Cullercoats Bay — Local services in North Tyneside

A beautiful crescent bay of sand enclosed by two piers. Towards high tide the north and south of the beach are cut off from each other by the sea. There are toilets on both sides though the ones to the south as not open as often. It's got the RNLI at the north end and lots of swimmers meet here from very early in the morning. The sheltered nature makes it very popular for kayaking, paddle boarding etc - you can rent these and wetsuits from the nearby CBK adventures. You will see lots of pier jumping especially in the summer. The local rule for safe jumping from the south pier is that's it's ok once the sea is touching the base of the cliffs in the middle of the beach. Or ask the lifeguards who are on the beach in the summer. Some companies so saunas on the beach and there are a number of keep fit classes that operate in the mornings. Dogs are only allowed on from 30th September until the 1st May. There is free parking nearby but it can get very crowded for residents and visitors in the summer. The closest big car park is Beaconsfield near St George's church about 5 mins walk away. No parking on the ramp down - in fact it's dangerous as it can block people accessing for...

Childhood haunt from over 60 yrs ago, revisited for a family pilgrimage. Beach lovely, sandy, with plenty of seaweed lined paddle pools created by the tides. Nice view out to sea on the edges of the harbour wall. Not recommended to climb up there with under sevens though, as there are large rough rocks on the other side. Great place to sit and paint. You can hire pedal boats, paddle boards and equipment from the local shop by the lifeboat centre. There's also a snack shop open till 4 pm ? and there seems to be enough toilets and changing facilities. I was charmed to find it very unchanged and as family friendly as it always was. I much prefer it to the long soulless stretches at...

A relatively small beach but the bay has lots of character and is a good place to take children as it's easy to keep an eye on them, plus it's fairly sheltered compared to Tynemouth and Witley Bay. There's even a small cave to explore, though it's worth bearing in mind that this is cut off (and partially submerged) at high tide when the beach is...