and an appliance shop. It also has an estate agent, an accountant, a bookmaker and a mortician. There is an Italian restaurant, a Chinese restaurant/take-away, a tea-shop, a sandwich shop, and a fish and chip shop. A public library is near the village centre. Strathmore Road Methodist Church and St. Barnabas Church of England Church are near the centre. The war memorial is a Grade II listed building. Recreation and education Derwent Park provides access to the river, where permit holders can fish. It also has tennis courts, a putting green, recreational fields and playground facilities. The Derwent Country Walk runs through the village along the route of the disused railway line. The A694 runs through the town. There are frequent bus services to Newcastle City Centre, the MetroCentre and, in the other direction, Blackhall Mill and Consett. Other minor bus routes such as UCall bus service operate. Rowlands Gill has a primary school, which was rebuilt in 2007 after the previously separate infant and junior schools had merged. The school is a feeder to Thorp Academy. Some parents send their children to St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon. Rowlands Gill and the surrounding Derwent Valley were chosen by the Northern Kites Project as the location for re-introducing red kites in semi-rural areas. The scheme has proved to be a success, with birds being spotted across the west of the borough, from Crawcrook through Rowlands Gill, to Burnopfield and Whickham. Notable people These notable people were born in Rowlands Gill or lived there for a significant period: Kirsty Wade – athlete, a former resident of the old station-master's house Chris Ryan – SAS soldier and author Frank Clark – European Cup-winning football player and manager Ben Satterley – wrestler currently under contract to the WWE, was billed as being from Rowlands Gill when wrestling in the North East. Richard Cobbing – athlete, Olympian, former World Games Trampoline champion and World Championship Silver Medallist at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships Daniel Barlaser – footballer for Newcastle United Edward Charlton – British Army soldier awarded the Victoria Cross during World War II Arthur Carty – academic and former National Science Adviser to the Government of Canada References External links Villages in Tyne and Wear Gateshead