I visited Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North sculpture, which stands proud beside the A1(M) motorway just outside Gateshead. The huge sculpture went up in 1998 and remains visible from the A1 motorway, the A167, the surrounding area. As well as passing trains on the East Coast Mainline.
The project began in 1994 and used a scaled cast of Sir Antony Gormley’s own body to form the body of the Angel of the North. The sculpture stands on the site of the former Team Colliery pithead baths. Team Colliery, also known as Ravensworth Ann Pit, operated as a coal mine from as early as 1720 until the 1960s.
People see the sculpture at least once every second of the day, which adds up to around 33 million views each year. Standing there, that estimate feels entirely credible given the amount of vehicles passing on the A1, plus how exposed and dominant the site is.
Visiting the Angel of the North
The attraction is free to visit, it is open 24/7/365 and offers flat surfaces throughout. A free car park sits directly beside the site with 26 space plus four disabled bays. Additionally there are three electric vehicle (EV) charging points are available, space for two coaches and bicycle stands.
The stop works equally well as a short or longer visit. You can spend five minutes stretching your legs and taking in the scale of the sculpture, or closer to twenty minutes if you want to walk around it and take photos, especially with a group. Given how close the site sits to the A1, stopping here makes complete sense.
Getting there from the A1
Access from the A1 is straightforward. If you are heading north take the A167 (Gateshead South), follow right on the roundabout, then stay in the left hand lane. If you are heading southbound on the A1, take the exit marked Wrekenton and Birtley/A167. Then follow the brown tourist sign for the Angel of the North car park. When leaving the site, note that the left-hand lane operates as a bus lane only. So ensure you merge into the right-hand lane immediately.
After leaving, I continued on to Tanfield Railway. To do that, I merged into the right-hand lane first, then moved back into the left-hand lane at the end of the bus lane. As the first left turn after the bus lane leads towards Tanfield Lea.
What it is like at the Angel of the North site
When you stand beneath the sculpture, its sheer scale hits immediately. The Angel dominates the surrounding landscape rather than blending into it. The exposed hilltop location, constant wind, and open sky intensify the experience. Seeing it up close feels completely different from passing it on the A1. However it clearly shows how deliberately the placement marks place, identity, and the post-industrial renewal of the area’s colliery past in the North East.
During my visit, the wind picked up slightly. I felt comfortable in a hoody (with my hands in my pockets!). However, the exposed setting makes dressing appropriately for the weather important.
A short drive away is Tanfield Railway, the worlds oldest railway, which offers steam train rides and direct insight into the industrial history that shaped the landscape around the Angel of the North.
In Memoriam area
At the bottom of the grassed hill, hundreds of In Memoriam decorations line the area. I do not believe this is a burial ground, but people have left ribbons, balloons now deflated with time, and trinkets tied to trees and bushes, alongside laminated photos and newly planted flowers. Together, they form a poignant reminder of loved ones, with the Angel standing watch beside them.
Useful links
Angel of the North, making of the sculpture (Antony Gormley)
