The town is 15 miles (24 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the south by the River Wansbeck.

Ashington developed from a small hamlet in the 1840s when the Duke of Portland built housing to encourage people escaping the Great Famine of Ireland to come and work at his nearby collieries.

As in many other parts of Britain, "deep pit" coal mining in the area declined during the 1980s and 1990s leaving just one colliery, Ellington, which closed in January 2005.

[citation needed] As coal mining expanded, more people left the countryside and settled in Ashington.

[4] The nearest station to Ashington on the East Coast Main Line was Longhirst, to the north west of the town, which opened in 1847 and had services to both Newcastle and Edinburgh.

The site of the station was developed in the late 1960s into Wansbeck Square, housing a supermarket, council offices and a public library, built partly over the railway line.

The railway was used until recently by the Alcan Aluminium plant, to transport coal to its adjacent power station in the nearby town of Lynemouth.

The land to the north west of the town is slightly undulating due to mining subsidence, which sometimes causes farmland to be flooded.

To the north of the town is Queen Elizabeth II Country Park which contains a lake surrounded by pine woodland plantation.

Although Phormiums (New Zealand flax) grow in displays in Newbiggin, salt-laden winds may afford them some protection.

[9] The town is served by the Northumberland Line, which provides passenger railway services from Ashington to Seaton Delaval and Newcastle.

[11] Construction is still taking place on stations in Bedlington, Blyth and Northumberland Park which will have failed to hit a planned opening date in 2024.

Passenger services started operation as of 15 December 2024 to Seaton Delaval and Newcastle, after numerous delays.

A reasonable-sized public library is based in the Leisure Centre on Lintonville Terrace at the northern fringes of the town.

Hirst Park provides two good quality bowling greens as well as tennis and basketball courts.

In recent years a new community facility has been created from the former Miners Welfare centre on Alexandra Road.

The People's Park near the leisure centre off Institute Road is a large green field suitable for recreation.

It has bowling greens, basketball and tennis courts, play areas[17] and is sheltered by tall trees.

To the north of the park is a large sports field, where historically, the town hosted fun fairs.

The town is situated near the coast, enabling short journey times to beaches such as Druridge Bay and Cresswell.

The main Wansbeck General Hospital in Ashington is located at the north east of the town near Woodhorn.

[18] Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees.

Ashington Town Council is made up of six wards each electing three councillors, as of 2014 seventeen of these are held by the Labour Party.

The former site of Ashington Colliery became part of a regeneration project and saw the development of Wansbeck Business Park.

Ashington's close proximity to Newcastle upon Tyne makes it an ideal commuter town for people working in the city.

[22] The book The Pitmen Painters by William Feaver, recording the development of the Ashington Group, 1934 to 1984, has been made into a stage play by Lee Hall, well known for Billy Elliot.

Ashington has appeared in various films and TV programmes, such as Spender starring Jimmy Nail, Our Friends in the North in 1996, The Fast Show[23] on BBC2 and the Alcan chimneys were seen in the movie, Billy Elliot.

[24][failed verification] Ashington has produced a number of professional footballers, notably Jack Milburn, Jackie Milburn,[25] Jimmy Adamson, Jack Charlton, Bobby Charlton, Cecil Irwin, Colin Ayre, David Thompson, Chris Adamson, Martin Taylor, Peter Ramage, Brian Carolin and Mark Cullen.

Property developer Sir John Hall, former Chairman and Life President of Newcastle United Football Club, was born in North Seaton village on the outskirts of the town in 1933.

Mike Norris, current head coach of Portland Thorns FC, was born in Ashington.