The Angel of the North: Antony Gormley’s Steel Figure on the A1

The Angel of the North stands 20 metres tall with a 54-metre wingspan at the edge of Gateshead, by the A1 motorway, and it arrives in your peripheral vision before you’ve consciously noticed it: a figure with outstretched wings that appears, from the road, larger than it can possibly be. This is deliberate. Antony Gormley, who designed it and oversaw its fabrication and installation in 1998, specifically wanted the A1 viewing to be involuntary, something that happened to you rather than something you sought out.

The sculpture was made from 200 tonnes of steel with ribs inside the wings to handle wind loading on an exposed hill. Gormley built it on the site of a former coal mine bath house, which explains the slightly unusual foundations: the old mining infrastructure required significant engineering adaptation before the sculpture could be anchored. The choice of location above the mine, at the northern end of what was one of the most heavily industrialised regions in Britain, was not accidental.

Visiting

The A1 layby directly below the sculpture provides free parking. The walk up from the layby takes five minutes on a paved path. Entry is free at all hours; the sculpture is a public artwork on public land.

Close up, the scale changes from how it reads from the road: the figure is more weathered, more textural, the Corten steel developing a rust-orange patina that changes with the light. Standing beneath the wingspan, looking up, is a different experience from seeing the silhouette from the motorway. Both are valid; neither is the whole picture.

Early morning in low-angle light produces the best photography. The sculpture faces east, so morning light from behind illuminates the front; afternoon light catches the wings. In overcast light the figure is starkest against the sky.

Newcastle and Gateshead

The Angel is a 10-minute drive from central Newcastle, which has a strong cultural infrastructure worth combining with a visit.

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art on the Gateshead Quayside (free, closed Mondays) occupies a converted flour mill and shows ambitious contemporary exhibitions. The rooftop terrace has views across the Tyne and the Millennium Bridge.

Sage Gateshead (now called The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, rebranded 2023) is the landmark Norman Foster music venue directly adjacent to BALTIC, hosting everything from classical concerts to folk and jazz.

The Newcastle Quayside on the north bank of the Tyne has good restaurants and bars with riverfront terraces. Quilliam Brothers on City Road is the best teahouse in Newcastle. The Botanist on Newgate Street does reliable food with a lively atmosphere.

Getting There

The Angel of the North is on the A1(M) between junctions 66 and 67 southbound. From Newcastle city centre, the A167 runs south to Low Fell and the layby. Arriva and Go North East buses pass the junction from Newcastle Central Station; the 21 and 25 routes pass within a 10-minute walk.

Newcastle Central Station is served by the East Coast Main Line from London (2.5-3 hours), Edinburgh (1.5 hours), and Leeds (1 hour).