Spillers Tyne Mill

The now disused Spillers' Tyne Mill was completed in 1938.

There were two main buildings which can both be seen here - the Silo designed to hold 34,000 tons of grain and the Flour Mill which also contained a warehouse and animal food mill. 

When completed, Spillers Tyne Mill was the largest flour mill in Europe and believed to be, at the time, the tallest milling building in the world. It could process 254,000 tonnes of grain annually, brought to the mill by ship via Spillers’ Quay or by rail on the track extension along Quayside.

The Mill closed in May 2006.

viewing box

the viewing box at The Baltic

Saint Mary's Lighthouse

St Mary's Lighthouse, near Whitley Bay, is on a tidal island which  is linked to the mainland by a  concrete causeway which is submerged at periods of high tide.

The lighthouse and adjacent keepers' cottages were built in 1898.  The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1984.

Kittiwake Tower

Traditionally kittiwakes, which spend most of their life out at sea,  breed on steep sided sea cliffs, but in the 1960s a small number of birds began to nest on  riverside buildings in Newcastle and Gateshead, 10 mile inland.By the 1990s the Baltic Flours Mills building had become the main focus of kittiwake breeding activity on the Tyne, supporting a colony of around 200 pairs. The redevelopment of the Baltic as an international centre for contemporary art resulted in the loss of this  breeding site for kittiwakes. 

Alternative nesting opportunities were provided for the birds with the construction of the kittiwake tower shown here, a breeding platform whih was originally located in Baltic Square near the Baltic before being moved to its permanent location on the south bank of the River Tyne at Saltmeadows.

wham bam thank you...

Wham bam thank you mam ham. A risque and suggestive  play on words from a soft drink manufacturer in an advert on a telephone box in Whitley Bay.

Royal Wedding

for an excellent analysis of the Royal Wedding click here: Royal Wedding

This artwork was created by Lydia Leith

street party

a local street is to be closed tomorrow because of a street party in aid of a wedding, otherwise known as The Royal Wedding. For an excellent analysis of the event, please read this from Der Spiegel in Germany: The Royal Wedding

Conversation Piece

Spanish artist Juan Muñoz (1953-2001), came to prominence in the mid 1980s with his sculptural installations that placed human-like figures in sometimes unusual environments. His Conversation Piece shown here was installed at South Shields in 1999 and consists of 22 bronze life size figures; one of which is seen here ready for a bike ride.

sandcastles

Sandcastles by Richard Broderick on Whitley Bay promenade

bike

Near the Cluny at the Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, yesterday

Easter Sunday

 part of a huge crowd of young people at the Ouseburn artistic quarter enjoying unseasonably warm weather in Newcastle upon Tyne today

Fleet

In South Shields, Fleet by Irene Brown is a collection of stainless steel collier ships in full sail set in the water of Market Dock, overlooking the Tyne. The brightly polished ships reflect patterns of both moving sky and water and give the impression of a fleet heading out to sea. The work is part of the Art on the Riverside programme and this piece reflects South Tyneside's maritime heritage and coastal setting.( description from www.newcastlegateshead.com )

windows

riverside apartments in North Shields  on the River Tyne

Buee at the Side

a flower at Buee at the Side, a delightful Bistro on Newcastle's Quayside.

Pockerley Old Hall

Two ' house- maids' at Pockerley Old Hall   , Beamish Open air Museum in County Durham

Ayesha

this is the nameplate of a 1925 Aveling & Porter Steam Roller (TN216) called Ayesha, and was seen recently at Beamish Museum

Pizzas Kebabs Burgers and Fish & Chips

a fast food emporium at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea  Northumberland

printshop

in the printshop at Beamish Museum, note the c1859 Columbian printing press to the rear

a window at Beamish

A window at Beamish, the Living Museum of the North

Alnmouth and the American War of Independence.

Alnmouth  is a  village on Northumberland's North Sea coast. Given its' geography Alnmouth played an unusual cameo role in America's War of Independence. click here for more information.

Hit Me!

a 'Golfer's warning gong' at Warkworth Golf Course, Northumberland.

Miner's Lamps

Miner's Lamps at the wonderful Beamish Living Museum of the North. Beamish is a must visit in County Durham  for locals and tourists alike.

A history of miner's lamps can be found here.

The Big Pink

no, not The Big Pink  electro-rock band from London or Katie Price's tour bus but a local bus service in Newcastle upon Tyne.

birds

international understanding

 

photo by Jasmine

some visitors to Newcastle pleased with their photo

Dunstanburgh Castle

The ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle  , dating from 1313, are set on cliffs above the North Sea.

The first picture was taken when the artist had just set up his easel, the second was taken later in the day when he had almost completed a work in pastels.

lobster creels

at Beadnell, Northumberland

lobster creels

Lobster creels are a common site at harbours along the Northumberland coast. Creels have opening which allows lobsters to enter a tunnel of netting to get to bait set in the middle, once inside the creel  a lobster is trapped and unable to get out. A typical modern  creel is  constructed of wood, nylon rope, wire and plastic.

 Lobster pots are  dropped to the sea floor  and  marked by buoys which float at sea level and allow the fishermen to retrieve them later.

got a light?

this was taken at 5th Avenue Flowers on Newcastle's Quayside. Maybe someone is a Kate Moss fan? In any event  5th Avenue are a superb florists and an asset to the Quayside.

Tyne Kittiwakes

The  kittiwake colony in Newcastle upon Tyne  is believed to be the most inland one of its kind anywhere in the world.

Kittiwakes are  a type of gull, which usually nest on cliffs but they now have a large annual nesting colony on the Tyne Bridge and surrounding buildings. The first record of kittiwakes breeding on man-made structures on Tyneside was on a North Shields building in 1949.

Once the young have fledged the colony spends the rest of the time far out to sea. They are a fascinating sight and sound above the Quayside but the problem is they leave an awful mess of guano as can be seen from this picture taken from a pavement under the Tyne Bridge. 

The City Council is considering ways of deterring the colony from returning in future because of this mess and the perceived threat it poses to Quayside business.