Getting Around Cramlington Without a Car

Cramlington grew from a mining village into a new town from the 1960s, and it was built with something many older towns lack: a network of paths and cycle routes that keeps you away from the main roads. Add a railway station on the East Coast Main Line and frequent buses to Newcastle and Blyth, and it is quite possible to live, work and shop here without driving. This guide covers the train, the buses, fares, getting to the hospital, walking and cycling, and the airport.

Timetables change, so always check live times on National Rail Enquiries, the operators' own websites or Traveline before you set off. If you are new to the town, our guide to moving to Cramlington covers the bigger picture, and where to park in Cramlington is there for the days you do drive.

The train: Cramlington station

Cramlington station is on Station Road (NE23 9EX), on the East Coast Main Line about ten miles north of Newcastle. It first opened in 1847, and today local trains are run by Northern. The basic pattern is roughly one train an hour in each direction between Newcastle and Morpeth, with a couple of weekday peak trains running further north to Chathill. The journey to Newcastle takes around a quarter of an hour, which makes the train the quickest way into the city centre, and Morpeth is under ten minutes away. Sunday services have changed more than once in recent years, so check them before relying on them.

The station is unstaffed and has two platforms with waiting shelters, departure screens and announcements, but no toilets, waiting room or refreshments. There is a ticket machine that takes cards and contactless payments, and it can also print tickets bought online. Northern lists a 50-space car park, which is charged, and four cycle spaces in the car park.

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Northern says both platforms can be reached step-free by road and ramp, so you do not need the stepped footbridge. The station is unstaffed, so if you need help getting on or off the train, book Northern's Passenger Assist service in advance.

The station sits on the western side of the town centre, and a path links it to the Manor Walks shopping centre. In December 2024 Northumberland County Council approved the first £300,000 of its Cramlington Regeneration Programme for resurfacing and improving walking and cycling routes, starting with the routes between the town centre and the station.

Buses from Dudley Lane

The town's main bus interchange is not a bus station as such but the stops on Dudley Lane in the town centre, near Manor Walks, known on timetables as Dudley Lane Shops. Most routes call here, and many also stop at Whitelea, the East West Link Road, Alexandra Park and the retail park. At the time of writing, the main routes are:

• Arriva X8, X9, X10 and X11 run between Blyth and Newcastle through Cramlington, each by a slightly different route at the Blyth end. Between them they give the town a frequent daytime service to Newcastle, running via Gosforth and the Regent Centre to Haymarket bus station.
• Arriva 43 runs between Morpeth and Newcastle via Bedlington, Cramlington, Seaton Burn, Wideopen and Gosforth.
• Arriva 57 runs roughly hourly between Ashington and Whitley Bay via Bedlington, Cramlington, East Cramlington and Seaton Delaval, and the 57A runs between Ashington and North Shields.
• Gateshead Central Buses 19 links Cramlington with North Shields via Seaton Delaval, Seghill and Northumberland Park Metro station.
• Go North East 352 is a limited weekday service between Cramlington and Newcastle via Dudley, Killingworth, Four Lane Ends and the Freeman Hospital. Check its timetable carefully, as it runs only a few journeys a day.

Route numbers and operators have changed several times over the years, so treat this list as a starting point and check the current timetable for your journey.

Getting to the hospital

Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is on Northumbria Way (NE23 6NZ), off the A189 at East Cramlington. The Trust itself points visitors to Traveline for up-to-date bus information. At the time of writing, the stop at the hospital is served by the Arriva 57 and the Gateshead Central Buses 19, both of which also call at Dudley Lane in the town centre, and by Phoenix Coaches' 58 between Seaton Sluice and East Hartford.

There is public cycle parking at the hospital between the visitor car park and the bus stop. On foot, the hospital is roughly two miles from the railway station, about 50 minutes' walk.

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In an emergency, call 999. For anything else, NHS 111 can tell you whether you need to go to the hospital at all.

Fares and tickets

Adult single bus fares across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham are capped at £2.50 by the North East Combined Authority, which has extended the cap until at least March 2027. People aged 21 and under pay a £1 single fare. Full details are on the Combined Authority's fare cap page.

If you are making several journeys in a day, look at the multi-operator day tickets sold under the Network One brand. At the time of writing, the Day Saver costs £7.50 and covers eligible buses across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham, along with the Metro and the Shields Ferry. Prices change, so check Network One before you buy.

Older and disabled person's bus passes are accepted on local buses, but the hours they are valid differ, so check with the operator. Rail fares are separate, so buy train tickets from the machine, the Northern app or website.

Walking and cycling

Like many new towns of its era, Cramlington was given an extensive network of paths and cycle routes, most of them separate from the roads, with underpasses taking walkers and cyclists beneath the busier routes such as Westmorland Way and Dudley Lane. It means you can often walk or cycle from the housing estates to the town centre, the schools and the parks without crossing a main road. In 2020 the County Council added new signposts to help people find their way around the paths and cycleways.

The network is not perfect. A 2016 sustainable travel audit for the County Council found the retail park around Manor Walks hard to get through by bike, described the Dudley Lane underpass as dark with poor sight lines, and noted that the cycle parking there is aimed at shoppers rather than bus passengers. Allow a little extra time the first time you try a new route, and use a map that shows the paths rather than just the roads.

The Great North Cycleway, National Cycle Route 725, heads north out of Newcastle past Great Park and Hazlerigg and then north-east through Cramlington towards Blyth, where routes link with the coastal Coast and Castles route (NCN 1). Parts of Route 725 are still incomplete, so check the current signed line before planning a longer ride.

Northern carries bikes on its trains, but space is limited, so avoid the busiest commuter trains if you can.

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For a walk rather than a journey, see our parks and green spaces guide. Alexandra Park is linked to the surrounding estates by the path network.

The Northumberland Line

If you live in East Cramlington, you may find Seaton Delaval station handy as well. It reopened in December 2024 on the Northumberland Line between Ashington and Newcastle. The 57 and 19 buses both run through Seaton Delaval.

Getting to Newcastle Airport

We have not found a direct bus from Cramlington to Newcastle International Airport. The simplest route is to take one of the X-route buses to the Regent Centre in Gosforth and change to the Metro, which runs straight to the airport from there. Alternatively, take the train to Newcastle and catch the Metro to the airport from Central Station. The Network One Day Saver covers the bus and the Metro, but not the train.

Taxis

Several private hire firms are based in Cramlington and the surrounding towns. Booking ahead is the safest option, particularly if you are meeting an early or late train at the station, which has no taxi office.

Somewhere to wait

If you have time to spare before a bus, Manor Walks is close to the Dudley Lane stops. Muffin Break and Greggs are both inside the shopping centre, and our guide to coffee shops and cafes in Cramlington has more ideas.

Spotted a timetable change or a transport detail we should update? Get in touch.