Location Image

Sunderland International Airshow

The Sunderland International Airshow was the biggest free annual airshow in Europe, held at the Roker and Seaburn seafronts. It took place over the course of three days, usually the final weekend in July (Friday to Sunday), and attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators every year. The airshow featured a large number of planes, including the Red Arrows and the Eurofighter Typhoon. In addition to the planes, the seafront played host to a range of food counters, stalls and fairground games. The Royal Navy traditionally had a warship off the coast every year, usually HMS Ocean, the adopted warship of Sunderland, however in 2007, HMS Albion made an appearance instead as HMS Ocean had other commitments.

Nearby Places View Menu
Location Image
422 m

Spottee's Cave

Spottee’s Cave is a cave formed in a limestone-magnesium ravine on the seafront of Roker, North East England, between Sunderland (to the south), and Whitburn (to the north).
Location Image
484 m

Seaburn

Seaburn is a seaside resort and northeastern suburb of Sunderland, North East England. The village of Whitburn borders the area to the north. To the west and south-west is Fulwell and to the south the coastal resort of Roker. Virtually all of Seaburn consists of low-density private housing interspersed with open parkland, laid out in the middle of the 20th century. Much of the housing is amongst the most expensive in Sunderland, with many large mansion houses situated along the coast, and on adjoining streets. The seafront is home to a sandy blue flag beach, seaside promenades, two amusement arcades, children's playgrounds, fish and chip shops, small guest houses and two 4 star hotels, The Grand Hotel and the Seaburn Inn. The main shopping street is Sea Road, which runs from the seafront up through Fulwell to the Seaburn Metro station. The area around Queens Parade hosts a 'strip' of restaurants, with three Italian, two Indian and two Chinese restaurants in operation as of 2009. Also trading are several pubs and coffee shops. In the late 1980s, the old Seaburn Hall site was redeveloped, with a Morrisons supermarket, new amusement park and leisure and fitness centre. Previously, Seaburn Hall had been a dance hall and live music venue. It was built in 1939 as part of a development scheme which also included the seafront and a funfair. Seaburn was a favourite place of the painter L. S. Lowry. A large Lowry painting is displayed in the local Morrisons supermarket. The area was close to the Sunderland A.F.C. stadium Roker Park and was the origin of the hooligan firm the Seaburn Casuals. The Sunderland International Airshow was held on the coast at Seaburn and Roker and was the largest free event of its kind in Europe, with a variety of aircraft, civilian and military aircraft on display. On the Tyne and Wear Metro Seaburn is served by its own station. The suburb is part of the Fulwell ward on Sunderland City Council, and is represented by three Conservative councillors.
Location Image
525 m

Roker Park (park)

Roker Park is a recreation park in the Roker area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The land on which the park stands was donated by Sir Hedworth Williamson, 8th Baronet and the Church Commissioners, and opened on 23 June 1880. The park is roughly an upside down reversed 'L' shape. It is bounded by Park Parade to the south, Roker Park Terrace to the east, Roker Park Road to the west and Side Cliff Road to the north. The northern part of the park is the widest and fronts onto Roker beach via a ravine, which passes under a wooden footbridge. In the centre of the park is a large freeform boating lake which is used for remote-controlled model boating. In the northwest corner of the park is a model narrow gauge railtrack which was built in the 1970s. There are two bowling greens as well as tennis and multi-purpose sports courts.
Location Image
679 m

Roker

Roker ( ROH-kər) is a seaside resort in Sunderland, city of Sunderland district, Tyne and Wear. England. It is located north of the River Wear and Monkwearmouth, east of the southern part of Fulwell with the coastal resort of Seaburn to its north. It lies within historic County Durham. The majority of the houses in Roker are terraced or semi-detached. Further west, to the part bordering Fulwell, are cul-de-sacs with semi-detached bungalows; these are owned mainly by members of Roker's sizeable elderly population. On the seafront, located on Roker Terrace, are apartments, guest houses and the Roker Hotel. In addition to Seaburn seafront, the coast at Roker seafront played host to Sunderland International Airshow, the biggest free air show in Europe; this took place annually, usually over the last weekend in July. However, it was cancelled indefinitely as Sunderland City Council claimed it did not align with their vision to make the city carbon neutral. The popular event, which attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators to Roker, was last held in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic.