Backworth

Dukes Cottages, Backworth

Turning for Killingworth Avenue

Middle Farm House

Great Lime Road, Palmersville

View looking west along this very long straight road in the northern suburbs of Newcastle.

Palmersville Metro Station

Located on Great Lime Road, this station was opened in 1986. This section of the Metro line itself was opened in 1980, using mainly former stations on the old electrical line, but there wasn't one on this section, so this is a new station entirely.

Bus stop on Great Lime Road

Beside Palmersville Metro Station at Benton Square.

Houses beside the metro

Gardens right beside Palmersville Metro Station. View looking west from the bridge over the line.

Platforms at Palmersville Metro

The station here is one which was newly built for the Metro in 1986. It is right beside Great Lime Road, which crosses over the metro line, and is on the bridge on the right here.

Algernon Drive crossing the Metro line by Northumberland Park station

The Tyne & Wear Metro opened in 1980. Light rail vehicles replaced trains on suburban lines into Newcastle from north and south of the Tyne. The system was integrated with the local bus network, with bus routes redesigned to carry people to Metro interchanges rather than direct into the centre of Newcastle. A single ticket allowed passengers to interchange between bus and Metro. The Metro was designed to be fully wheelchair-accessible right from the start, well before any other UK transport systems.

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Northumberland Park Metro Station

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Northumberland Park Metro Station

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Northumberland Park Metro Station

Northumberland Park was not part of the original Tyne & Wear Metro network but opened in December 2005 to serve new housing and business developments in the surrounding area. The covered steps with an unusual staged flat roof design, seen here, lead down to an island platform. This was, however, close to the site of Backworth station until 1977 when it was closed by British Rail to allow construction of the Metro. The single line on the right is not part of the Metro system but is in fact a Network Rail freight only line running to Blyth and Lynemouth Power Station. There are, however, plans to reopen this for a passenger service to Ashington.

Hotspur North, Backworth

Hotspur North forms the spine of a large housing development, all built within the last five years.

Housing development at Backworth

Seen from the car park of The Pavilion, the land between the fence and the existing houses is being developed for further new housing.

Pylon at Backworth

This electricity transmission tower seems to be out of scale compared with the houses behind; it is seen against a brilliant blue sky, which was quite a contrast to the weather in the week before or the week after. This is the view from the car park of The Pavilion public house.

The Pavilion Bar and Grill, Backworth

Very much a modern take on the pub, the Pavilion was opened in 2009 to serve the rapidly developing area. It describes itself as a 'modern cosmopolitan venue'.

Northumberland Park Metro Station

Northumberland Park is one of the stops on the northern loop of the Tyne and Wear Metro; this is looking towards Whitley Bay from the Algernon Drive bridge. Somewhat confusingly, the bridge ahead carries Station Road; this is because, until its closure in 1977, Backworth station was located here. This view from 1970 shows the old station: NZ3071 : Backworth Station. The line on the left is not part of the Metro system but is used by freight trains running to Blyth and Lynemouth Power Station. There are plans to run a passenger service (to be part of the National Rail network) over it to Ashington.