March 31, 2010 Copthorne Hotel

Taken on this mornings ride into work, the Copthorne Hotel on the Newcastle Quayside taken from the Gateshead side of the river just near the High Level Bridge.
The hotel sits between the High level and Queen Elizabeth (Metro) bridge.
You can see lots of flotsam on the river from the big storm that passed through the Upper Tyne valley yesterday swelling the River to a point where it nearly flooded the Quayside in Newcastle - It did wash lots of material down the river and out to sea.

March 30, 2010 Central Station

A wet and cold Central Station in Newcastle - witing foir my train to York I captured this shot which once again shows the Castle Keep but this time looking east.

The station was designed by John Dobson for two companies, York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR) and Newcastle and Carlisle Railway (N&CR). YN&BR merged with other companies in 1854 to form North Eastern Railway (NER), which later absorbed N&CR in 1862. The station was constructed in collaboration with Robert Stephenson (also responsible for the High Level Bridge) between 1845 and 1850. The opening ceremony, attended by Queen Victoria, took place on 29 August 1850. 

March 28, 2010 Tyne Bridge & Castle Keep

Looking west from the road deck of the Tyne bridge with the Castle keep after which the City is named in the background.
The Castle Keep of Newcastle upon Tyne was built by Henry II between 1168-1178, it is one of the finest surviving examples of a Norman Keep in the country.

It stands within a site that also contains: an early motte and bailey castle built by Robert Curthose, the son of William the Conqueror: an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and a Roman Fort (Pons Aelius).

March 27. 2010 All Saints

All Saints Church Newcastle with Bede House in view - this picture was taken from the Tyne Bridge. This church stands on the summit of a steep bank, which rises abruptly from the river Tyne. On three sides the scite is considerably elevated, which would add much to the general view of the structure were it less obstructed by dwelling-houses. It consists of an ellipse, the conjugate and transverse diameters of which are 86 feet and 72 feet; the former extending nearly in the direction of a true meridian line. At the south end is the square tower, or base of the steeple, forming the vestibule; adjoining which, on each side, are uniform wings: that on the west side containing a chapel, appropriated for morning prayer, and the services of baptism and burial; the other, on the east side, forms a spacious vestry room. The south front of the church consists of the base of the steeple, with a Doric portico in front, and the wings above-mentioned extending on each side: above, there is seen the elliptic body of the church, receding from the farther side of the steeple: and the view, in this direction, terminates in two circular projections, which respectively form the west entrance and the chancel.

March 24,2010 Newcastle Central Library

The Central Library Newcastle was demolished in 2006 and this modern glass fronted building has replaced what was a 1960s concrete block. The new library openend on 7th June 2009. Treasures from some of Newcastle’s famous sons will be on display in the Newcastle Collection exhibition area. This climate-controlled room on the sixth floor contains some of the tools and work of Thomas Bewick, plus there are artefacts from other North-East artists including Richard Collinson and the Crawhall family.

March 23, 2010 Scotswood Bridge

The Scotswood Bridge which crosses the river Tyne in the west end of the City.This is a replacement for the original bridge which was a chain stayed suspension bridge known as the Chain Bridge and made famous in the Geordie Ridley song which became the Tyneside anthem 'The Blaydon Races'.

March 21, 2010 Marine College

South Shields College is also known as marine college, it specialises in maritime studies and has a worldwide reputation for the quality of its marine training. The first-rate teaching staff offer a very wide range of knowledge, skills and experience. Most have worked in the Merchant Navy and combine their industry expertise with up-to-date teaching methods.
You can see the old planetarium dome on the right which was used for naivigation training but with modern GPS advances it became redundant and all the equipment was relocated to the Wynyard Planetarium near Stockton.

march 20,2010 South Shields Zoo

South Shields Zoo complete with Panda & Elephant ... situated just below Crossgate, straight behind Wicks, not a place many people would find but it's on the cycle highway !!

March 18, 2010 Captains Wharfe

The old dock at South Shields which now is the redeveloped Captains Wharfe housing development. The dock now has these interesting steel galleons and the other interesting fact is that at this location you can stand on the 55N meridian which passes straight through South Shields before heading across the river through Wallsend, Gosforth & Newcastle

March 17, 2010 Earl of Zetland

This is the Earl of Zetland which served as a ferry in the Shetland Islands between 1939 - 1975. It is now a floating restaurant on the Royal Quays in North Shields.

March 16, 2010 Tyne Tunnel Escalators

More of the Tyne Pedestrian Tunnel - this again is the North side of the tunnel and this is the view facing the opposite way from yesterday's photograph looking up the escalators. The tunnel has two escaltors and a lift at each end.

March 15, 2010 Tyne Tunnel

The Tyne pedestrian tunnel is in fact two tunnels - one for pedestrians and one for cyclists - You can see I use the right one !! This is the view from the North end of the tunnel looking south. You can almost see my picture here. And here .... but only my picture has my bike in it !!

March 14, 2010 Tyne Ferry

Two Ferries in fact taken from North Shields Ferry Landing this afternoon - the little one is the
Cross Tyne Ferry which runs from South Shields to North Shields every 15 minutes on the hour and half hour heading South and on the quarter hours heading North.
The big ferry is heading for Isjmuiden which is the Port of Amsterdam

March 13, 2010 Cormorant on Tyne

Anyone who visits the Tyne regularly will be familiar with the sight of cormorants flying up & down the river. I managed to capture this one resting on a platform in the river near to Dunston Staithes.

March 12, 2010 Bill Quay Farm

This is Bill quay City farm and these are Longhorn Cattle which are raised at the farm.The farm was set up in the mid 1980's and is situated between Hebburn and Gateshead on the South Bank of the Tyne with stunning views across to Walker & Wallsend.

March 11, 2010 Dunston Staithes

Dunston Staithes were opened in 1893 as a structure for loading coal from the North Durham coalfield onto ships. In the 1920s 140,000 tons of coal per week were loaded from the Staiths, and they continued to be used until the 1970s. They were finally closed and partially dismantled in 1980.



Dunston Staithes are a listed building and a scheduled Ancient Monument - unfortunately a section was burned down in 2003 and public access has been stopped since the 1990s however at least 3/4 of the staithes remain.

March 10, 2010 Haymarket Metro

The revamped Haymarket Metro Station which is really looking very swanky. It looks like a huge Bullseye !

Haymarket is Tyne and Wear Metro’s deepest underground station, and the second busiest on the 48-mile network, with more than six million passengers a year. After nearly 30 years’ use, the station has been refurbished below ground and the original circular surface building of 1980 has been replaced by an eye-catching four storey steel and glass building which provides better facilities for passengers and creates additional retail, leisure and office space on its upper floors. The two-year, £20 million redevelopment is the first stage in Metro’s £300 million modernisation programme led by Nexus, which owns and manages the entire system.

March 09, 2010 Goose & Elephant

Taken yesterday on a lovely morning - this is the marina at Felling on the river Tyne - for those who know the area its just near the Elephant on Tyne and behind the Friars Goose.
Friars Goose was on old Chemical Works in the last Century producing glass and soap from whale oil amongst other things. Part of the old alkali works remains which I will post sometime.

March 08, 2010 King Edward VII Bridge

The view looking west along the river Tyne just before sunset tonight as I cycled home.
The bridge in view is one of 7 that cross the river at this part of the City - In order as you go upstream we have the Millemium Bridge, The Tyne Bridge, The Swing Bridge, The High Level Bridge, The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, The King Edward VII Bridge and the Redheugh Bridge.
This is the King Edward VII bridge which carries the GNER railway into Central Station - the bridge is a Truss Bridge built in 1906 and openend by - well bet you guessed that one, it cost £500,000 to build and is 350m long with a clearance over the river of 25m.

March 07, 2010 Byker wall

A bit of an ecclectic view from the Sage car park in Gateshead - you can see on the left the back of the Sage and the very end of the Baltic art gallery - a glimpse of the River Tyne with what looks like a big red & white ski jump behind it that is past of the Byker wall. The apartments on the right are new developments on the Gateshead Quayside. The Byker Wall is currently to be revamped having been built in mid 1970s by the architect Ralf Erskine - the Evening Chronicle published this article on the Wall which features some excellent photographs of old pictures of the wall.