The village of Cox Green, on the banks of the Wear has a footbridge that replaced the Barmston Ferry which closed in 1956. Washington I.C.I. chemical works was once near the north side of the river but now the new town of Washington covers the area and the footbridge provides a link to it. Riverside walks on both sides between Sunderland and Fatfield pass close by.
Cox Green is a small residential village with a pub and until 1964 had a station on the Sunderland - Durham railway. Nearby on the hill to the southeast is the striking Penshaw Monument of 1844, dedicated to the first Earl of Durham, John George Lambton. (see picture below).