There and Back

A day in Newcastle, and of course, across the river to Gateshead. Linking the City of Newcastle with the town of Gateshead, the Tyne Bridge is the most celebrated of all the Tyne bridges. Though only opened in 1928, it quickly won a place in the hearts of local people. It is an icon, both a symbol of Tyneside's industrial past and its recent re-generation. It has featured in films, on television and been the subject of thousands of photographs. Ships from all over the world have tied up in sight of its massive steel arch and millions have passed over it, by car, lorry, bus, tram, motorcycle, bicycle and on foot. There are other similar bridges, one at nearby Wylam and famous ones in Sydney and New York but none of these can match the Tyne Bridge in the affections of Tyneside's. A new bridge had been proposed many times but in 1923 serious plans were afoot in the two councils on either side of the river to obtain the necessary powers. The bridge was by then ...

One of our main aims for this holiday was to see some of Hadrian's Wall, and so two days were spent doing just that! Traveling along the A39, we visited, and enjoyed a fair stretch of it. Unfortunately, many of the images were taken during the brightest part of the day and are rather de-saturated. At least some record shots! In A.D. 122 the Emperor Hadrian ordered his soldiers to build a wall between Roman Britain and Scotland. The wall ran from Wallsend in the east to Bowness on the Solway Firth. You can still walk along parts of Hadrian's Wall today. In A.D. 140, the Romans added another wall further north. It's called the Antonine Wall. The area called Steel Rigg is along some of the most scenic sections of Hadrian’s Wall.  Part of the Roman Fort at Birdoswald, with (BELOW), some beautiful scenery nearby.  A few facts about Birdoswald:  Birdoswald was once an area of bog and forest. The Romans had to clear and drain the land before build...

On the start of our Northumberland holiday, I guess that this icon needs no introduction! However, a little history is in order. The Angel of the North is a contemporary sculpture, designed by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Completed in 1998, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, 20 metres (66 ft) tall, with wings measuring 54 metres (177 ft) across. The wings do not stand straight sideways, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward; Gormley did this to create "a sense of embrace". The angel, like much of Gormley's other work, is based on a cast of his own body. It stands on the hill of Birtley, at Low Eighton in Lamesley, overlooking the A1 and A167 roads into Tyneside, and the East Coast Main Line rail route, south of the site of Team Colliery. Work began on the project in 1994, and cost £800,000. Most of the project funding was provided by the National Lottery. The Angel was installed on 15 February 1998. Due to its exposed...

These images were taken over a weekend when we did a tour of these local villages. You can see what a wonderful part of the world in which we live!. The Lavenham houses are not all named but give a sample of the village in general. Unfortunately, because of tourism, the streets are often clogged with traffic but that is the price we pay in today's world.  Lavenham is one of the United Kingdom’s best-kept medieval villages with over three hundred listed buildings.  The Crooked House The Swan Hotel. The building started life as a guildhall. It belonged to the Guild of the Blessed Virgin, one of the four medieval guilds in Lavenham. It was converted into a Wool Hall in the late seventeenth century. It was restored by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll around 1911 who then transferred it to Mrs Culver and it became the Railway Women's Convalescent Home. It was incorporated into the Swan Hotel in 1963. The Guildhall, also known as the Guildhall...