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The Tunstall Hills is an area of open land on the southern edge of Sunderland, close to the former Ryhope Colliery. The hills are an outcrop of magnesian limestone of great interest to geologists. The people of Sunderland have enjoyed walking on them for at least 200 years.

Read Barbara Mason's article in North East Life Magazine, June 2009: Article

Aug 2009: THPG WINS DURHAM BIODIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP AWARD - Full Story

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"Tunstall Hills, which rise to a height of more than 300 feet, comprise one of the most prominent landmarks on the Durham coastline and are well known to all sailors who travel up and down the East Coast."
Sunderland Echo, 1859

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Tunstall Hills, Sunderland, 1925
Oil painting by David Thomas Robertson from Tyne & Wear Museums Collections

The Tunstall Hills Protection Group was formed in 1991, initially to campaign against a proposal to convert the area into a golf course. The Group's aims are:

• to protect the Hills as an open space in its natural state with full and unrestricted access for the public
• to foster appreciation of our local environmental heritage and retain it for future generations

Regular guided walks are organised every year, led by expert enthusiasts in the fields of botany, birds, geology and local history.

Rocky Hill, photo by Danny Wainwright