About the walkway
The Riverside Embankment Walkway links North Shields’ improved town centre with the bustling Fish Quay, providing step-free access with route options to suit different needs.
The project has created an attraction in its own right, with stunning views of the Tyne, attractive landscaping and an exciting public artwork coming soon.
Funding for the scheme was provided by the North East Combined Authority from the region’s Transforming Cities Fund.
It is part of North Tyneside Council’s Ambition for North Shields, which aims to create a more vibrant town centre, a stronger evening and weekend economy, and high-quality public spaces.
The Riverside Embankment Walkway has been designed with environmental sustainability and safety at its heart, providing benefits for health and wellbeing, and vastly improving the appearance of the local landscape.
Before, the bank was overgrown with dense vegetation and the only pedestrian access to the Fish Quay was via historic steep flights of stairs or the difficult gradients of Borough Road, Tanners Bank and Brewhouse Bank.
The walkway makes it easier for people to enjoy the pubs, restaurants, cafes, heritage attractions and artworks that make North Shields Fish Quay a popular leisure destination and desirable residential area.
The construction of the walkway has been a complex feat of engineering involving a series of sheet pile retaining walls and reinforced earth slopes.
An official event is being planned for 2025, to mark the installation of a sculpture depicting escaped enslaved woman Mary Ann Macham. Mary Ann fled America by stowing away on a ship and settled in North Shields with a Quaker family who were prominent figures in the campaign to abolish slavery. Designed in the style of a ship’s figurehead, the sculpture by artist Keith Barrett will show Mary Ann breaking out of chains.
Contact us
If you have any questions about our regeneration works in North Shields you can contact us by:
Email: AmbitionNS@northtyneside.gov.uk
Tel: (0191) 643 4830