Doctor Pit Park, Bedlington
Doctor Pit Park, Bedlington
Doctor Pit Park is located in the historic market town of Bedlington in the south east corner of Northumberland.
The park provides bowls, sports and play facilities, as well as a quiet green space away from the hustle and bustle of the busy town. The park is proud to be Green Flag Award rated.
The site is named after the Doctor Pit, which was sunk in the 1860s, on land which is now known as Gallagher Park and adjoining housing estates to the west of Doctor Pit Park.
The park was established in the early 1930s, on farmland purchased by the Bedlington Coal Company, to provide recreational facilities for local miners and their families.
Opening times and facilities
Doctor Pit Park is open all year round
Play areas
The play area, which is Neighbourhood Equipped Area for Play standard, has equipment suitable for all ages from toddlers to teenagers. An inclusive swing has recently been installed at the play area.
The SONA arch
The Doctor Pit Park SONA is a bold piece of play equipment that uses the power of dance to attract the public's attention. The entertainment demand's of generation Z has led the design of the SONA arch. The motion censored dance arch has a number of games which encourage children to work in teams or against each other to create a friendly element of competition.
Multi use games area (MUGA)
'The park includes a wheeled sports (for skateboarding, BMX, scooter) area and basket sports (for basketball or netball) areas. They prove to be particularly popular with older children.
The Pavillion
The Pavilion provides a meeting room, bowling club room, kitchen, park keeper's office and public toilets. The pavilion is home to the local bowling club who play on the green and a local art group and can be available for hire.
Take a look around Dr Pit Park
Find Dr Pit Park, Bedlington
There are three entrances into the park. The main pedestrian/vehicular entrance is situated on Park Road, accessed from Beech Grove. There are a further two pedestrian entrances next to Whitley Memorial First School and off Hollymount Square. The entrances are DDA compliant.
The park has good public transport links, with bus stops nearby.
There is limited public parking within the park and surrounding streets. There is a large free public car park to the rear of the Market Place which is only 200 metres from the park.
Address: Doctor Pit Park, Bedlington, NE22 5DB
Addtional information
The park is managed by the Neighbourhood Services, Northumberland County Council.
- You can view the management plan by clicking here.
- You can view the Growing Together tree strategy by clicking here.
Toilets
Public toilets are available to use in the park pavillion.
Drone use
Launching drones from County Council land is only allowed with the consent of the Council and where a formal license agreement has been signed. The council reserves the right to refuse consent and where consent is granted will require evidence of your Civil Aviation Training Certificate and public liability insurance.
Dogs
Dogs are welcome in the park but we ask that dogs are kept on leads in the Bowling Green Area and the Childrens Play Park and all mess is picked up.
History of the park and area
History of the Bedlington terrier
The Bedlington Terrier is the iconic dog from the town of Bedlington, a small breed of dog developed originally as the Rothbury Terrier, a Joseph Aynsley of Bedlington thought to own the first dog. Originally the terrier was bred to hunt but has since been used in dog racing, numerous dog sports, conformation shows and as a companion dog.
The Bedlington Terrier has a linty coat and distinctive arched loin and long head which gives it a lamb-like appearance but is a mean dispatcher of vermin! It is thoughts its origins are from the Dandy Dinmount, Kerry Blue and soft -coated Wheaton Terriers and possibly the Whippet for its distictive arched loin. It was always a favourite of the miners due to its excellent skills in ridding the mines of rats and for sporting pursuits.
Bedlington Terriers FC at Welfare Park
The current home of the team is at Dr Pit Park. The football club was established in 1949, although teams were thought to have been around since the early 1900's, know then as the Bedlington Mechanics, joining the Northern League in the Miners Welfare league and champions in 1951/52 season.
Transferring to the Northern Combination, winning the Northern League Minor Cup in 1953/54. The club reformed as teh Bedlington Collier Welfare where they moved to the Dr Pit Welfare Park and are still currently playing there.
The logo displays the flag of Northumberland County, the Pit Head Wheel and the Bedlington Terrier dog with the latin phrase Virtus Unita Fortis 'Together We act Stronger'.
In 1998/99 the club reached the second round of the FA Cup.
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