ABOVE: A long-distance view of an Arriva Northumbria VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2, passing through Ashington en route for Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. All photos in this article were taken on Thursday 25 June 2026.
Staying Out of the Red:
New Bigginings
5 September 2026
It's late June. I am at home, half-way through a two-week period of leave and just back from a very successful trip to Chester. A rare "red" weather warning for heat has been put in place for the middle of the coming week. I don't want to be out bus riding in a 'red' zone but I don't want to 'waste' my second week either by staying at home. What to do?
Stephen Mangan, on his Sunday afternoon Classic FM show during a previous warm spell, asked listeners for tips on staying cool. One of the responses came from a listener who said "I stay cool by living in Newcastle".
Not a bad idea! Hence I have fled the 'red' zone entirely for cooler climbs, and am staying in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for a few days. It's going to be a mere 26 degrees Celsius here - possibly 12 degrees less than anywhere in southern England, Wales or the Midlands.
The early hour at which I set out, soon after 08:00, means that it's even cooler as I board a number 309 bus at Haymarket Bus Station in Newcastle City Centre. Departure time is 08:16 but, whilst we back off the stand on time, getting clear of the Bus Station is going to be time-consuming:
ABOVE: A busy rush hour morning as Gateshead Central Buses 0336 (SK24 CXC, middle), an ADL Enviro200 MMC, and Go North East 8802 (ND70 AET, right), a Yutong E10, queue to get out of Haymarket Bus Station in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. My bus has pulled off its stand but Arriva Northumbria 7623 (NK61 EBO, left), is stuck on its own stand with little chance of getting away immediately, despite having been due out two minutes ago.
I'm heading initially for Blyth, Northumberland, on a Go North East Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2. The time of day makes for a busy run, with commuters and schoolchildren in evidence in decent numbers.
We set out on a north-easterly course along the Coast Road. This is a busy bus corridor, with routes operated by both Go North East and Arriva Northumbria.
The major draw for several of these routes is the vast Cobalt Park (see aerial view here). Planned from the early 1990s, this business park was, in 2016 (the most recent data I can find) housing 14,000 workers in the largest designated office park in the UK. It all looks very modern and impressive:
ABOVE: Go North East 6116 (NL63 XCA), a Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, in Cobalt Park.
ABOVE: What looks like an Optare Versa from Go North East, in Cobalt Park heading for Newcastle on route 356 from Monkseaton
Go-Ahead buses on this corridor carry Cobalt and Coast branding, reflecting the run through Cobalt Park on the way to the coast.
Given its vastness, it takes several minutes to work through Cobalt Park. Once we have, we stumble across the unusual (in my eyes) Monkseaton High School, standing in the middle of a vast area of playing fields and other open space:
Sadly, it appears that Monkseaton High School is no more, having shut its doors for good at the end of the summer term of 2026, a few weeks after this photograph was taken.
Monkseaton itself is an area of Whitley Bay, south-east of the town centre. In 1872 the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Monkseaton as having a population of 421 in 80 houses, with "a large brewery and several collieries". Writer Ian La Frenais was born here in 1937; he is best-known for his work with Dick Clement on great sitcoms like Porridge and The Likely Lads, and the brilliant but now largely forgotten Ronnie Barker pilot I'll Fly You for a Quid.
Whitley Bay was first mentioned around 1100 AD, when King Henry I conferred it with other possessions on the Priory of Tynemouth. Whitley is also referred to in the charters of King Henry II, King Richard I and King John, confirming to the priors their possessions and liberties.
In the late 19th century, as coal mining was declining in the area, it re-emerged as a holiday resort, particularly benefitting from the arrival of the North Tyne Loop railway line in 1882. The modern town retains some of its Victorian appearance.
ABOVE: Whitley Road, in the town centre of Whitley Bay, where an Arriva Northumbria VDL DB300 Wright Gemini 2 is loading up for a journey to Newcastle.
I'm staying on the bus but most of the other passengers have left by this point. What had been a busy run is now down to just me on the top deck. The nine-ish mile run so far has taken almost an hour; the remaining six-ish will only take a little over 20 minutes.
The last few miles to Blyth see a straight-forward northward run along the coastal road. The village of Seaton Sluice lies half a mile north of the village of Hartley, and was once known as Hartley Pans, because of the salt-pans used to harvest salt there.
The Delaval Arms public house is named after the Delaval family, a prominent aristocratic family in Northumberland from the 11th to the 19th century, famous for building Seaton Delaval Hall, which is less than a mile inland from here.
There's even a little sea mist as we make the final approach into Blyth, reaching the Bus Station on time, at 09:39.
From here I am heading to Ashington on route 1, which you can read about here.
Ashington Bus Station isn't really a bus station as such, just a collection of stops on two sides of an L-shaped road. The nearby supermarket seems to be a much bigger draw, although there is construction work being prepped as well...
During the heyday of coal-mining, Ashington was considered to be the "world's largest coal-mining village". Nowadays classified as a town, Ashington's close proximity to Newcastle-upon-Tyne makes it an ideal commuter town, especially since the reopening, in 2024, of the railway line.
I'm setting out to ride one of the more confusingly-presented bus routes - the 35 to (hopefully) Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.
Why 'hopefully'? Route information suggests that the service only runs as far as Woodhorn Crossroads, including the timetable displayed at Ashington Bus Station, which has no mention of Newbiggin:
Woodhorn is a village, around a mile to the north-west of Newbiggin, and the Crossroads junction, not exactly in the village, looks very lonely on Google Streetview.
The Arriva website shows the same terminus, with the inference that buses only serve Newbiggin on the return journey. Very confusing, especially when the bus pulls in labelled "Newbiggin"...
A seasoned bus traveller like me can work out that Newbiggin is served on a loop working, but strangers to the area might not, so this presentation is awkward and confusing.
ABOVE: Buses on route 35 seem to be a mix of Wright Streetlite DFs and VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2s. Arrive Northumbria 1497 (NK61 CZM), seen here in Ashington "Bus Station" is one of the latter. There was also at last one double-decker out. This bus has come from Newbiggin and is heading for Morpeth.
But with the bus displaying Newbiggin, I am much more confident that I am going to get there and not get dropped in Woodhorn!
It's a busy little route, the 35. Starting from Morpeth, an historic Market Town about six miles inland, it runs every 15 minutes on weekdays, and both the buses I use are busy (especially the one that somehow manages to squeeze in two wheelchairs and a pushchair all at once)!
The suburbs of Ashington are largely residential, as in Hirst:
...and a little further on in North Seaton:
We then actually come to the Woodhorn Crossroads, which somehow look less intimidating in reality than they did on Streetview (what a difference a bright blue sky can make)!
There is, of course, no need to change buses as this one is heading into Newbiggin. But it's a complicated routing...
At Newbiggin Police Station, we turn onto a road that will take us into the heart of one of Newbiggin's major residential areas:
But this road is, ultimately, a dead end. We reach the Seacrest Road stop, a timing point and a turning circle. Looking to the north, one can make out Lynemouth Power Station:
But, for the 35, it is now an 'about-turn' as we retrace our steps. Five minutes after leaving the Police Station stop, and after a round trip of the best part of a mile, we are back there.
Finally, we head into Newbiggin itself.
ABOVE: Front Street, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea
Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, to give it its proper name, is a fishing port and, in the Middle Ages, was part of a trade route for the shipping of grain - third in importance after London and Hull. As early as 1828, Newbiggin was becoming a popular beach resort.
All manner of seafood have been caught in this area, including pilchard, herring, cod, haddock, whiting, ling, halibut, turbot, sole, skate, salmon, trout, lobster and crab.
ABOVE: Arriva Northumbria 1575 (NK64 EEM), a Wright Streetlite DF, in Front Street, Newbiggin, en route for Morpeth.
The beach here is wide and inviting. The photo below is one of mine, even if it looks like some faded 1950s postcard scene...
There's a Time Capsule buried in Newbiggin. The local monument was installed in 2000, containing mementoes and items reflecting 20th century life, as created and curated by local children. It is due to be opened in the year 2100. I look forward to hearing about this event in due course!
The Cresswell Arms in Newbiggin High Street claims to be the "last pub before Norway". A plaque was placed on the wall, reportedly by a family with Norwegian heritage.
The east-facing pub sits around 200 yards from the North Sea. If you head due east, you will need to travel around 400 miles to find land, but that would be in Denmark, specifically the village of Brøns in the Tønder Municipality (this assumes one doesn't quite land on Romo Island).
But Norway is closer. If you head to the north-east, it's 368.2 miles to the village of Vestbygd in Farsund Municipality. Best get a couple of rounds in first!
ABOVE: Covered in scaffolding but still open, the "last pub before Norway" is in full World Cup mode as I pass through Newbiggin-by-the-Sea!
I reach the second turning circle on route 35. Having run down the High Street, the bus will now double-back a short distance before heading back to Ashington and Morpeth.
And that ends my visit to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, a lovely little town, if rather quiet at circa eleven in the morning. Despite the timetable presentation, the 35 bus did bring me all the way without any fuss. I had a lovely little wander around the harbour, and I even, briefly, felt quite cold in the sea breeze - although that didn't last long.
Lovely rides, and I doubt I would have stumbled across Newbiggin-by-the-Sea if not bus riding - what a loss that would have been for me!
BELOW: A broad diagram of the routes covered in this article. See second diagram below for the detail of route 35.
BELOW: A diagram of route 35 (Ashington to Newbiggin section), showing the complex routing through Woodhorn and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea
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Next Article will be published on Saturday 12 September
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