the Groyne, South Shields

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The Groyne Pier was built in 1882 to stop the adjacent beach being swept into the river Tyne by the incoming tides.

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Emerson Chambers, Blackett Street

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Emerson Chambers in Blackett Street was designed by architect Benjamin Simpson and was constructed in 1903 ; it is currently occupied by Waterstones book shop.

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Blackett Street was built in 1824 along the line of the northern stretch of the old city wall.

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Old Wooden Dolly

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North Shields, a fishing port on the north bank of the Tyne, has a long tradition of “Wooden Dollies”. In 1814 the female figurehead from a collier ship was placed at the entrance to Custom House Quay and stood there until 1850. This “Wooden Dolly” was used by sailors as a source of good-luck charms and they cut pieces of wood from her to take with them on voyages. A succession of Wooden Dollies followed and in in 1992 a sixth Wooden Dolly, as seen in this photo, was placed where the first four had been, at the entrance to Custom House Quay, and next to the Prince of Wales public house.
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Newcastle sightseeing bus

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one of the best ways to see any city for the first time is from an open-topped sightseeing bus; the Newcastle tour takes about one hour and the bus pictured here is shown passing the new £40 million Central Library.

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Tyne Bridge

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A major sewer replacement is underway on South Shore Road between the Tyne Bridge and the Sage; completion is due in mid-September .

Alnwick Castle

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The castle dates back to 1096 and was built to defend the northern English border against Scottish invaders. It has withstood several sieges . It was bought in 1309 By Henry de Percy and has been owned by the Percy family, the Earls and later the Dukes of Northumberland ever since. The Percy family have played a significant part in the history of England fighting for and against the reigning Monarchs on various occasions.
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The castle is open to the public during the summer. After Windsor Castle it is the second largest inhabited castle in England; it has featured in several movies, most notably in recent time as Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter series.
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Monarch of the Glen

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Monarch of the Glen as seen in a bar window on The Side in Newcastle. Also a very successful BBC TV drama created by North-East writer, Mike Chaplin. The series began in February 2000, and its seventh and final series was broadcast in 2005 .
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Haltwhistle, Centre of Britain

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click to enlarge

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Haltwhistle is a small town in Northumberland; it's name is derived from Hal-twysel, meaning "a meeting of the streams by the hill". It has a population of about 3,500 and claims to be at the exact geographic centre of Britain ( enlarge the picture for the explanation)

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Allendale Brewery

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The Allendale Brewing Company http://www.allendalebrewery.com/ is based in Allendale, South West Northumberland and only commenced brewing as recently as 2006. It is the first commercial brewery in Allendale since the closure of the original Allendale Brewery in 1887. It's ales are named after local birds and Allendale events, including Curlews Return, Golden Plover, Black Grouse, Tar Bar'l Stout and Allendale Wolf.
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Josephine Esther Salisse

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this remarkable memorial is in All Saints Cemetery in Newcastle upon Tyne

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Smokey Joe's

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. photo by Jasmine

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a second hand emporium on Pilgrim Street

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Shopping trolleys in the sky

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Sir Eduardo Paolozzi's sculpture 'Vulcan' ,the God of the Forge, in Central Square Newcastle, has been replaced , temporarily, with a collection of vertically stacked shopping trolleys . The sculpture, called DNA DL90, represents a DNA double helix and is by artist Abigail Fallis. The DNA sculpture will be one of a number of works to fill the space while Vulcan is on tour.
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Cardinal Basil Hulme

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George Haliburton Hume was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1923 and became Archbishop of Westminster in1976, serving in that position until his death in 1999. he was a keen follower of Newcastle United FC. This statue of him is next to St Mary's catholic cathedral in Newcastle.

the Old North Light, North Shields

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The Old North Light was built inside Clifford's Fort, a defensive installation guarding the mouth of the Tyne, between 1727-33.
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The Leazes End

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the final tributes laid in memory of Sir Bobby Robson at the Leazes End of St. James Park, Newcastle, were removed on Sunday.
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Newcastle Central Station

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The Central Staion was designed by John Dobson for what was then the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway Company. It was built between 1845 and 1850 and was officially opened by Queen Victoria on 29 August 1850.

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Venus Fly Trap

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This lady was chasing the human fly shown yesterday

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Quayside fly

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this human fly was seen hovering around the Sunday Market on Newcastle Quayside today.

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Dock Masters House

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North Tyneside Council has transformed the old Dock Masters House into three new business units, all of which have been let this year.
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The Hartley Mining Disaster 1862

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The memorial at Earsdon church
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In 1862, a pit disaster occurred which devastated the Northumberland mining community of New Hartley. 199 men were killed at the Hester Pit when a metal pumping beam broke and fell down the only shaft trapping the men and boys below. These were the days when boys worked underground.
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This tragedy resulted in legislation which banned one-shaft mines.
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police kiosk

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Peacock Butterfly.

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the Peacock butterfly, Inachis io, on the Northumberland coast at the weekend.

www.butterfly-conservation.org/

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The Turbinia

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Turbinia was the world's first first steam turbine driven vessel. She was designed by Charles Parsons (1854 - 1931) who invented the steam turbine in 1884, Turbinia was built at the yard of Brown and Hood at Wallsend on the River Tyne; she was launched on 2nd August 1894 and was by far the fastest ship in the world at that time with a top speed of 34.5 knots (63.9 km/h) .
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The vessel can still be seen at The Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.
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Dance City at Greys Monument

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Dance City is an arts organisation for the North East of England "which nurtures social transformation and artistic excellence through creative movement." www.dancecity.co.uk/
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rescue at sea, Newton, Northumberland

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this afternoon off Newton on the Sea, the RNLI to the rescue.
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Sir Bobby Robson RIP

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18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009
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