THREE RIVERS ROUTE DESCRIPTION

The Three Rivers Cycle Route is a route of contrasts linking the Tees, Wear and Tyne estuaries, the Cathedral City of Durham, Hadrian's Wall, sculpture trails, our industrial heritage, mineral mining and shipbuilding.

From Middlesbrough the route runs across the renowned Tees Barrage. At Stockton the western route takes the Castle Eden Walkway through historic Durham and the Lanchester Valley to Consett. There are two routes back to the coast; the C2C through Stanley, Barley Mow (the Angel of the North sculpture can be seen in the distance), Washington and Sunderland, or the wooded Derwent Walk through Rowlands Gill to the River Tyne in Gateshead. Follow the south bank past the Metrocentre, the Baltic Centre and Gateshead Stadium to South Shields, or the north bank sculpture trail along Newcastle's quayside, past the Millennium Eye Bridge, the Wallsend shipyard cranes and North Shield's Fish Quay to Tynemouth Priory.

The eastern route passes Hartlepool's historic quay, taking the Haswell to Hart Railway Path and old mineral lines past the the port of Seaham to Sunderland city centre, and joins the C2C sculpture trail on the north bank of the Wear past the National Glass Centre to Roker.

The route north from Seaburn passes Souter Lighthouse and the Marsden Rock bird colonies, continues through South Shields, crosses the Tyne via the ferry or cycle tunnel at Jarrow, then joins the western braid to Tynemouth.

Information courtesy of Sustrans