page_title: Blyth, Northumberland
section_title: Entertainment and leisure
hierarchical_section_title: Blyth, Northumberland / Entertainment and leisure
caption_attribution_description: English: Blyth Staithes
context_page_description: Blyth is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately 13 miles northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a population of about 37,000, as of 2011.
  The port of Blyth dates from the 12th century, but the development of the modern town only began in the first quarter of the 18th century. The main industries which helped the town prosper were coal mining and shipbuilding, with the salt trade, fishing and the railways also playing an important role. These industries have largely vanished, but the port still thrives, shipping paper and pulp from Scandinavia for the newspaper industries of England and Scotland.
  The town was seriously affected when its principal industries went into decline, and it has undergone much regeneration since the early 1990s. The Keel Row Shopping Centre, opened in 1991, brought major high street retailers to Blyth, and helped to revitalise the town centre. The market place has recently been re-developed, with the aim of attracting further investment to the town.
caption: A view of the Quayside showing the Spirit of the Staithes sculpture. To the right are the Alcan silos at North Blyth.
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