City suburbs
From student hotspots to historic neighbourhoods. Explore the communities that make up Newcastle’s vibrant suburbs.
Jesmond and Jesmond Dene
- Distance from campus: 1-2 miles
- Access: on foot, bus and by Metro
Jesmond is a top student hotspot. Osborne Road plays host to some of Newcastle's best bars and restaurants, but you can also discover:
- boutique shops
- independent retailers
- trendy cafés and eateries
Its residential streets lined with Victorian and Edwardian houses make it a popular choice for student housing.
Jesmond Dene is an idyllic place to go on a sunny day. Once home to watermills, quarries, pits and an iron foundry, this beautiful, wooded valley is now an important wildlife corridor. Turned into a park by Victorian industrialist Lord Armstrong, it was gifted to the city in 1883.
A network of paths runs through the dene. There’s also a Pets’ Corner and the pedestrianised Armstrong Bridge which hosts food and craft markets.
Ouseburn
- Distance from campus: 1 mile
- Access: on foot
Named after the burn that flows through this part of Newcastle, Ouseburn was once home to potteries, mills and factories. Today, it’s a cultural quarter and a student favourite, with independent bars, cafés, music spaces and studios.
In Ouseburn you'll:
- discover quirky street art on houses and pub walls, under bridges and along paths
- catch gigs, comedy and poetry nights at café/bars, in beer gardens
- see the former mill and whisky bottling plant that’s now The Cluny music venue
Other attractions include:
- tours of the Victoria Tunnel - an underground wagonway built in 1842. It was designed to take locally mined coal to the River Tyne for loading on to ships. Starting at the Town Moor, the tunnel stretched for 2.5 miles beneath Newcastle
- the Star and Shadow community-run cinema – offering film screenings, club nights and quizzes
- The Late Shows – meet Ouseburn’s artists and creatives in their studios during an annual after-hours culture crawl
- the Biscuit Factory – a Former Victorian warehouse, it’s now the UK’s largest independent art, craft and design gallery
- Ouseburn farm – a working farm in the heart of the city with livestock and farmyard animals, garden, orchard and café
- Cycle Hub – on the iconic Coast to Coast cycle route. It’s a convenient spot for bike hire, repairs, or a pit stop overlooking the River Tyne
Heaton
- Distance from campus: 2 miles
- Access: bus and by Metro
The club that went on to become Newcastle United once had its home ground at Heaton.
East End Football Club, the first city club to turn professional, played at Heaton Junction to crowds of up to 5,000 fans. When bitter rivals Newcastle West End folded in 1892, they took over their St James’ Park home and changed their name to Newcastle United.
In 2024, Heaton was named one of the best places to live in the North of England by The Sunday Times.
With restaurants and pubs offering some of the finest food on the east side of Newcastle, it also enjoys a lively nightlife.
Places to explore include:
- Chillingham Road - with eclectic shops and relaxed eateries
- Heaton Park - a peaceful spot for walks, picnics and summer barbecues
Fenham
- Distance from campus: 2 miles
- Access: on foot and by bus
Located to the west of Newcastle, Fenham borders onto the Town Moor. This area of the city was once owned by the Knights Templar, the famous fighting unit of the Crusades.
Originally arable land, it was rich in coal and mined from the late 13th century. It’s now a bustling residential neighbourhood.
Nearby, at Spittal Tongues, is the original entrance to underground wagonway, the Victoria Tunnel.
Sandyford
- Distance from campus: 1 mile
- Access: on foot and by bus
Bordered by Jesmond to the north and Heaton to the east, Sandyford is a small, up-and-coming suburb of Newcastle.
Discover:
- affordable, fabulous eateries
- an 80-seater volunteer-run cinema
- one of the city’s favourite small retailers – the Flea Circus department store of local independent sellers and creatives
Sandyford's most unusual claim to fame involves a local lad called Cuthbert Lambert. In 1759, he defied death when his horse bolted, leaping over the parapet of the 45-foot-high Sandyford Bridge. His miraculous survival caused a sensation as far away as London, and the site became known as Lambert’s Leap.
Byker
- Distance from campus: 2 miles
- Access: on foot, bus or by Metro
This former Victorian working-class area of Newcastle was transformed in the 1970s with the building of the Byker Estate.
The 200-acre estate:
- is Grade II listed
- contains 1,800 homes
- includes architectural landmark, the Byker Wall. A multicoloured ‘wall’ of properties, it stretches for more than a mile
In 1989, Byker Estate was chosen as the setting for the BBC TV series Byker Grove. It launched the careers of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly; better known as British television duo, Ant & Dec.