Whitley Bay & district · Local news you can trust
Suction machines are out and more local labour is in as the insurer-funded nurdle recovery enters a new phase. Seven drop-off points stay open on the coast.
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Tynemouth
Tynemouth RNLI Crew Member Runs Great North Run in Full Kit
James Waters will run Sunday's half marathon in full RNLI kit, and has already beaten his £1,000 lifeboat fundraising target with more than £1,160 raised.
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay Remembrance Sunday: 8 Nov, The Links, 3pm
Remembrance Sunday 2026 falls on 8 November. North Tyneside ran seven parades last year and Whitley Bay's was the 3pm one at The Links. No 2026 order yet.
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay Santa's Grotto: Dates, Prices, Elf Express
Spanish City's grotto only opens through a booked meal, from £18.50 a child. The Elf Express steam train at North Shields starts at £20.50 and is on sale now.
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay Halloween and Half Term: 24 Oct to 1 Nov
Schools break up on Friday 23 October. Tynemouth Park's pumpkin trail runs all nine days from £15, and the Phantom Flyer ghost train is 31 October from £7.
Dudley
Annitsford Farm: Wildlife Trust Objects to 310-Home Plan
Homes England wants up to 310 homes on farmland at Dudley. Northumberland Wildlife Trust and 16 residents object, and the council targets a decision by 23 October.
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay Film Festival: 18 Events, £7 to £18
The 2026 festival runs to 26 September at St Mary's Lighthouse, the Crescent Club and Jam Jar. Tickets are £7 to £18, and three events are sold out online.
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay Fireworks: Sunday 1 November, 7pm, Free
North Tyneside's display is on The Links on Sunday 1 November. Rides from 6pm, fireworks at 7pm, free entry, and the car parks stop charging at 6pm.
North Shields
North Shields Christmas Market: 5-6 December, Free
The market returns to Northumberland Square and Howard Street on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December. Around 70 stalls, free entry, and a 10am opening service.
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay Panto: Snow White, 4 Dec to 3 Jan
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs runs at the Playhouse from 4 December to 3 January, with Michelle Heaton and Theo Mayne. Times and prices are not published yet.
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay Christmas Lights: 15 November, £5 a Head
Spanish City switches on its 30ft tree at 5pm on Sunday 15 November. Entry £5, tickets online only, and free if you book a table in Trenchers or 1910 first.
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay Christmas Market: 20-22 Nov, £3 Advance
Spanish City's market runs 20 to 22 November, £3 booked online against £5 on the door. North Shields follows on 5 and 6 December, free, with roads closed.
Cullercoats
Dove Marine Laboratory: Public Entrance and Bridge Planned
Newcastle University wants a new public entrance, exhibition space and footbridge at Cullercoats' Dove Marine Laboratory, backed by a £336,971 Lottery award.
The Metro loop is the spine of this borough. It runs out along the coast through Whitley Bay, Monkseaton, Cullercoats and Tynemouth, down to North Shields and the Fish Quay, then back through Wallsend and Longbenton, with Shiremoor, Backworth, Earsdon and Killingworth inland of it. Whitley Bay and Tynemouth are where we start, and we cover the rest of North Tyneside with them.
North Tyneside Council, run by a directly elected mayor from its offices at Cobalt Park, decides the things that shape a week here: planning on the seafront and in the villages, parking, bins, licences, council tax. It publishes the evidence and hardly anybody reads it. We do, and we write down what it says with a link to the file.
Every fact carries a link to its source, so you can check it for yourself.