Enjoy views out towards the East over the North Sea from The Leas, an area of coastal parkland that stretches from South Shields to Souter Lighthouse. Park up on the A183 coast road and walk towards Frenchman’s Bay to escape the worst of local light pollution.
This is a great spot for watching planets rise from the East horizon, meteor showers and brighter displays of aurora.
The location is currently applying for dark sky status through a local group “Protect our Dark Skies” which it is hoped will help reducing local light pollution, see their Facebook Group for more information.
Weather forecast
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01/06/26
19° 46% -
01/06/26
19° 55% -
01/06/26
18° 63% -
02/06/26
16° 61%
Weather forecast for Whitley Bay (4.6 miles away) updated 01/06/26 at 12:01. Powered by Met Office data.
Local light pollution
The Leas - South Shields is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to a suburban location based on the latest data from the VIIRS satellite. For more advanced light pollution data, view this location on DarkSkySites.
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Urban
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Suburban
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Semi-rural
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Rural
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Dark site
The above demonstrates the estimated effect of light pollution - graphics created using Stellarium.
Best time to visit
The below chart shows when the skies will be at their darkest at this location and therefore the best time to visit. Moonlight is shown in light yellow and the Sun's twilight in light blue. Midnight on the date shown is shown as a white line with sunset to the left and sunrise the next morning to the right. A black background with stars shows the best times for stargazing. See our dark sky calendar for more details.
Mon 1st Jun
Tue 2nd Jun
Wed 3rd Jun
Thu 4th Jun
Fri 5th Jun
Sat 6th Jun
Sun 7th Jun
Find more dates
If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!
CalendarEvents nearby
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