But have you tried this lesser known walk, taking in sights such as the Victoria Viaduct and the picturesque riverside setting of Coxgreen with its coal mining and ship building past.
This circular walk, which is four miles long, can start and finish at the base of Penshaw Mounment or the nearby country park and will take around two hours to complete.
The heritage trial, which is produced by Sunderland City Council, takes you through areas rich with Wearside’s industrial history such as the disused Penshaw railway line which was first established in 1852 to carry freight to Hendon. Now you can walk, run or cycled it all the way to South Hylton where it joins the Tyne and Wear Metro line.
The walk takes you along from the bottom of the monument – which was built in honour of John Lambton, the 1st Earl of Durham and based on the design of the Theseion, the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens – along to Low Lambton Farm, past the Victoria Viaduct, and along the River Wear to Coxgreen before looping back around through Penshaw Woods and finishing off at the landmark monument .
We take a look at some of the sights you will see and even include some retro pictures from what they looked like more than 50 years ago.
For detailed instructions click here.
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From Penshaw monument follow the path into woodland which will come out onto a field with views down to the river. Follow the path through the field down to the road and turn left until you reach a farm track. Photo: google
2. Victoria Viaduct, Washington
Follow the farm track until it leads to a footpath through the woods which will bring you out at the river near the Victoria Viaduct. One of the first landmarks you'll see on the walk (after Penshaw Monument of course) This bridge is one of the most impressive stone viaducts in Britain and was named after Queen Victoria. The last stone was laid on her Coronation Day on June 28, 1838. Photo: Stu Norton
3. Another view of the viaduct
The viaduct was built to carry rail traffic over the Wear and was the main rail line between Newcastle to London until 1872. It closed in 1991. Photo: David Allan
4. Follow the River Wear along to Coxgreen
From the viaduct (which should be on your left), turn right and follow the footpath all the way along to Coxgreen. In the 19th century this area was a hive of activity as a result of the coal trade, local ship building and the quarry industries. Photo: JPI