Royal Diadem II

Royal Diadem II across the water from North Shields

Lighthouse

ships off-shore waiting to enter the Port of Tyne .

Flow

Flow enters the Tyne

Flow, an artwork by Owl project and Ed Carter seen   entering the River Tyne this afternoon accompanied by the Port Of Tyne's pilot cutter Bewick

Flow is a tide mill - a floating building on the River Tyne that generates its own power using a tidal water wheel. The building will  house electro acoustic musical machinery, and instruments that respond to the constantly changing environment of the river, generating sounds and data.

Flow will be free and  open to all on the River Tyne from 25 March 2012.

This project is part of Artists taking the lead, one of twelve   public art commissions funded by the UK Arts Councils for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad to help celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

mushrooms

mushrooms in Blaydon Burn Nature Reserve, a few miles west of Newcastle upon Tyne

navigation lights

Navigation Lights on the River Tyne near Bill Quay

steps

steps on the breakwater  at South Shields on the River Tyne

invoices

In the North East Maritime Trust in South Shields, 19th Century invoices pertaining to River Tyne establishments. 

Harbour Master

The Port of Tyne's Harbour Master's launch passing the Akzo Nobel works on the River Tyne.

The RMS Mauretania

In a house on the banks of the River Tyne a replica of a  painting of the RMS Mauretania is underway. The original painting The Mauretania leaving Tyne 1907 was painted by T. M. Hemy can now be seen at The Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The Mauretania was built on the River Tyne at the Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson  yard in Wallsend . She was launched on 20 September 1906 and at that time was the largest and fastest ship in the world. She held the speed record across the North Atlantic for twenty-two years.

mud flats

Mud flats exposed at low tide on the River Tyne near Lemington.

a bend in the river

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HMS Tyne

HMS Tyne was on a courtesy visit to the River Tyne at the weekend. She is the 6th ship in the Royal Navy to have been named after the River Tyne.

HMS Tyne serves as a  fishery protection unit within the United Kingdom's waters along with her two sister ships Mersey & Severn.

Hexhamistan?

click picture to enlarge

A poppy field in the Tyne Valley on a hot but dull afternoon. The poppy is primarily grown in the UK for the production of opium from its seeds for legal pharmaceutical purposes. Other uses include the seeds being used as pastry toppings and the flowers being used for ornamental purposes. Seed yields from poppies are typically 1.5 tonnes per hectare.( source, DEFRA)

redevelopment

demolition is taking place on the north bank of the River Tyne in North Shields

The Crestway

The Crestway, seen here near North Shields, has been dredging the River Tyne, on behalf of The Port of Tyne, for over a month now, keeping the river clear for shipping access to the increasingly busy port.

The Crestway is a trailing suction hopper dredger  and was launched at the IHC Merwede yard in Kinderdijk, Netherlands  on Friday 16 May 2008.

The comings and goings of the Crestway and other shipping movements  in and out of the Tyne can be followed  on the Port of Tyne website

Tyne Cranes

click photo to enlarge

The River Tyne and its near neighbour the River Wear  once formed  the largest ship building area in the world. Sadly, the industry wilted under cheaper competition from overseas , and cranes like those shown here, which  once lined the banks of the Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and North Shields, are few and far between.

700 years...

....of crossing the Tyne. A sign at North Shields Ferry terminal.

'Roman' along the river

Why 'Roman'?  Well, this is on the River Tyne with the Roman forts of Segedunum and Arbeia nearby, but on opposite sides of the river.. a great location to go roaming.

Shields Ferry

One of the Shields' Ferries on a slipway for maintenance  at South Shields. Across the waters of the River Tyne can be seen a fishing boat tied up at North Shields Fish Quay and above that is the tall white building called the High Light, once a navigational aid to ships entering the Tyne, but now a private residence.