Lambton Estate: Public Opening

On Sunday 5th July 2020 the Lambton Estate was partly opened to the public. This event was widely covered in the local press and as a result, was visited by hundreds of people on the first day alone, keen to visit a beautiful estate which had always been closed to the public. As part of the opening, four walking routes were identified in the park, to the south of the river, each of differing distances and offering the visitor varying views of the park. An accompanying leaflet/guide was also made available at the Bournmoor entrance to the park. Access to the park is seasonal:

1st February to 30th June: Open daily, 9am until 6pm

1st July to 30th September: Open Sundays only, 9am until 6pm

1st October to 31st January: Closed

Newspaper Article, 10 July 2020

Lambton Estate opens to the public for the first time since the Lion Park closed 40 years ago with 15km of new footpaths

One of Wearside’s hidden gems is open to the public for the first time in four decades. The Lambton Estate has been closed to the public since the safari park in the grounds shut its doors in 1980. But now almost ten miles of new pathways have been opened up as part of a major redevelopment of the estate. Four new walks have been created, accessible from a public car park off the A183 at Bournmoor. The new paths are part of a restoration scheme funded by the development of new houses on the estate. The overall scheme was granted planning permission more than four years ago and includes the construction of a community hub including retail and leisure space, and a significant increase in office accommodation at Lambton Park.

The park has been closed to the public except for the annual Lambton Run, organised by the Foundation of Light, since the Lion Park closed, but reopened for the first time at the weekend, a little later than planned due to the coronavirus lockdown. Calum Gillhespy , of estate managers GCS Grays, said: “The recent easing of the lockdown restrictions allowed the fifteen kilometres of footpaths to be opened up for the first time on Sunday 5th July. "Despite the blustery conditions, it was very encouraging to see these proving so popular and receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from those who were able to enjoy a walk around the park.” The Lambton Estate is home to numerous grand properties, including Biddick Hall and its gardens and Lambton Castle itself, a huge imposing castle which dated back to the 1820s.

The walking routes:

*The 3.2km Ridge Walk enjoys panoramic views across to Lambton Castle, and leads down to Black Drive which heads along the banks of the River Wear from Lamb Bridge to the New Bridge;

*Shepherd’s Ghyll is a 2.1km route which passes through woodland and open parkland, to the banks of the Wear;

*Hedworths is a relatively flat 1.7km woodland walk, ideally suited to young families.

*And Racecourse is a 2.6km walk which follows the riverbank to the River Wear Gorge.