The Seven Bridges walk: a self-guided loop of Newcastle and Gateshead's Quayside

Stand on Newcastle's Quayside and you can see why people come here for the bridges. Seven of them cross the Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead, all within about a mile of river, each built by a different century for a different job.

You can't walk across all seven. The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge carries only the Metro and the King Edward VII Bridge carries only trains. The other five have footways, and this self-guided Seven Bridges walk crosses four of them, climbs to the Castle Keep and finishes, fittingly for us, at the end of Pilgrim Street.

The walk at a glance

• Distance: about 3.5km (just over 2 miles), as a loop
• Time: 90 minutes to 2 hours with stops
• Start and finish: Newcastle Quayside, at the northern end of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
• Terrain: pavements and riverside paths, with one steep flight of steps and some hills up to the high-level bridges
• Step-free option: a flat 2km loop using only the Millennium and Swing bridges (see below)
• Good to know: the Tyne Bridge is part-way through a four-year restoration ahead of its centenary in 2028. Expect scaffolding and a covered footway on one side.

1. Gateshead Millennium Bridge

Start on the Newcastle side of the newest bridge, the only one built purely for people on foot and on bikes. It opened in 2001 and won the Stirling Prize the following year.

Look at how it's put together: two arches, one carrying the deck and one arcing up and over it. When a tall boat needs to pass, the whole structure rotates on its hinges until the deck lifts clear of the water. People call it the Blinking Eye, and if you're lucky enough to see it tilt, you'll see why.

Cross to the Gateshead bank.

2. The Gateshead riverside

On this side you're standing between two of the region's big cultural buildings. Baltic, the contemporary art centre, is a converted flour mill: look for the old industrial bulk of it, with the lettering high on the wall. Upstream, the curved glass shell of the Glasshouse, the music centre formerly known as Sage Gateshead, sits on the slope above the river.

Much of this riverbank, and the Quayside opposite, burned in the great fire and explosion of October 1854, which is part of why so little of the old Gateshead waterfront survives. Walk west, upstream, keeping the river on your right.

3. Under the Tyne Bridge

Stop underneath the Tyne Bridge and look up. In spring and summer, the ledges of the bridge and the buildings around it are packed with kittiwakes, small gulls that normally nest on sea cliffs. This colony is widely described as the most inland in the world, and the noise tells you it's there long before you see it.

The bridge itself opened in 1928, a green steel arch built by Dorman Long of Middlesbrough, the firm that finished Sydney Harbour Bridge four years later. You'll cross it near the end of the walk.

4. The Swing Bridge

Keep going to the low, white-and-red bridge that sits almost at water level. The Swing Bridge opened in 1876, and its hydraulic machinery, from William Armstrong's works upstream, lets the whole central span pivot to let ships through.

It stands on one of the oldest crossing points on the river. The Romans bridged the Tyne near here, and a medieval bridge lined with houses and shops stood on the site until the great flood of 1771 destroyed it.

Cross the Swing Bridge back into Newcastle.

5. Sandhill and the chares

You arrive at Sandhill, once the heart of the city's trade. The half-timbered merchants' houses along here include Bessie Surtees House, famous for an elopement in 1772: Bessie climbed out of a first-floor window to marry John Scott, who went on to become Lord Chancellor.

Look east along the Quayside and you'll see narrow lanes running uphill from the river. These are the chares, Newcastle's word for the tight medieval alleys that ran between the buildings. York has its own name for the same idea, which we explore in our walk through York's snickelways.

6. Castle Stairs and the Castle Keep

This is the climb. Castle Stairs rise steeply from the Close up to the Castle Garth. Take them slowly and turn round near the top for the view back over the river.

At the top stands the stone Keep, built in the 1170s on the site of the "new castle" that gave the city its name. Walk round it and you'll notice something strange: the main East Coast railway line cuts straight through the castle grounds, between the Keep and its gatehouse, the Black Gate. The Victorians needed a way into the city and were not sentimental about how they got it.

7. The High Level Bridge

From the Castle Garth, head for the High Level Bridge, just beside the Keep. Opened in 1849 and designed by Robert Stephenson, it was built on two levels: trains on top, road and footways underneath. Walk across on the lower deck, under the iron arches, with the rail line rumbling overhead.

Halfway over, look upstream. Right next to you is the Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge of 1981. Beyond it is the King Edward VII Bridge of 1906, still carrying the main line, and furthest away is the concrete Redheugh Bridge, opened in 1983 and the third bridge to stand on its site.

That's all seven accounted for.

8. Across the Tyne Bridge

From the Gateshead end of the High Level Bridge, head east along the top of the bank, following signs for the Tyne Bridge. It's a short walk through Gateshead's streets to the bridge's southern end.

This is the big crossing. The view downstream takes in the Millennium Bridge, the Quayside and the river curving away towards the sea. Underfoot, the restoration work is repairing and repainting the steel in its original green, so you may be walking through a covered section on one side of the bridge.

9. Pilgrim Street

The Tyne Bridge brings you out at the top of Pilgrim Street, one of the oldest streets in Newcastle. Tradition says it takes its name from the medieval pilgrims who walked through the town on their way to the shrine of St Mary at Jesmond, just to the north.

People have been walking this way with somewhere to get to for the best part of a thousand years. It seemed a good place to end.

From here, head downhill via Dean Street or the Side to return to the Quayside where you started. If it's a Sunday, the Quayside market will be on.

Shorter and longer versions

Step-free loop (about 2km, flat). Cross the Millennium Bridge to Gateshead, walk upstream along the riverside to the Swing Bridge, cross back into Newcastle and return along the Quayside. You'll see all seven bridges from river level and pass under the kittiwakes, without a single step.

Add the Redheugh. From the Close, keep walking upstream along the Newcastle bank to the Redheugh Bridge. Crossing it gives you the best single view of every bridge in a line. This adds roughly 2km.

Keep going east. The Quayside continues downstream to the mouth of the Ouseburn, where Newcastle's creative quarter begins. Our Ouseburn Valley walk picks up exactly there.

Practical notes

• Best time: a clear evening, when the bridges are lit. Spring and summer for the kittiwakes.
• Toilets and food: plenty on both banks of the Quayside, and inside Baltic and the Glasshouse during opening hours.
• Getting there: Newcastle Central Station and Monument Metro are both a short walk downhill to the Quayside.
• Wind: the high bridges are exposed. Bring a layer, even in summer.

Questions people ask

How many bridges cross the Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead?

Seven, all within about a mile: the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, the Tyne Bridge, the Swing Bridge, the High Level Bridge, the Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge, the King Edward VII Bridge and the Redheugh Bridge.

Can you walk across all seven bridges?

No. The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge carries only the Metro and the King Edward VII Bridge carries only trains. The other five all have footways.

How long does the Seven Bridges walk take?

Allow 90 minutes to two hours for this 3.5km loop with stops. The step-free version takes about an hour.

Is the Tyne Bridge open to pedestrians during the restoration?

Yes, at the time of writing, with footway access switching sides as the work progresses. Check for local notices before you set off.

When can you see the Tyne kittiwakes?

The colony is on the river from around spring to late summer. By autumn most of the birds have gone back out to sea.

Walk it with Pilgrim

A walk like this is exactly what Pilgrim journeys are built for: a route, a story at every stop, a stamp each time you check in and a badge when you finish. If you know the Tyne better than we do, you could make a journey of your own.

Practical details checked September 2026. Things change, so check opening times and closures before you go.