When I used to drive back to the North East I loved the first sight of Penshaw Monument perched on Penshaw Hill as I knew I had made it home. It was supposedly designed to be a copy of the Theseion, the Temple of Hephaestus, in Athens. It has also been linked with the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. It is built twice the size of the original and stands 136 metres above sea level with amazing views over the North East. It was built by Thomas Pratt of Sunderland and designed by Newcastle architects, John and Benjamin Green in 1844, in memory of John George Lambton. The Monument is the best preserved model of a Doric Hexastyle temple in Britain.
The National Trust reopened the spiral staircase enclosed in one of the large columns recently as it had been closed for several years. It is open every weekend and bank holiday from 6th April to 29th September. It can be booked on the National Trust website; the views are even more amazing from up there; if you are not scared of small spaces and heights it is worth it.
There is parking off Chester Road /A183, on the left. The well worn path takes you up Penshaw Hill; if you look closely it is said to be the shape of the Lambton Worm, which wrapped itself around the hill ten times.
Address:
Chester Road,
Penshaw,
Tyne & Wear,
DH4 7NJ.
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