Blyth Voyage Tips and guide

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Blyth is an industrial port in Northumberland 17 miles north of Newcastle, with a population of just under 40,000 in 2021. It has limited sights and you'd only come here for business or to visit family.

Blithe means merry and care-free, to the point of indifference to serious surroundings. It's not known why this name attached to the Blyth River, and thus to the town at its outlet. This was a very small place north of the river until a stroke of history in 1716, to be precise the stroke of the axe that beheaded the Earl of Derwentwater for his Jacobite treason. His estates were seized and put up for sale, and the buyers swiftly developed a harbour town on its present site south of the river. Coal, salt, fish and ship-building were the main trades.

The coal was mined at Cowpen a couple of miles west upriver, separated from Blyth by a tidal creek, until this was land-filled in the 1890s and the settlements merged. Blyth was then a busy, grubby place, building many Royal Navy ships including the first aircraft carrier Ark Royal in 1914. From the 1960s most of its industries collapsed though the port is still active, importing wood pulp for newsprint and metal ores. Blyth is nowadays principally a commuter town for Newcastle.

55°7′1″N 1°30′43″W

Map of Blyth

See Newcastle upon Tyne for long-distance routes by air, rail and road.

Blyth is on A189, which branches off A19 north of Newcastle and continues north to Ashington.

Arriva Northumbria Bus X30 runs hourly from Newcastle Haymarket, taking 45 min via Gosforth and Newsham.

Bus X10 / X11 runs every 15 min from Newcastle, taking just over an hour via Gosforth, Cramlington and Newsham.

Bus X7 is via Seaton Delaval and Buses X8 and X9 via Cramlington, all of these every 30 min and taking 75 min.

Bus 308 runs every 20 min from Newcastle, taking 70 min via Whitley Bay and Seaton Sluice.

55.1275-1.50741 Blyth bus station is a draughty square corner of Bridge St and Post Office St.

55.1033-1.52472 Newsham has trains every 30 min from Newcastle, taking 25 min via Seaton Delaval and continuing to Ashington. It's a simple platform halt with ticket machines and no other facilities. There is step-free access to both platforms.

55.1275-1.55853 Blyth Bebside station two miles north towards Ashington might open in Sep 2025.

Arriva Bus 1 runs every 30 min from the bus station to the retail park on Cowpen Rd, Ashington and Wansbeck Hospital, with alternate buses continuing to Widdrington.

Bus 2 likewise runs to the retail park every 30 min then out to Bedlington, Morpeth and Kirkhill.

Taxis in Blyth include Copper Cars (+44 1670 505050) and Phoenix (+44 1670 540222).

• 55.1265-1.50341 St Cuthbert's Church, built in 1885, is Anglican, and only open Th 10-10:30AM, Su 9:30-10:30AM. It's on Plessey Rd at the corner of Wellington St.
• Spirit of the Staithes is a sculpture on the riverbank 100 yards north of Commissioners Quay Inn. The staithes were wharves where trains unloaded coal directly onto ships. The 50-ft sculpture was unveiled in 2003: from most angles it looks abstract but from Wellington Street the components align into a train with coal trucks.
• 55.1255-1.50012 Blyth High Lighthouse on Bath Terrace is now a private residence. It's nowadays hemmed in by housing but when built in stages from 1788 stood close to the waterside, and worked together with a low light (now demolished) to create a nautical transit. The navigable river channel lies almost parallel to shore, a small target at night. You need to approach shore until the two lights line up, then hard-a-starboard (or equivalent salty expression) to keep them in line.
• 55.1188-1.49573 Lightship LV50, Blyth Harbour NE24 3PB, ☏ +44 7929 616703. Apr-Sep last Th of month 10AM-4PM. One of the last lightships to be built of wood in 1879, as this was considered more resilient to rough seas, with the vessel tethered and lacking propulsion. She was stationed initially at Seven Stones midway between Land's End and the Isles of Scilly, then at various reefs along the coast. LV50 retired in 1951 after one whack too many from a passing vessel and was sent to Harwich for breaking, but the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club had her towed to Blyth to become their clubhouse. (updated Mar 2025)
• 55.1073-1.49914 Blyth Battery is an artillery post at the south end of the beach, occasionally open Apr-Sep.

• Theatre: Phoenix Theatre is at 37A Beaconfield St, 100 yards north of The Tavern B&B.
• Blyth Sports Centre has a gym, fitness classes and swimming pool. It's half a mile west of town centre.
• Golf: Blyth GC is southwest side of town. White tees 5943 yards, par 70, visitor round £25.
• Blyth beach south of the harbour is sandy. Dogs welcome.
• Football: Blyth Spartans play soccer way down in the amateur tiers at Croft Park (capacity 4400) half a mile south of town. They've never reached the professional tiers and are best known for their 1977/78 FA Cup run, where they reached the fifth round before losing a replay to Wrexham.

• Supermarket: Morrisons on Regent St is open M-Sa 7AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM.
• Blyth Valley Retail Park is north side of town on A193 Cowpen Rd.

Keel Row shopping centre downtown has closed down.

• Town centre places include Cafe Sambuca, The Olive Tree, Shangri-La, Julietta's pizza and Asmara.

• Pubs include The Wallaw (JD Wetherspoon), The Waterloo, The Lounge, Bar38, Railway Tavern, Prince of Wales and The Flying Horse.

• Oddfellows Arms is a basic B&B at 91 Bridge St.
• 55.1266-1.49991 Commissioners Quay Inn, Commissioners Quay NE24 3AF, ☏ +44 1670 335060. Modern riverside building, good scores all round for comfort, service and catering. B&B double £160. (updated Mar 2025)
• 55.1247-1.50492 The Tavern, 55 Beaconsfield St NE24 2DS, ☏ +44 7970 518852. Simple place, dog-friendly, okay for what you're paying. It hasn't been a tavern for many years. B&B double £60. (updated Mar 2025)

As of March 2025, Blyth and its approach roads have 4G from EE and Vodafone, and 5G from O2 and Three.

• Morpeth has a museum dedicated to Northumbrian bagpipes.
• Alnwick has a plush castle and gardens, often used as a TV and film location.
• Seahouses is the main village on the rugged coast further north, with Bamburgh Castle nearby.
• Head to Newcastle for big city amusements.