Tynemouth sits at the mouth of the Tyne and has one of the best combinations of beach and ruins in England, the priory looming over the headland, the long sandy beach below, and the cold North Sea crashing in. It's a 25-minute Metro ride from Newcastle city centre and feels like a different world.
The village has excellent fish and chips, a great food market at the weekends, and enough good cafés to make a full day of it. Newcastle locals treat it as their nearest proper coastal escape, and they're right to.