The sun was shining this morning and Mick spent some time trying, without success, to photograph a lovely Robin, which was coming to the feeder in the back garden.
Having given up we decided to go and have a look at the Angel of the North.
The Angel of the North is a massive contemporary sculpture, designed by Antony Gormley, which is located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. It is a steel sculpture of an angel, 20 metres tall, with wings measuring 54 metres across.
Due to its exposed location, the sculpture was built to withstand winds of over 100 mph (160 km/h) and foundations containing 600 tonnes of concrete anchor the sculpture to rock 70 feet (21 m) below. The sculpture was built at Hartlepool Steel Fabrications using weather resistant steel.
It was made in three parts with the body weighing 108 tonnes and two wings weighing 50 tonnes each and it was brought to its site by road. It took five hours for the body to be transported from its construction site in Hartlepool, up the A19 to the site.
The cross sections and skeleton are made of 50mm thick steel.
It is so big it is difficult to get back far enough to take a photograph that includes it all.
Getting hungry we then called in at the Lintzford Garden Centre just off the A694 near the river Derwent for a coffee and a snack.
After our refreshments we then went into the Derwent Valley to see if we could spot Red Kites which had been released between 2004 and 2007 as part of the the Northern Kites Project. This project introduced 94 red kites into the lower Derwent Valley in the hope that they would reestablish the bird there. The project has had some success.
The organisation now responsible for the project is the Friends of Red Kites who monitor nests and record Red Kite activity in the area.
As the weather was quite warm with little wind we didn't manage to spot any despite our efforts.
Wildlife watching can be very unpredictable.
Having given up we decided to go and have a look at the Angel of the North.
The Angel of the North is a massive contemporary sculpture, designed by Antony Gormley, which is located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. It is a steel sculpture of an angel, 20 metres tall, with wings measuring 54 metres across.
Due to its exposed location, the sculpture was built to withstand winds of over 100 mph (160 km/h) and foundations containing 600 tonnes of concrete anchor the sculpture to rock 70 feet (21 m) below. The sculpture was built at Hartlepool Steel Fabrications using weather resistant steel.
It was made in three parts with the body weighing 108 tonnes and two wings weighing 50 tonnes each and it was brought to its site by road. It took five hours for the body to be transported from its construction site in Hartlepool, up the A19 to the site.
The cross sections and skeleton are made of 50mm thick steel.
It is so big it is difficult to get back far enough to take a photograph that includes it all.
Getting hungry we then called in at the Lintzford Garden Centre just off the A694 near the river Derwent for a coffee and a snack.
After our refreshments we then went into the Derwent Valley to see if we could spot Red Kites which had been released between 2004 and 2007 as part of the the Northern Kites Project. This project introduced 94 red kites into the lower Derwent Valley in the hope that they would reestablish the bird there. The project has had some success.
The organisation now responsible for the project is the Friends of Red Kites who monitor nests and record Red Kite activity in the area.
As the weather was quite warm with little wind we didn't manage to spot any despite our efforts.
Wildlife watching can be very unpredictable.
The Angel of the North 
50mm steel bracing
This is a rather strange looking Angel as the wings are more like the wings of an aeroplane that the normal wings one associates with angels.
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