Shopping outlet and retail parks in the North East reviewed

The North East is home to a number of shopping outlets and retail parks, here’s our thoughts on the best of them.

Dalton Park outlet

Dalton Park is the biggest outlet in the North East and it is located on the outskirts of Murton.

It offers discounts on clothing for any shopper with Adidas and Sports Direct for the sporty consumer and The Body Shop and The Cosmetic Company Store for beauty lovers. Over 60 shops can be found at Dalton Park with over 200 different brands and up to 50% off selected labels.

Restaurants and cafes are in abundance and with Cineworld on site with free parking you can make a day of it til 7pm Monday to Saturday and 5pm on Sundays.

Royal Quays Outlet

Royal Quays can be found in North Shields near the River Tyne. It has a large Nike outlet to rival Dalton Park’s Adidas.

While there are less eateries than Dalton Park and no cinema, football fans will be pleased to find the Evolution Football Centre which was newly updated in 2018 boasting five-a-side 3G pitches and a sports bar.

The outlet closes between 5pm and 6pm most days but it closes late on Thursdays at 8pm making it the perfect option for shopping after work.

Scotch Corner Designer Village

Set to open in 2020, this designer outlet could be the retail space to battle against the two main outlets in the North East as it will be the fifth largest outlet centre in the UK and is based in Scotch Corner which is a convenient location for those who live in the North East to travel to.

It is hoped to have 92 stores from designer to high-street options to 10 restaurants and cafes.

We are yet to see whether this new addition will affect the two main outlet centres in the North East.

Arnison Centre

This retail park is not an outlet centre but it does have a Nike outlet shop. It also has a number of fashion and homeware shops. There is a giant Marks and Spencer, complete with cafe and food hall, a Next, Outfit, River Island and Boots.

Asda living offers clothes, homeware and baby stuff and there is a Laura Ashley which often has sales on throughout the year.

Being Durham's largest out of town retail location, take note that parking is plentiful but chaotic with one entrance point leading to large queues when the park is busy.

Food-wise there is a Greggs, McDonald’s, Costa and a newly added Frankie & Benny’s. There is also Sainsbury’s and Lidl on site for food shopping.

The Galleries

Washington’s Galleries Shopping Centre has a retail park over the road from the main shopping mall.

Although it has has no specific outlet shops but it does hold plenty of stores that have good offers and sales including Matalan, New Look, Next, Home Bargains and Clarks.

There is a KFC and a Frankie & Benny’s in the ground of the retail park, and a number of cafes in the Galleries shopping mall itself.

For food shopping there is a Marks and Spencer Food and an Aldi in the retail park and a Sainsbury’s and Asda in the main mall.

Taxi ranks and cycle racks make it easily accessible and more than 30 of the retailers there offer a click and collect service.

Hylton Riverside Retail Park

This retail park is home to Sunderland’s Matalan Clearance Store which is open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sundays. It stocks men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories and plenty of homeware for bargain prices.

Although it is one of the smaller parks, it has plenty of parking and more bargain stores such as B&M and Poundstretcher.

Silverlink Shopping Park

Silverlink Shopping Park located in Wallsend is another large retail park with a large Odeon Cinema and a variety of stores.

Alongside fashion retailers Outfit, Next, New Look and H&M, there is also Currys PC World, Halfords, SCS and Sofolgy.

The park isn’t lacking on food sources either with Frankie & Benny’s, Nando’s, Bella Italia, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s on offer.