Getting around the North East without the stress
One of the quiet advantages of basing yourself up here: you don't have to live in your car. The transport's better than people expect — and it just got a lot better.
If you're weighing up where to stay for a contract or relocation, how you'll actually move around matters as much as the house itself. The good news for anyone based in Forest Hall, North Tyneside or Blyth: you've got real options.
The Northumberland Line — the big change
For the first time in over sixty years, there are passenger trains again between south-east Northumberland and Newcastle. The Northumberland Line reopened in stages from December 2024 and is now fully running, with stations at Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval and Northumberland Park feeding into Manors and Newcastle. Two trains an hour most of the day, and it passed a million journeys within its first year. If your work is around Blyth and Ashington, that's a proper commute option that didn't exist a couple of years ago.
The Metro — coast, city and airport
The Tyne & Wear Metro is the workhorse. From the North Tyneside stations — Northumberland Park, Palmersville, Benton — you're a direct ride into Newcastle city centre, out to the coast at Tynemouth and Whitley Bay, and straight to the airport. For a lot of stays it removes the need for a second car entirely.
The road network
For sites and vans, the A19 and A1 do the heavy lifting: the A19 runs the coastal corridor down past Cobalt Business Park and on toward Sunderland and the Nissan/IAMP cluster; the A1 takes you north into Northumberland or south past the Team Valley. Forest Hall sits handily between the two.
What this means if you're staying in the area. A base in Forest Hall or North Tyneside gives a team genuine flexibility — rail to the Northumberland sites, Metro into the city and the coast, and quick A19/A1 access for anyone driving to site. Off-road parking at the house for the vehicles and kit, and nobody stuck because there's only one car between six of them.
Working out where to base a team?
Tell us where your work is. We'll point you to the house with the easiest run to it.