Woodland at Rising Sun Country Park, North Tyneside

Where to go · Tyne and Wear

Forest bathing at Rising Sun Country Park

A 162 hectare country park in Benton with woodland, ponds and grassland, free parking and a visitor centre with café.

Rising Sun Country Park covers 162 hectares in the middle of North Tyneside. It is a nature reserve of woodland, ponds and open grassland, crossed by footpaths, bridleways and cycleways, and about 31 hectares of it is woodland. It is not deep forest, but it is close to home for a lot of people on Tyneside and easy to get round, which makes it a good place for a first, unhurried visit.

Start from the Rising Sun Visitor Centre on Whitley Road in Benton, which has toilets, a Changing Places facility and a café with a terrace looking over the park. Parking is free, and some routes are suitable for wheelchairs. The woodland patches are the place to slow down, and the ponds are worth a pause too. The centre car park closes in the late afternoon, so plan an earlier visit.

Practical

Managed by
North Tyneside Council
Parking
Free parking in the grounds or in the neighbouring ASDA Benton car park
Terrain
Footpaths, bridleways and cycleways; some routes suitable for wheelchairs
Nearest station
Longbenton Metro, about a mile
Facilities
Visitor centre with toilets, Changing Places and café
Opening and entry
Open access, free; visitor centre car park open during the day
Official page
northtyneside.gov.uk

Last updated 4 November 2026. Paths, parking and access can change, so check before you visit. Spotted something out of date? Please let us know.

Guides nearby

A guide within 15 miles of Rising Sun Country Park

More woodlands in Tyne and Wear

All venues in Tyne and Wear
Beech trees in Chopwell Wood, GatesheadChopwell WoodMixed conifer and broadleaf wood above the Derwent Valley, with an easy trail through the pinesPath through Thornley Wood in Derwent Walk Country Park, GatesheadDerwent Walk Country ParkAncient Derwent Valley woods and an old railway path, starting from Thornley Woodlands CentreWoodland on the Gibside estate in the Derwent Valley, GatesheadGibside600 acres of woodland around a Georgian landscape garden in the Derwent Valley

Photos: Chopwell Wood, Anthony Foster (CC BY-SA 2.0); Derwent Walk Country Park, Anthony Foster (CC BY-SA 2.0); Gibside, Trevor Littlewood (CC BY-SA 2.0).