Whitley Bay
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Template:GBmap Whitley Bay is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the North Sea coast. The town, which has a population of about 35,000, was originally a holiday destination for the people of North East England and Scotland and remained popular until the 1980s. The town is now widely seen as a dormitory town for Newcastle upon Tyne.
It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right.
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Whitley Bay was famous for its permanent seaside fairground called The Spanish City, which was demolished for redevelopment in the late 1990s. The Fairground returns to the town on Bank Holiday weekends, but is now located on 'the links', an expansive seafront park adjacent to the former Spanish City site. The fabulous Spanish City Dome is to become the centre piece of a multimillion pound regeneration of the sea front, which will include hotel and leisure developments. The Dome has had a number of uses over the years as a Ballroom, Amusement Arcade, and Laserquest, most recently it became a live music venue playing host to several bands including an appearance by Ash in 2001.
The Ice Rink was also the region's premier concert venue until the Newcastle Arena (now MetroRadio Arena) opened in 1995. The venue played host to the top names in the music industry throughout the 1980s and 1990s, such as The Cure in 1985, Oasis in 1994 and the Stone Roses in 1995.
Whitley Bay, nearby Cullercoats and Spanish City are all mentioned in the Dire Straits song Tunnel of Love.
The Park View Shopping Centre opened in 2004, which addressed the balance between entertainment and retail in the town centre. However, the closure of many existing shops and the fact that some existing retailers plan to move into the new Shopping Centre leave doubts as to whether this development can help in the task of redressing the entertainment/retail balance. Also the standard of architecture and quality of the shops within the centre leaves a lot to be desired and it is questionable that this new shopping centre is going to be the significant driver in the regeneration of the town that many had been pinning their hopes on.
Whitley Bay remains a popular centre of evening entertainment, with many bars and restaurants, such as the Fire Station, the Bedroom and Blue
Whitley Bay is around eight miles from Newcastle upon Tyne and is connected to the Tyne & Wear Metro, with stations at Whitley Bay, Monkseaton, West Monkseaton and Cullercoats.
Football
Whitley Bay Football Club play at the town's Hillheads Stadium, which is adjacent to the Ice Rink. Now playing in the Northern League, the club hit the national sports headlines in 2002 after winning the FA Vase (amateur FA Cup), beating Tiptree United at Villa Park. The club had previously hit the headlines in 1990 after beating Preston North End on the way to reaching the 3rd round proper of the FA Cup.
Ice Hockey
Whitley Bay Ice Rink is home of Whitley Warriors Ice Hockey Club. The team enjoyed great success together with local rivals Durham Wasps at a national level during the 1980s and early 1990s. However, the Durham team has now been replaced by Newcastle Vipers, who play at MetroRadio Arena and have since become the North East's premier Ice Hockey Club.
Famous Residents (past and present)
- Steven Taylor - Newcastle United player
- Michael Bridges - Sunderland AFC player
- Peter Ramage - Newcastle United player
- Steve Tuplin - former Sunderland AFC and Hartlepool United player. Now a teacher
- Mark Knopfler - Dire Straits singer
- Andy Taylor - Duran Duran guitarist
- The Tygers Of Pan Tang - 1980s rock group
- John Middleton - Actor (Emmerdale)
- Ian La Frenais - Comedy writer, (The Likely Lads, Porridge, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet)
- John McLaughlin - Guitarist for Miles Davis, and Mahavishnu Orchestra
- Lee Hunter - actor from Steptoe and Son
- Bobby Thomson - local comedian
- Alum Armstrong - actor
- Robson Green - actor (only a brief resident)
- Rowan Atkinson - actor, writer, comedian,etc (only a brief resident)
- Torvill and Dean - ice-skaters (only brief residents; 6 months)
- John Gilroy - artist of Guinness advertisement fame
External link
- The Whitley Bay Citizen (http://www.whitleybaycitizen.co.uk/) — Satirical website
- Whitley Bay Ice Rink (http://www.whitleybayicerink.co.uk/) — currently the only ice rink in North-East England