Forest Hall

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 55.0209
longitude= -1.5689
official_name= Forest Hall
os_grid_reference= NZ269683
population = Approx 2,500-5,000
metropolitan_borough= North Tyneside
region= North East England
metropolitan_county = Tyne and Wear
constituency_westminster= North Tyneside
post_town= NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
postcode_district = NE12
postcode_area= NE
dial_code= 0191

Forest Hall is a big village east of Benton in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Forest Hall is a big village, with a lot going for it which is why it is a very sought after area for home buyers. It is within easy reach of two major roads, it is a five minute drive to the A19 and approx seven minutes to the A1.

Forest Hall also has very good public transport connections, with frequent buses through the village centre to many destinations, Newcastle town centre or the coast among them, both taking approx fifteen to twenty minutes to reach. Forest Hall is served by two Metro stations. Benton Metro station in one direction (about a half mile) and Palmersville Metro Station a good mile away in the opposite direction.

There are pubs, social clubs, and a shopping centre with a wide variety of shops such as bakers, fruit shop, hairdressers, computer repair and deli. Further through the village there are more shops and an old cinema which has been converted to commercial use called the Ritz. It has two supermarkets, one of which is Sainsbury's Local, which opened in November, 2007, replacing the unfortunate Kwik Save, and the other is Nisa.

In the opposite direction, over the train track flyover, are more shops and an Italian Restaurant, Amicis. Also in the main shopping area a new Indian restaurant is due to open. Forest Hall also has a large state of the art Health Centre where minor surgery can be carried out.

There is also a very good private primary school.

Forest Hall also has several churches of different denominations. There is often an indoor car boot sale at the Springfield Institute held on Saturday or Sunday.

There is a train line running through the village, it is the East Coast main-line. The trains run through the village at fast speeds, but as the track is mainly located in a valley this does not present any problem to the residents. The old Forest Hall station was closed down and a public house, `The Flying Scotsman`, was opened on the site of the old station in May 1969. On the opening day of the pub, The Flying Scotsman steam train blew it's whistle as it passed by.

The surrounding areas are Killingworth which is about 1.5 miles away, Benton, and further off, Longbenton. There are two ways of getting to Benton. One way is via a footbridge, it is about a 15-20 minute walk. The other way is by road over the flyover which takes about 5 minutes. Benton is where Longbenton Community College is housed. This college provides a wide variety of Courses for the whole community to enjoy both via the usual night classes and also as an added extra a great many day classes.

Forest Hall has had numerous changes in the last 40 years. There used to be a road running through the village but a flyover over the railway line did away with the crossing gates. The mainline trains also used to stop at Forest Hall on their way between London and Edinburgh.