The Portrait Benches project commemorates local heroes nominated by their communities by immortalising them as life-sized steel figures. You'll find them on National Cycle Network routes across the UK. This latest iteration of the project is in celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Portrait Bench figures can be found on National Cycle Network routes all across the UK.
As part of the Portrait Benches project, we're celebrating much loved and respected local heroes Dr. Frank Atkinson CBE and Bryan Robson OBE.
The Consett & Sunderland Railway Path is a lovely trail which follows the line of a former railway into Sunderland which was Britain’s first commercial railway and was closed in 1985.
The route itself takes you past the new Stadium of Light, along the riverside, through the marina and onto the beach at Roker.
To mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, local communities nominated heroes from their hometowns.
These heroes have been immortalised as steel figures along the National Cycle Network.
Explore the National Cycle Network
Find walking, wheeling and cycling routes near youCelebrating Chester-le-Street's local heroes
Dr. Frank Atkinson CBE
Dr. Frank Atkinson CBE, was the founder of Beamish, an open-air museum in County Durham.
He was born in Yorkshire in 1924 and passed away aged 90 in 2014.
Dr. Frank Atkinson shared his creative vision, fuelled by passion for the living museum, which opened in 1970.
To this day, Beamish offers a portal into the past, bringing the history of North East England to life.
Bryan Robson OBE
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and former player.
Beginning his playing career at West Bromwich Albion, he moved to Manchester United in 1981 and helped them win two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, one Football League Cup, three FA Charity Shields and a European Cup Winners' Cup.
Robson became the longest-serving captain in the club’s history and is regularly described by players and fans alike as one of England’s greatest footballers.