Tynemouth Seafront

Tynemouth has three beaches, Longsands boasts excellent long stretches of golden sands and two more secluded beaches King Edwards Bay and Priors Haven, that are popular all year round and are regular seaside award winners.

At the Southern end of Tynemouth Longsands beach lies the decaying remains of Tynemouth Outdoor Swimming Pool. A concrete, rectangular, salt water tidal pool, built in the 1920s. Popular with locals and holiday makers alike for over 50 years. It began to lose favour in the late 70s with the introduction of cheap package holidays abroad, just as other British coastal holiday destinations lost out.

The pool fell into disrepair, and in the mid 90s the Local Authority demolished the ancillary buildings and bulldozed the rubble into the pool, at a cost of £200,000, before filling with concrete and imported boulders to form an artificial ‘rock pool’. The anticipated marine life they introduced never flourished and the pool remains an eyesore to this day.

Description courtesy of Tynemouth Outdoor Pool.






5th September 2023



Priors Haven.






7th July 2023



Tynemouth Longsands.




Grand Parade, Former Park Hotel.






1st September 2022



Tynemouth Longsands.




Tynemouth Longsands, Kestrel.

I spotted what looks like a Kestrel hunting around the cliffs at the southern end of Longands. Sadly, I had the wrong lens on my camera and by the time I changed it the bird had disappeared.




King Edwards Bay.




Priors Haven.




Grand Parade.




Grand Parade, Former Park Hotel.




Grand Parade, Tynemouth Aquarium.




Grand Parade, Big Top.




Tynemouth Outdoor Pool.




Tynemouth Park.




Gibraltar Rock Pub.






23rd February 2017




















Storm Doris.






22nd July 2014








Priors Haven.

Priors Haven is Tynemouths smallest beach of the three and is between Tynemouth Priory and the mouth of the River Tyne. At the Haven you will find free parking, The Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade Museum, Tynemouth Sailing Club, Tynemouth Rowing Club and the site of the VW Classic Rally.





Tynemouth Longsands.

Longsands is a sandy beach stretching about 1.3km from Cullercoats Bay to King Edwards Bay in Tynemouth. The beach received the Blue Flag award (an international standard for clean bathing water, litter-free sands and good visitor facilities).

In the summer lifeguards operate on the beach and there are seasonal restrictions on dogs. The beach is popular with surfers and national surfing championships have been hosted at Longsands. St George's Church overlooks the south of the beach and the former Tynemouth Outdoor Swimming Pool is situated at the south end of Longsands. The beach has been a popular visitor attraction since Victorian times when 'bathing machines' were used; older photographs show Tynemouth Plaza, built in 1878, and situated above the sand dunes; later destroyed by fire.

Source: Co-Curate.






6th June 2014








Tynemouth Longsands.






King Edwards Bay.









Tynemouth Outdoor Pool.

"Tynemouth outdoor swimming pool was first opened on 30th May 1925 and was once one of the area’s favourite and most prestigious attractions. It was automatically filled by the incoming tide and was for many years a popular venue for local families and holidaymakers."

In 1991 the pool was decommissioned as a result of declining usage and increasing maintenance and staffing costs. In 1996, in an attempt to re-use the pool and integrate it more into its natural surroundings, rocks and boulders were put into the pool to try and create an artificial 'rock pool'. However, the anticipated marine life never flourished and many residents feel the modifications failed to integrate into the surroundings, and funds are being raised to restore the pool.

Source: Co-Curate.






23rd April 2014








Priors Haven.






King Edwards Bay.






3rd April 2013








Tynemouth Longsands.







King Edwards Bay.





Tynemouth Outdoor Pool.






8th August 2012









Priors Haven.






2nd August 2009






Tynemouth Longsands.






King Edwards Bay.






10th August 2008







King Edwards Bay.






15th July 2008






Tynemouth Longsands.






Tynemouth Outdoor Pool.

Built in 1925. Filmed in the 1960's and in the 1990's it was converted to a rockpool.






Tynemouth Beach 1983






Miss Tyne Tees TV beauty competition.

The Miss Tyne Tees TV beauty competition was held at the Tynemouth outdoor swimming pool in July 1971. One of the judges is footballer Malcolm Macdonald.






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