After more light rain during the night, we awoke to a warm slightly muggy day.
Davina and Roy had booked a "Quay to Sea" 3 hour cruise to see the changing face of the River Tyne from the best vantage point in town, the river.
We caught the Metro into the city and then walked through part of the city where we saw Kittiwakes nesting on many of the buildings. They were making a terrible mess on the pavement below and council workers were busy pressure washing the poo away.
When we reached the Quay we boarded to boat and got under way..
The cruise took us under the Gateshead Millenium Bridge which opened especially for us to enjoy the panorama of the Tyne Gorge before returning downriver as far as the river mouth.
There were several bridges of interest sitting very close to each other near the Quay.
The Tyne bridge is still by far the best known feature of Tyneside. Opened in 1929 by King George V and built by Dorman Long of Middlesborough, it served as a model for the similar, but very much larger Sydney Harbour Bridge which was also designed and built by Dorman Long of Middlesborough. Bet you didn't know that?
Lowest of the bridges is the Swing Bridge of 1876, which leads directly into the heart of the Newcastle Quayside below the castle keep. Designed by the famous Tyneside engineer William Armstrong (1810-1900), it is located on the site of the Roman and medieval bridge.
During the construction of this swing bridge, two Roman altars were dredged from the river dedicated to the gods Neptune and Oceanus. They would have belonged to a shrine built to protect the Roman bridge of Pons Aelius from the tidal Tyne.
The King Edward bridge was built in 1906 by Cleveland Bridge of Darlington, while the Redheugh and Queen Elizabeth II bridges are more modern structures, the former built of concrete the latter a steel structure used by the Metro system.
Oldest of Newcastle’s Tyne bridges, is the High Level Bridge which was erected in 1848 to the designs of Robert Stephenson and it comprises two tiers for road and rail. One of the best views of Newcastle can be obtained from on board a train, as it crosses this bridge on the main London to Edinburgh line.
The most recent of the bridges is of course the beautiful Gateshead Millennium Bridge which is for the use of cyclists and pedestrians only. Opened in September 2001, the whole bridge can be tilted by 40 degrees to allow ships and boats to pass underneath. It is also self cleaning as when it reaches it's highest point of tilt, all the rubbish that people have dropped on the footpaths falls into the river!
On the cruise we saw the legendary shipyards of Tyneside, the International Ferry Terminals, the Port of Tyne, the Fish Quay and the great views of the river mouth, including Tynemouth Castle and Priory, the memorial to Admiral Lord Collingwood and the sandy beaches of South Shields. The cruise turned at the piers, and returned to Newcastle's Quayside.
The cruise was complimented by a very interesting live commentary by a female announcer whose Geordie accent was such that even Lyn could understand her. When we reached the piers and turned around the commentary was replaced with Geordie songs and all the oldies on the cruise sang along, much to our amusement.
Weatherwise it had been very warm sitting on the boat waiting to depart but once we got under way, the breeze and the patchy cloud cooled us down a little bit. When we reached the piers before the open sea it became very cool for a while until we turned and headed back upriver.
The cruise was very much enjoyed by all.
When we returned to the Quay we disembarked and caught a bus to Gateshead to have a coffee and visit the Sage. The Sage Gateshead is a centre for musical education, performance and conferences, located on the south bank of the River Tyne. It opened in 2004 and was certainly spectacular.
Unfortunately we couldn't go into the theatre part as some recording was going on.
After leaving the Sage we caught the Metro back home and in the evening we went out to a nice restaurant for dinner.
Davina and Roy had booked a "Quay to Sea" 3 hour cruise to see the changing face of the River Tyne from the best vantage point in town, the river.
We caught the Metro into the city and then walked through part of the city where we saw Kittiwakes nesting on many of the buildings. They were making a terrible mess on the pavement below and council workers were busy pressure washing the poo away.
When we reached the Quay we boarded to boat and got under way..
The cruise took us under the Gateshead Millenium Bridge which opened especially for us to enjoy the panorama of the Tyne Gorge before returning downriver as far as the river mouth.
There were several bridges of interest sitting very close to each other near the Quay.
The Tyne bridge is still by far the best known feature of Tyneside. Opened in 1929 by King George V and built by Dorman Long of Middlesborough, it served as a model for the similar, but very much larger Sydney Harbour Bridge which was also designed and built by Dorman Long of Middlesborough. Bet you didn't know that?
Lowest of the bridges is the Swing Bridge of 1876, which leads directly into the heart of the Newcastle Quayside below the castle keep. Designed by the famous Tyneside engineer William Armstrong (1810-1900), it is located on the site of the Roman and medieval bridge.
During the construction of this swing bridge, two Roman altars were dredged from the river dedicated to the gods Neptune and Oceanus. They would have belonged to a shrine built to protect the Roman bridge of Pons Aelius from the tidal Tyne.
The King Edward bridge was built in 1906 by Cleveland Bridge of Darlington, while the Redheugh and Queen Elizabeth II bridges are more modern structures, the former built of concrete the latter a steel structure used by the Metro system.
Oldest of Newcastle’s Tyne bridges, is the High Level Bridge which was erected in 1848 to the designs of Robert Stephenson and it comprises two tiers for road and rail. One of the best views of Newcastle can be obtained from on board a train, as it crosses this bridge on the main London to Edinburgh line.
The most recent of the bridges is of course the beautiful Gateshead Millennium Bridge which is for the use of cyclists and pedestrians only. Opened in September 2001, the whole bridge can be tilted by 40 degrees to allow ships and boats to pass underneath. It is also self cleaning as when it reaches it's highest point of tilt, all the rubbish that people have dropped on the footpaths falls into the river!
On the cruise we saw the legendary shipyards of Tyneside, the International Ferry Terminals, the Port of Tyne, the Fish Quay and the great views of the river mouth, including Tynemouth Castle and Priory, the memorial to Admiral Lord Collingwood and the sandy beaches of South Shields. The cruise turned at the piers, and returned to Newcastle's Quayside.
The cruise was complimented by a very interesting live commentary by a female announcer whose Geordie accent was such that even Lyn could understand her. When we reached the piers and turned around the commentary was replaced with Geordie songs and all the oldies on the cruise sang along, much to our amusement.
Weatherwise it had been very warm sitting on the boat waiting to depart but once we got under way, the breeze and the patchy cloud cooled us down a little bit. When we reached the piers before the open sea it became very cool for a while until we turned and headed back upriver.
The cruise was very much enjoyed by all.
When we returned to the Quay we disembarked and caught a bus to Gateshead to have a coffee and visit the Sage. The Sage Gateshead is a centre for musical education, performance and conferences, located on the south bank of the River Tyne. It opened in 2004 and was certainly spectacular.
Unfortunately we couldn't go into the theatre part as some recording was going on.
After leaving the Sage we caught the Metro back home and in the evening we went out to a nice restaurant for dinner.
A column topped with a statue of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, (referred to locally as Grey's Monument) has a prominent location in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Nothing to do with the tea!
Cheap touring option
Vinyl LP's are coming back in. £21 ($33) for a Beatles Rubber Soul LP. Damn, should have kept those LP's after all!
Kittywakes nesting in the buildings
The Bridges
Millenium Bridge
This is not Geoff from Wales. This is a Geordie we met on the boat.
Lyn chatting to the Geoff lookalike and his Mrs.
Ocean going ship, Newcastle to Holland
Swans and cygnets on the Tyne River
Two piers, Tynemouth
Car carrier transporting export Nissans made in the UK
Hydraulic lifting mechanism for the Millenium Bridge
Bridge pins on which the structure rotates
The English Umpires in the cricket match don't match the quality of the bridge mechanism. They are doing what the Americans did best during the America's cup competition, giving OUT when the ball does not even touch the bat. Cheats!!!
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