Langley Park, County Durham
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The village of Langley Park is situated in County Durham in England. The picturesque and historic city of Durham lies 4 miles to the east whilst the larger city of Newcastle upon Tyne is 15 miles to the north.
The village has a Primary School which includes Nursery, Reception and Junior classes. The producers of the 2000 film Billy Elliot filmed one of the scenes in the changing rooms of Langley Park school. This was just one of many occasions where the village has been used as a location for films and television. These include "Days of Hope" (1974), "The Stars Look Down" (1975), "A Captain's Tale" (1982) and "Ripping Yarns" (1977). The BBC television comedy show "The Fast Show" also used the village as a location. The main attraction for film and TV companies is the village's Railway Street which remains essentially unchanged from the time of its construction in the late nineteenth century (although most residents no longer have to leave their house and cross the street to the outside lavatories which remain as a reminder of a bygone age).
In 1988 the group Prefab Sprout released the album "From Langley Park to Memphis" (group members Paddy and Martin McAloon were brought up in the nearby village of Witton Gilbert).
The village was also the childhood home of former England manager Sir Bobby Robson.
The village has a wide variety of shops and amenities and is also home to Diggerland, where children of all ages can take control of a variety of heavy machinery and take rides over the former colliery ground on bulldozers and Landrovers.
Langley Park has grown steadily in recent years and has benefited from the influx of new residents, attracted to the village by the construction of several housing developments. Current housing projects are underway on the site of the former Kings Picture house and Hilltop View and plans are in hand to construct houses on the current site of Anderson & Young coachworks.
The River Browney, which flows to the North of the village, has recovered from the effects of contamination caused by a century of local industry and is fished regularly both by anglers and by otters who have made a welcome return to the river in recent years.
The head office of Durham Logistics College is located in Langley Park.
Further information on the village of Langley Park and the surrounding villages (including many old photographs) can be found at the following linked websites.
