Bay Bridge Picnic Site & Car Park

The Bay Bridge itself is modest - a Victorian stone crossing that spans the North Tyne just outside Hexham - but the picnic site alongside it transforms a simple river crossing into a proper excuse to stop the car and stretch your legs. You get decent views of the water, plenty of space to pull over, and if the weather's decent, it's the sort of spot where you can set up a blanket and actually relax rather than bolt your sandwiches in five minutes.

It's free, which helps. The car park is straightforward, the picnic tables are well-maintained, and there's enough shade from the surrounding trees to make a hot day bearable. Worth noting: this isn't a destination in itself. You're here for twenty minutes, maybe thirty if you're properly lingering. Families with young children get the most from it - there's space to run about, water to look at, and nothing that demands energy you haven't got.

If you're based at Village Green Holiday Park or Springhouse Boutique Holiday Park nearby, this works as a convenient halfway point for a drive. Pack a flask and some decent cake, and you've got yourself an afternoon that breaks up a longer visit to the area nicely. It sits well within reach of proper walks along the Tyne Valley, so don't feel like you need to spend hours here. Stop, eat, move on. That's the point of it.