Ashington to Tynemouth by car, train, or bus – we raced to discover the fastest

Its latest station at Northumberland Park came into operation a few weeks ago and has created a new connection point with the Tyne and Wear Metro, a major milestone signalling what local leaders have called a “new era of connectivity” between North Tyneside and south east Northumberland.

So we at the Local Democracy Reporting Service decided to test this out by staging a little race.

Our mission was to travel as quickly as possible from Ashington, the last stop on the Northumberland Line, to the metaphorical chequered flag at Tynemouth Priory.

Kicking off just after 8am on a gloriously sunny Tuesday morning, we navigated the rush hour by car, rail and bus to see which mode of transport was fastest – and the results were dramatic.

There were literally seconds in it at the finish line as James Robinson and his Ford Fiesta only just pipped Daniel Holland, who took the Northumberland Line and the Metro before a sprint down Front Street. The bus, meanwhile, was a distant third.

Here are the results of our Ashington to Tynemouth Priory journey:

• Car – 43 minutes, 44 seconds.

• Train and Metro – 43 minutes, 48 seconds.

• Bus – 113 minutes, 13 seconds.

The Car – James Robinson

Route: via A189, A19, and the Coast Road, to parking on Front Street.

Ahead of the race, there were two main obstacles I was worried about – namely Seaton Burn and Moor Farm roundabouts. To my surprise, Seaton Burn was entirely painless – we got through without any queues after a fairly traffic-free journey through Ashington itself.

Moor Farm on the other hand was, predictably, a logjam. It was effectively bumper to bumper for several miles down the Spine Road. Traffic was flowing at a relatively decent pace, but it’s easy to see why there are calls for the Government to give the green light to long-awaited upgrades.

Then again, while the A19 down to the upgraded Silverlink roundabout was definitely an improvement, it was still pretty slow moving. It wasn’t until I reached the Coast Road that traffic finally thinned out and we were rewarded with some open road.

From there, it was pretty much plain sailing all the way to the seafront. Parking had the potential to be an issue, but there were a number of free spaces on Front Street and the fact there was the option to pay via the RingGo app definitely sped up the process and made it stress-free.

At this point, I thought we were in the clear and was prepared to stroll towards the finish line – before I heard the unmistakable sound of onrushing footsteps and realised I was going to have to hot-foot it if I was going to take the win. Despite a decent enough journey with traffic that flowed consistently if not quickly, it still came right down to the wire between the car and train and was certainly closer than I expected.

Costs – Total £4.12. £2.42 in petrol (at £1.30.9 a litre, averaging 40mpg), £1.70 for one hour parking on Front Street.

Train and Metro – Daniel Holland

Route: Northumberland Line train from Ashington to Northumberland Park, Tyne and Wear Metro to Tynemouth station, and on foot to Tynemouth Priory

I’ve heard so much good about the Northumberland Line railway since it opened in December 2024 and in recent weeks since the Northumberland Park station launched to offer a new interchange with the Tyne and Wear Metro. I’m happy to report that it lived up to the hype.

Stepping on board at Ashington, I was surrounded by locals enjoying a relaxed, quick, and comfortable commute into Newcastle. The carriage was around half-full at that point and filled up further with every stop, though never to the point of overcrowding.

When trying to judge whether this race could be a close contest, I knew that things would have to go smoothly for me if I was to have a realistic chance at winning. I couldn’t afford any kind of disruption on either my Northern service or the Metro, or a lengthy wait at Northumberland Park as I switched trains.

A couple of minutes’ delay while my train was held at Newsham threatened to prove fatal – and my nerves were compounded by the Metro’s Pop app suddenly being unable to tell me when the next service would arrive at Northumberland Park, with a warning of an overhead line issue threatening to derail my efforts.

I needn’t have worried. My transition was seamless, swapping from rail to Metro in just two minutes and taking in the coastal scenery before my dash to the Priory. Being pipped at the line by just a few seconds was agonising – perhaps if I had sprinted just a little faster (or more stealthily!) down Front Street then it would have been a victory for the public transport. But I couldn’t have asked for more from the trains and they absolutely demonstrated just how valuable this new connection can be for people across North Tyneside and south east Northumberland.

Cost – £3.60 (Single three-zone ticket using Pop Pay As You Go card).

On The Buses – Austen Shakespeare

Route: 57A from Ashington to Whitley Bay, 301 Coaster to Tynemouth, on foot to Tynemouth Priory.

I suppose there are worse ways to be the third horse in a two-horse race. After a mild panic over timetables and making the vital Whitley Bay connection the night before, the 8:16 57A from Ashington Bus station provided a pleasant, albeit inevitably trundling, route to Tynemouth.

Roughly ten minutes in, the journey offered some scenery over the River Wansbeck. There was a slight hold up just on the outskirts of Bedlington by 8:38 but by 8:45 we were making progress into Cramlington.

The Arriva service ploughed admirably on through Seghill at which point I had my ‘Scott of the Antarctic’ moment and was cruelly WhatsApped that the race had been an admittedly unsurprising sprint finish between the train and the car. Much like Scott’s captain Oates, however, I was still going to be some time.

I disembarked successfully at Whitley Bay at around 9:33 with ample time to confuse one bus for the one I needed and alighted on the 301 Coaster to Tynemouth. The 301 Coaster then slinked its way through the coastal towns of Whitley Bay, Cullercoats and the Marden Estate, before depositing me just off Tynemouth Front Street

By 10:06, I was trotting down scenic Front Street, shortly thereafter to be met, and only slightly ridiculed, by colleagues Mr Holland and Mr Robinson.

Cost – £5 (£2.50 for each ticket).