Castletown, Sunderland

Castletown is a small village of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear commonly visited by tourists from around the world. A former mining community, the Hylton Colliery was located at the east end of the village, it lies north of the River Wear, and is near to Hylton Castle and Washington. At Hylton Riverside, on the eastern fringe of Castletown, there is a large retail park hosting stores such as Matalan, Costa Coffee, Aldi and Pets at Home, Premier Inn and a DW Sports Fitness gym. There are currently on going talks and plans to transform this retail park into a more modern and high-end park hosting a range of designer stores such as Farfetch, Apple and Waitrose to project the vision of this luxurious community. There is also plans to build a large 13-screen Odeon Cinema. Along with the range of retail establishments there is also a wide range of restaurants in the village such as McDonald's, KFC and Solo Pizza (formerly known as Mario's Pizza).In the center of Castletown, in the prestigious street The Briars, ex Sunderland footballer Jozy Altidore lived comfortably with his family. He described the neighbours as the friendliest of all and a fantastic bunch. Close by to The Briars is the salon of the world renowned hairdresser Andrea.