By Mike Coates
As we await a decision on whether our town will be shortlisted to compete to be Town of Culture 2028, it is worth spending a moment to reflect on some of the cultural gems that North Shields already has to offer.
For me, growing up in Park Avenue, Northumberland Park has always been a special place. It was my childhood playground, and I spent many happy hours there. I am so pleased that following the major improvement programme more than ten years ago, local people, young and old can enjoy its beautiful surroundings and the activities it has to offer.
I am sure that should the town be shortlisted to develop a bid to become Town of Culture that the park will be a prominent feature because of the important part it already plays in the cultural life of North Shields.
So, why is Northumberland Park one of the town’s cultural gems and what does it offer today?
It is more than 140 years since it opened to provide a welcome haven for local people to enjoy nature as well as many opportunities to take part in activities.
From its early days it became part of the cultural life of North Shields, with children’s and community groups singing in the park, bands playing and people enjoying croquet and bowls tournaments.
In 1923 a brochure by Tynemouth Borough Council described the park as ‘a perfect paradise’. During the same year, William Garson, a local historian and author of dozens of books, and magazine articles, whose home overlooking the bowling greens, said: “The park is just an earthly paradise to me. When I feel depressed, I can forget troubles amongst the beautiful trees and flowers which surround us.”
Today, the range of activities has expanded. There is still music in the bandstand and bowling remains a popular pastime, with more than 120 members in the three clubs that play in the park but there is now so much more for people of all ages to choose from.
Other activities today include star gazing (sometimes attended by more than 300 people), history walks, bird, bat, butterfly and bee recording, Tai Chi, yoga, geocaching (outdoor treasure hunting where participants use GPS-enabled devices to locate hidden containers called geocaches) and slacklining (walking, running or balancing along a suspended length of flat webbing).
There is a sculpture trail, meetings for arts groups and a wildlife group. The regular nature walks for toddlers, involving many families, are welcomed because, hopefully, they encourage a love of and respect for wildlife and plants.
There are poetry days, when young and old can write creatively, inspired by beautiful surroundings.
The park is visited by local schoolchildren, scouts, brownies and Duke of Edinburgh students and a children’s play area is popular at all times of the year, providing a pleasant place for young families to meet.
This year’s Easter Egg hunt attracted more than 500 children and adults to the park.
In more recent years, a labyrinth has become a new feature, around which people can walk to aid wellbeing or just for the simple pleasure of walking the path.
For those with an interest in history, there is the site of the ancient St Leonard’s Leper Hospital, the medieval herb garden and the old pet cemetery including a headstone for Trixie, a dog brought back to North Shields from the Normandy D-Day landings in 1944.
For people with time to spare there are volunteering opportunities through the Friends of the Park, who began meeting informally in 2009, becoming a constituted group in 2010. As a founder member, in the early days we worked closely with North Tyneside Council to support a bid for grant funding to restore the park to its former glory. The bid was successful and substantial improvements were made, including the addition of a café (with fantastic views of the park) and a community room where local groups meet.
Today, the Friends have groups for gardening, heritage, events, and funding and remain active and committed to ensuring the park provides the best possible amenity for local people.
Overall, the park is perfectly placed to advance cultural activities in North Shields.
