Killingworth Lake and Park is a nice little spot for a circular walk. It's surfaced and pushchair friendly and it takes around 20 minutes to walk around the lake with kids which is the perfect length for little legs. There is free parking, a bus outside, a playground, picnic benches and of course you can feed the ducks, geese and swans too.
These photos were taken on an overcast Saturday afternoon in January 2022.
We parked in Lakeshore Car Park which is next to the lake and offers free parking (with 40 spaces including disabled spaces). Use postcode: NE12 6TN. There were plenty of spaces on the day we visited but I imagine it will be more popular as the weather warms up. There is also a bus stop on the road next to the lake.
There is a coffee hut which I believe is open 11:30am - 2:30pm in school holidays serving coffee, ice cream, drinks etc..... This is just next to the car park. Opening hours may vary depending on business needs.
There are no toilets in the park but Morrisons / the Killingworth Shopping Centre is just along the road and you can access facilities here.
The play park is just next to the car park / next to the coffee hut and it looked like it was in good conditiaon with a variety of equipment. I would say it was probably best for under 10s. There are picnic tables overlooking the park with the lake as your background. We didn't test the park out today as it was a bit soggy but it looked nice.
The play park is just next to the car park / next to the coffee hut and it looked like it was in good conditiaon with a variety of equipment. I would say it was probably best for under 10s. There are picnic tables overlooking the park with the lake as your background. We didn't test the park out today as it was a bit soggy but it looked nice.
You can take model boats on the lake and there is an associated club. There are also angling jetties and canoeing is permitted (but requires booking / a permit). Contact the park warden for more info: alan.thurgood@northtyneside.gov.uk
The path is surfaced all the way around the lake but there are sections where you can get closer. The path is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. I would say it would be good to take the kids on their scooters too. There is one section where you are fairly close to the water so keep a wathful eye on little ones in that section and at the very top of the lake you walk along path which is next to a busy road for a very small section.
There are interesting board dotted around the lake sharing some of the animals you may spot. There are quite a lot of swans, geese and ducks. You can also see by the map that there is a woodland area you can walk through too.
The lake is popular with dog walkers and dogs are permitted but please remember to keep your dog under control around the wildlife and birds. We stuck to the paths and didn't get too close and the swans just left us be. I imagine if you get too close they wouldn't be best pleased.
We enjoyed reading about the floating islands and how / why they were built. Interesting!
At the very end of the circular route you kind of need to walk around some of the houses to stick to the path and get back to the car. The route is obvious and you can see where the car park is/where you need to go. Or you could stick to the immediate lake permimeter and walk on the grass for the final section. It is a little muddy though.
The walk around the permimeter took us around 20 minutes at a normal pace with a few photo stops. I reckon you could make it around in just over 10 minutes if you power walked or stretch it out to 30-40 minutes with a few stops to feed the ducks.
After our walk around the lake, we crossed over the road to the Printworks Killingworth which is a lovely bar area serving Tynemouth Coffee and drinks around firepits in a cosy setting. They often have live music on over the weekends and pop-up food vendors.
A pushchair friendly walk, ducks to feed, a boating lake, play park, free parking and a bite to eat is such a winning combo! We had a lovely little afternoon and I would definitely do this again. I bet it's even nicer in the summer.
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