Victoria Tunnel

About Victoria Tunnel

The Victoria Tunnel is a preserved 19th-century waggonway running beneath Newcastle upon Tyne, from the Town Moor down to the Tyne. Built in the late 1830s to carry coal from Spital Tongues (Leazes Main) Colliery to riverside staithes, it operated from 1842 until the 1860s. In 1939 the disused tunnel was converted into an air-raid shelter to protect thousands of Newcastle citizens during the Second World War, before being sealed up and largely forgotten for decades. It is now cared for by the Ouseburn Trust, a local heritage charity.

Following repair and reopening supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the tunnel has been open for guided tours led by the Trust's trained volunteer guides. Tours descend underground from the meeting point on Lime Street in the Ouseburn and cover both the tunnel's origins as a Victorian waggonway and its wartime role, including the sights and sounds of sheltering during air raids. Pre-booking is essential, with tickets available online or by telephone during office hours.

Featured in These Guides

Blog posts and guides that feature Victoria Tunnel.

Things to Do in Ouseburn

A local guide to Newcastle's cultural quarter, the city farm, children's book museum, art galleries, a wartime tunnel, and the riverside pubs and music venues packed into the Ouseburn Valley.

A Day in the Ouseburn Valley: Farm, Seven Stories & a Walk

A family-friendly day out in Newcastle's Ouseburn Valley, taking in the free city farm, the national centre for children's books and a riverside walk down to the Quayside.

Ouseburn & Byker History: The Victoria Tunnel and the Byker Wall

How the Ouseburn valley became the cradle of Newcastle's industry, the coal tunnel that runs beneath it, and the celebrated Byker Wall that overlooks it.

A Weekend in Heaton & Ouseburn: The Perfect 48 Hours

A two-day itinerary for east Newcastle, from riverside gigs and a wartime tunnel to a city farm, valley galleries and the best of Heaton's independent food scene.

15 Fascinating Facts About Heaton & the Ouseburn

Fifteen genuinely surprising stories from east Newcastle, from a medieval king's well and a shoe-covered tree to Britain's biggest pottery and a bust that sits on Karl Marx's grave.