Free Things to Do in Heaton & Ouseburn

A good day out in east Newcastle doesn't have to cost a thing. Heaton and the Ouseburn together pack in a working city farm, one of the country's biggest independent art galleries, a chain of woodland parks along the burn, and free live music most nights of the week — all within a short, walkable stretch. Here's our guide to the best free things to do in the area, whether you're entertaining the kids, walking the dog, or after a night out on a budget.

Free days out for families

The Ouseburn is a rare thing — an inner-city valley with a genuine working farm at its heart. Ouseburn Farm is free to enter for everyone, always. It's a community city farm and charity, home to pigs, goats, sheep and poultry, where children can meet the animals up close. There's no admission charge to wander the barn and fields, browse the shop or visit the on-site café — it's an easy, low-cost couple of hours that welcomes over 40,000 visitors a year. Weekends and school holidays bring extra free activities, from lamb feeding to pond dipping, so it's worth checking what's on before you go.

For a different kind of free day out, The Biscuit Factory is the UK's largest independent contemporary art, craft and design gallery, spread over two floors of a restored Victorian warehouse. Entry is free — you can spend a whole afternoon browsing paintings, prints, ceramics, glass and jewellery by hundreds of makers, and there's a rooftop café if you want to linger. Everything is for sale, but there's no pressure to buy and no charge to look. It's an indoor option that works whatever the weather.

Free green spaces and walks

Some of the best free things to do in Heaton are simply about getting outdoors. The area sits on a chain of connected parks running north to south along the Ouseburn valley, forming one of Newcastle's finest green corridors. Heaton Park is a grand Victorian park with an 1880 pavilion, seasonal flowerbeds, two play areas and plenty of open green space. It runs straight into Armstrong Park, on the former grounds of Heaton Hall, with footpaths, tennis courts and mature woodland.

Keep walking north and the parks open out into Jesmond Dene, a wooded valley given to the city by Lord Armstrong, with waterfalls, woodland walks and Pets' Corner — a small petting area that is free to enter. The full walk from Heaton Park through Armstrong Park and up the Dene is an easy few miles alongside the burn, through old woodland and past a couple of cafés if you fancy a stop. It's popular with dog walkers, runners and families, and it costs nothing but your time.

Free live music

Heaton and the Ouseburn are famous for live music, and a surprising amount of it is free. The Tyne Bar is the standout: an independent riverside pub open since 1994, with a programme devoted to free live music almost every night, plus DJ sets on Sunday evenings. The genres range widely — blues, rock, jazz, funk and folk — and it all plays out in the pub's famous beer garden tucked beneath the Glasshouse Bridge, a sheltered spot that works in any weather. You'll need to buy a drink, of course, but the music itself is free.

Across the valley, plenty of other pubs and venues run free gigs, open-mic nights and DJ sessions through the week, so it's easy to build a night out around live music without paying a penny at the door.

Free festivals and community events

If you time your visit right, the whole valley throws open its doors. The Ouseburn Festival, held over a weekend each summer, is a free, not-for-profit community event with live music at the Ouseburn Woodland Bandstand, circus performances, makers' markets, street food, family workshops and activities for children. It's the biggest free event in the area's calendar and a lovely introduction to the valley's creative spirit.

Throughout the year, the Ouseburn's warehouses also host free open-studio days when artists welcome the public in, and parks across Heaton run seasonal fairs and markets. Keep an eye on our what's on calendar for what's coming up.

One thing worth flagging: not everything here is free. The Victoria Tunnel — the preserved 19th-century waggonway and wartime air-raid shelter beneath the city — is a wonderful experience, but it runs as guided tours that must be booked and paid for in advance. It's well worth the ticket, but it's not one for a no-spend day.

Best for: Pair a free morning at Ouseburn Farm with a woodland walk up to Jesmond Dene and a free gig at The Tyne Bar in the evening — a full day out in east Newcastle without spending on tickets.

Getting there

Everything here is easy to reach without a car. The nearest Metro stations are Byker and Manors for the Ouseburn, and Chillingham Road for Heaton, with several bus routes stopping on the main roads above the valley. The parks and the valley are compact and walkable, so once you're here you can happily string several free things together on foot.