- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
- Free to join
- Local guide
- October 17, 2026
Make Friends in Tyne and Wear, from river to coast
Tyne and Wear’s four boroughs outside the city are home to more than 856,000 people, with sandy beaches at one end and riverside towns at the other.
856,000+
Tyne and Wear residents across Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland, leaving out Newcastle (ONS mid-2025)
16.2%
of households in these four boroughs rent from the council; the North East figure is 12.7% (Census 2021, ONS)
12.7%
of households here are lone-parent families, a touch above the North East figure of 12.2% (Census 2021, ONS)
Tyne and Wear friendships grow between the river and the sea
To make friends in Tyne and Wear, pick one place in your own neighbourhood and go there every week. A Sunday walk along Longsands in Tynemouth, a weekday swim at your local leisure centre or a class at the library in South Shields or Gateshead brings the same faces round again, and talking gets easier each time. Newcastle has its own page, so this one covers the boroughs around it. Gofrendly helps women in Tyne and Wear meet others who live nearby.
Tyne and Wear, asked and answered
Does this Tyne and Wear page include the city?
No. This Tyne and Wear page covers Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland. Newcastle has a dedicated Meet People hub full of ideas for the city, so we leave it out of the places and figures here, even though it is only a short Metro ride from much of the county.
Which stretch of the Tyne and Wear coast suits a walk?
The coast runs from Whitley Bay past Tynemouth and South Shields down to Roker in Sunderland. In Tyne and Wear you can walk a short stretch of it with a new friend and stop for a hot drink, and much of the route can be reached by Metro.
Finding friends near home in Tyne and Wear: where to start?
Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, shows you other Tyne and Wear women who live a short distance away, and you can message first before arranging to meet. Regular walks or coffees then have room to turn into a friendship that sits comfortably alongside work and family.
What works when you first meet someone in Tyne and Wear?
Somewhere open and easy to reach works best. In Tyne and Wear, Saltwell Park in Gateshead has paths round the lake, and Tynemouth has the priory, the beach and cafés within a short walk of each other, so you can keep it brief or stay longer.
Tyne and Wear beyond the city
Tyne and Wear here means the four boroughs around Newcastle: Gateshead south of the river, North Tyneside with Tynemouth and Whitley Bay, South Tyneside around South Shields, and Sunderland on the Wear. Newcastle gets its own Meet People hub, which is why the city sits outside the figures on this page. Each borough has its own town centres, Metro stops and seafront or riverside paths, which makes it easier to keep a social life local rather than heading into the city every time.
The figures show a mix: roughly a sixth of households are council tenants, and the share of lone-parent families is slightly higher than in the North East overall. That can mean busy weeks with little time for new people, and if your old circle has moved away it can feel lonely. Something fixed in the week makes a difference, whether it is a coastal walk, singing with a choir, a running club or helping at a food bank. Start with these:
1
Longsands in Tynemouth, a long sandy beach that suits an early walk.
2
Tynemouth Priory and Castle, the English Heritage ruins on the headland above the river mouth.
3
Souter Lighthouse near Whitburn, a National Trust lighthouse with cliff-top paths along the coast.
4
Saltwell Park in Gateshead, with Victorian gardens, a lake and a maze.
5
South Marine Park in South Shields, by the seafront, with a boating lake and a bandstand.
LOCAL TIP
Choose the closest and make it a weekly date.
How to
Meeting people in Tyne and Wear, borough by borough
1
Keep your first plan inside your own borough, so getting there is never the hard part.
2
Ask someone from your class or walking group to join you for a stroll on the Longsands.
3
Open Gofrendly to see which women in Tyne and Wear live near you, then suggest a coffee in Tynemouth.
4
Sign up for a monthly volunteer shift at a park or a beach clean.
Reads for the metro ride
The Tyne and Wear page, from our founders
Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja put together this Tyne and Wear page, helped by our editorial team. Its angle is the shoreline, green spaces and town centres either side of the Tyne and the Wear, seen as somewhere for women to meet.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
Find women near you
See who’s nearby and say hi — it’s free to start.