Tees Barrage & Stockton
Planning your visit
Address: Tees Barrage Way, Tees Barrage, Stockton on Tees, TS18 2QW View on Google map
Opening Times: Towpath and walkway open every day
Price: Once you're there, it won't cost you a thing
Toilets: For customers of the local pub/café
It’s where our canals and rivers meet the sea!
Sitting on our most northerly river, the River Tees, is our own angelic attraction of the north – the Tees Barrage. It's part of a newly formed Tees Barrage Park that pulls together the barrage structure itself, the Tees Active white water course and the nearby nature reserves on the north and south side of the river managed by the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust. All of these features – the barrage, the activity centre, two nature reserves – are well interlinked with cycle ways / footpaths winding though.
The barrage's vital statistics are indeed incredible:
- £55 million to build
- 70 metres wide
- 50 tonne fish belly gates holding back the tide
– to name but a few. What the barrage has created is truly inspiring and well worth a visit. A rediscovered heritage and a rejuvenated community all start their stories around our Tees Barrage.
Did we mention watersports? If it's on water, you can do it at Tees: windsurfing, water-skiing, sailing, rowing, angling - even powerboat racing and white water rafting.
Follow our Tees team on Facebook to get all the latest news and events from the Barrage.
Things to do and see
- Walking and dog walking
- Cycling routes
- Canoeing and kayaking at the Tees Barrage International White Water Centre
- Tees Barrage volunteer wildlife garden
Places to eat:
Boat trips:
Picnic spot:
There is a good grassy area for a picnic
Trails:
- Airtrail (technically part of the White Water Centre but a different website)
- Circular canoe trail
Wildlife spotting:
While there's plenty of places to spot swans, ducks, as well as our new wildlife garden, at Tees you can see something alittle more ocean-going. Seals, and sometimes, whales swim up river to the barrage! Take to the towpaths to find not one but two nature reserves connected to the Tees Barrage Park: Maze Park and Portrack Marsh both cared for by the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust.
Getting here
By boat - read our Tees Boaters Welcome Pack and plan your safe passage on the River Tees with our River Tees Guidance Notes and Barrage Reach timetable
By car - There is a large free car park along navigation way. You can also park at the Tees Barrage International White Water Cente
By train - Thornaby Station is the nearest at a 10 to 15 minute walk away
By cycle or foot - there are some brilliant cycling and walking routes and path all around and across the barrage. You can find more information and maps about walking in the Stockton area, on the council website
