Witherwack is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

in the north of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, England, situated between Red House to the west, Carley Hill to the east and Marley Pots to the south. The origin of the name Witherwack is unknown. The spelling of the name has changed since the Ordnance Survey maps of 1862 (and as late as 1945) on which it was spelled Whitherwhack. The area is an overspill

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

, usually regarded as part of ''Greater Southwick'', and was built in the 1960s. In common with most estates in Sunderland, the street names all start with the same letter - 'W' in the case of Witherwack. The whole of the estate falls within the SR5

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

. It is represented by three Labour councillors as part of the Southwick ward on Sunderland City Council.

Fulwell Quarry Nature Reserve

Fulwell Quarry, known locally as Witherwack Quarry, is a Local Nature Reserve located in the disused quarries at Fulwell. It is bounded by Witherwack to the west, Carley Hill to the south, Newcastle Road to the east and the

South Tyneside South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by all four other boroughs in Tyne and Wear: Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, North Tyneside to the north and Newcastl ...

county border to the north. Road access is via Newcastle Road only; however, the site is also accessible by foot from the neighbouring suburbs of Witherwack and Carley Hill. Public transport is available on Go North East services 9,20 The nature reserve is of national importance due to its rare Magnesian Limestone geology. The wildflower meadows and grasslands are favourable habitats for many butterflies, such as the large skipper, the small skipper and the dingy skipper. Plants include ''

Fragaria vesca ''Fragaria vesca'', commonly called the wild strawberry, woodland strawberry, Alpine strawberry, Carpathian strawberry or European strawberry, is a Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant in the Rosaceae, rose family that grows naturally thro ...

'' (wild strawberry) and '' Blackstonia perfoliata'' (yellow-wort). Looking to the north and east, there are good views of the Cleadon Hills and the North Sea coast.

Transport

Witherwack does not have its own

Tyne and Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The owners Nexus have ...

station. However, nearby Stadium of Light Metro station on Newcastle Road, and Seaburn Metro station on Station Road, are both within easy reach from Witherwack by bus services 16 and the 135/36 (Sunday and nights only) respectively. There is a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

facility near Witherwack based at Stadium of Light Metro station. There are 182 free car parking spaces available. Witherwack is located less than a mile north of the Queen Alexandra Bridge, giving good road links into Sunderland City Centre. Witherwack is located close to the A1231 for road links to

Washington, Tyne and Wear Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland, Sunderland district, in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it is the ancestral settlement of the local Washington family, from which the first President of the United Stat ...

, which in turn feeds into the A1. Witherwack, via the A1231, is close to the A19; north to the

Tyne Tunnel The Tyne Tunnel is the name given to a pair of two-lane vehicular toll tunnels under the River Tyne in North East England. Originally opened in 1967 and expanded in 2011, the tunnels connect the town of Jarrow on the south bank of the river with ...

and

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered by Ne ...

, or south to Peterlee and

Teesside Teesside () is an urban area around the River Tees in North East England. Straddling the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, it spans the boroughs of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Stockton ...

. Witherwack has been built around a purpose built

bus terminus A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can s ...

, which is situated at the eastern end of Wiltshire Road. Service 16 operated by

Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses and express coaches in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach was originally founded in 1976 as ''Gloagtrotter'', a recreational vehicle and minibus hire business. Dur ...

, provides a service from Witherwack to Sunderland City Centre via Carley Hill Road, Southwick

References

{{Reflist

External links

Map of Witherwack

Sunderland Bus Routes
City of Sunderland suburbs Local Nature Reserves in Tyne and Wear Sunderland