Brierdene is a small residential area in the north of the town of Whitley Bay

Whitley Bay

Whitley Bay is a town in North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the North Sea coast and has a fine stretch of golden sandy beach forming a bay stretching from St. Mary's Island in the north to Cullercoats in the south...

, Tyne and Wear, England. The nearest city is Newcastle Upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

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Name

The name Brierdene comes from the Brierdene Burn that runs past the area effectively separating Whitley Lodge and Brierdene. The burn rises near the village of West Holywell, thence to the north of Earsdon

Earsdon

Earsdon is a historical village in the borough of North Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It sits on the border of Northumberland to which is was historically part of, and is approximately two miles from Whitley Bay....

, through Brierdene Farm and across Whitley Bay Golf Club, through a small valley, under the main road to Blyth A193 road, across the beach and into the sea.

Education

Brierdene is in the catchment area for all three tiers of education. The nearest first school is Whitley Lodge First School. The nearest middle school is Valley Gardens Middle School

Valley Gardens Middle School

Valley Gardens Middle School is located in Monkseaton, Whitley Bay in North Tyneside, United Kingdom. The Headteacher is Michael Homer. It is the largest middle school in Whitley Bay, with about 730 pupils on roll and SATs results are significantly above the national average...

. This then feeds on to Whitley Bay High School

Whitley Bay High School

Whitley Bay High School is a foundation state school in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, England.-Admissions:It is a mixed school with around 1600 pupils, 500 of these being in the school's Sixth Form. In 2006 the school was awarded Specialist College Status in Science & Humanities. The school has...

Streets

Brierdene is closely interlinked with many pedestrian shortcuts between various streets: Brierdene Road, Brierdene Crescent, Hastings Avenue, Craneswater Avenue, Linton Road, Gorsedene Road, Garsdale Road, Astley Drive/ Westley Avenue, Gerrard Road and Westley Close.

Main features

Brierdene used to have its own small Post Office/ Newsagents; however, this closed down and the shop building was converted into a house. The other main feature is the Green, which is used to play games on by the local youth. The Dene is also a major part of the area. A lot of wildlife can be seen in the Dene, including pheasants and foxes. It has been given a lottery grant to improve the area.

The Brierdene area is the location of Whitley Bay Golf Club, the entrance to which lies at the western end of the main part of the Dene.

At the eastern end of the Dene, just before it runs down to the beach, is the Briardene public house, which serves food and regularly hosts its own 'beer festivals' where a wide selection of 'visiting' real ales are served. This hostelry was the site of the former toll-bar on the then turnpike road. The western end of the estate is close to St Mary's Island

St Mary's Island, Tyne and Wear

St. Mary's Island is a small island made of sandstone near the seaside resort of Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, UK.St. Mary's Island was originally called Bates Island, Hartley Bates or Bates Hill as it was originally owned by the Bates family who were prominent locally. It is sometimes known as Bait...

and the lighthouse.