THE UK’s newest train station has opened in a lesser-known seaside town that was was once England’s busiest port.
Newsham Station in Blyth, Northumberland reopened this month – 60 years after it was closed by British Railways.
Until the mid-1960s, Blyth in Northumberland was a large centre for shipbuilding and a huge exporter of coal – shipping more than six million tons of the stuff.
But the landscape of the town changed significantly from the mid-1960s onwards, following the closure of its train station and shipyard.
The reopening of the train station is great news for Brits who like a trip to the seaside, as Blyth is home to a huge sandy beach backed by sand dunes.
The stretch of coast is popular with surfers, with Blyth South beach home to both a surf school and yacht club, and it’s also a hotspot for jetskiers and anglers.
Holidaymakers have also been known to spot dolphins and seals from the beach.
For those who are more interested in seafood – the town is also home to one of the country’s best fish and chip shops – Coastline in Mermaid Car Park on Blyth Links.
Coastline made it into The Guardian’s top 20 chippies in the UK, with a description saying: “A sign tells you what spud varieties are being fried, alongside properly northern portions of mushy peas, gravy and curry sauce.”
Elsewhere along the quayside, holidaymakers can find the Commissioners Inn, open daily with home-cooked pub food served from 7.30am to 9pm.
And at Coastline Ciccarelli, visitors can choose from 40 different types of award-winning gelato, made at their Northumberland base.
For those interested in more of the culture and history Blyth has to offer, visit The High Light Lighthouse or the Military and Local Heritage museum.
The lighthouse was built in 1855 and deactivated in 1985 but is preserved for the nation.
Another attraction is the “Spirit of the Staithes” sculpture on the quayside, which represents Blyth’s coal mining heritage.
It was designed by artist Simon Packard and unveiled by Princess Anne in 2003.
Elsewhere in the town, Ridley Park offers tennis, a bowling green, and even a splash park.
The water park is open from the Spring Bank holiday weekend until the end of September.
For footie lovers in particular, Croft Park on Plessey Road is home to the Blyth Spartans AFC, the most famous non-league football team in the world.
Half-hourly trains from Newcastle to the new Newsham station take around 21 minutes, costing £4.80 a ticket.
After the opening of Newsham, three more stations are scheduled to open.
Bebside, in another suburb of Blyth, is scheduled to open in the summer, while two remaining stations, Bedlington and Northumberland Park, will take a bit longer.
Figures by the Northern, which operates the service, showed around 50,000 passenger journeys were made on the line in the first month.
That figure has now surpassed 110,000.
