South Shields

South Shields is a very popular seaside destination with excellent sandy beaches and extensive green spaces where visitors can spread themselves around and enjoy the local amenities. The massed bedding display along Sea Road and new paving have added to the appeal of this seaside town.

The judges were particularly impressed with the Town Hall frontage with barrier baskets and Dragon beds along the seafront, which were all of a good standard, and with the Kensington Terrace guest houses. They said the Marsdon nature reserve has a lot of potential as a first class resource for local schools and residents and they were pleased to see the Market Dock housing with its creative ships in the old dock.

South Marine Park had been regenerated in a style that reflects the era when it was laid out with the new bandstand taking centre stage.