Jingling Geordie's Hole

Between King Edward’s Bay and Tynemouth Castle lies Jingling Geordie’s Hole, a narrow cave cut into the cliffs. The cave once served as a lookout for Jingling Geordie, a 17th-century pirate and smuggler. He used lanterns to trick ships into thinking safe anchorages lay nearby. The ships would then run aground at the Black Middens where he stole their cargo. Legend claims his ghost still rattles chains along the cliffs on some evenings. The cave’s original name was ‘Jingling Man’s Hole’, with ‘Geordie’ added later. The cave sits halfway up cliffs that drop about thirty metres to the sea. A steep zigzag path, barely a foot wide, leads down to the entrance. A rectangular window, five feet high and three feet wide, is cut into the cliff above the cave. The window frames wide views of the North Sea across the sandy bay. Below it, a narrow gap between cliff and castle wall marks the cave’s entrance. A blocked tunnel remains visible as a slit just a foot long and a couple of inches wide. Local stories say the cave hides a great treasure, inspiring a boy named Walter to search for it. On St John’s Eve he entered despite ghostly distractions and found a golden bugle. Blowing it three times opened a gateway to a hall lit by gold lamps. The hall’s pillars were jasper and crystal, piled with gold and gems. Walter took the treasure and became a wealthy landowner known as ‘the Lord of a Hundred Castles’. A folk song celebrates his boldness with lines about gold, emeralds, diamonds and rubies.