big concerts.
On match days, the roads around the stadium are busy. A car booked ahead is the easiest way to get to and from the match.
4. The National Glass Centre and St Peter’s Church
The National Glass Centre, on the northern bank of the river, celebrates Sunderland’s long history of glass making. Glass has been made in the city since the seventh century, when glaziers came from France to make windows for St Peter’s monastery. The centre has exhibitions of glass art and a working glass studio.
You can watch glass blowers at work, creating beautiful pieces from molten glass. There have been plans to move the centre, so check before you go. Entry has been free.
Next door is St Peter’s Church, founded in 674, one of the oldest churches in England. It was part of the monastery where Bede began his life as a boy. Parts of the original Saxon church still stand.
Together with St Paul’s Church at Jarrow, the monastery was one of the great centres of learning in Europe in the early Middle Ages. The riverside walk between the church and the Glass Centre is lovely. Sculptures along the way tell the story of the river.
5. Penshaw Monument and Washington
Penshaw Monument, on a hill west of Sunderland, is a huge stone temple built in 1844, modelled on an ancient Greek temple in Athens. It was built in honour of the Earl of Durham, a governor of Canada and a champion of political reform. It can be seen for miles around.
From the monument there are views across the whole region, from the coast to the hills. On certain days, you can climb a narrow staircase inside one of the pillars to the top. It is looked after by the National Trust.
Washington Old Hall, in the old village of Washington, is the ancestral home of the family of George Washington, the first president of the United States. The house has been restored and has a lovely garden. It celebrates American Independence Day every year.
The Washington Wetland Centre, nearby, is a nature reserve with birds, including flamingos, and woodland walks. It is great for families. A car makes it easy to visit all three.
6. Souter Lighthouse and the coast
Souter Lighthouse, on the coast just north of Sunderland at Whitburn, was the first lighthouse in the world designed to use an alternating electric current. It opened in 1871. Its red and white tower stands on the clifftop.
You can climb the tower and see the engine room and the keepers’ cottage, which show what life was like for the lighthouse keepers. It is looked after by the National Trust. The views along the coast are wonderful.
The clifftop path from the lighthouse leads to Marsden Bay, where a huge limestone stack called Marsden Rock stands in the sea. The cliffs are home to thousands of seabirds in spring and summer. The beach is lovely.
Hylton Castle, a medieval castle in the north of the city, has been restored and reopened as a visitor centre. Beamish, the living museum of the North, is about half an hour away. A car makes it easy to explore the coast and the countryside.
Getting there and getting around
Sunderland station is in the city centre, linked to Newcastle by trains and by the Tyne and Wear Metro, and there are direct trains to London King’s Cross. The A19 and A1(M) pass close to the city.
Newcastle Airport is about half an hour away by road, or reachable by Metro. A car booked ahead is the easiest way to travel between Sunderland and the airport, and to explore the coast, Penshaw and Beamish.
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