Whitburn is a village in South Tyneside, in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear on the coast of North East England. It is located 3 miles north of the city of Sunderland and 4 miles south of the town of South Shields. Historically, Whitburn is part of County Durham. Other nearby population centres include Seaburn, Cleadon and Marsden. The village lies on a south-facing slope, part of Durham's Magnesian Limestone plateau, which overlooks Sunderland.