Heritage Open Day: BHBG, in the Ouseburn Valley, is one of Newcastle’s oldest unconsecrated burial places, where 40,000 people were laid to rest from the 17th–19th centuries. Discover its history via an explorater's guide, short talks, and/or interactive activities. Ballast Hills Burial Ground (BHBG), in the Ouseburn Valley within the Byker Ward, is one of Newcastle’s oldest surviving nonconformist (dissenters’) burial spaces. Known for its affordable burial fees, it became the final resting place for many of the city’s working poor, including people of different faiths. In 1929, the gravestones were removed and re-laid to form the circular path seen today, while the bodies remain undisturbed, along with most of their stories.