NewcastleGateshead to Sunderland Route
Its History

The early historic road to Sunderland from NewcastleGateshead left the Durham Road, coming up Split Crow Road to Felling Square. From there it went along Crowhall Lane, down Watermill Lane, along High Lane, then meandered to Lingey Lane, past the Golf Course along New Lane to Follingsby Lane, then to Hylton. Actually, when I go to Sunderland I always go via Follingsby Lane just because it's like stepping back in time (that bit of the route, I mean, not the very going to Sunderland)
Once the turnpike road, Sunderland Road, was built the route from Heworth Village went along Sunderland Road Villas...the clue is in the name.
Then in the late 1950's The Felling By-Pass became the route. That it should be called a by-pass beggars belief, seeing how it doesn't by-pass but rather splits The Felling in two, specifically Low Felling, Heworth and Wardley. They should perhaps have known that the area hugging the Tyne was soon to become almost completely devoid of industry and that could have been the route to PelawHebburn, turning then south east to Sunderland. There's some who would question, though not I, the need for any kind of fast route to Sunderland.

Available at local libraries are the Files on Felling by Joan Hewitt, (as the main writer for Felling Local History Society)  and one volume, dated 2004, is headed Transport and Travel. I couldn't fail to not recommend less, that if you'd like to know more, you should take an hour out and read it. Here's a little taster...it's part of one page in a book of 40+ pages

The route from Gateshead Fell to Heworth Shore



Jon Bratton 2014