Tynemouth Long Sands

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Tynemouth Long Sands stretch for about half a mile from Cullercoats at the Northern end, pictured here, to the rocky cliffs of King Edwards Bay to the South.

Tynemouth snow

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Tyemouth was hit with the heaviest snow of winter overnight; this picture shows part of the Priory ruins and the now closed Coastguard station

All Saints

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All Saints Church was built between 1786-96 to replace a medieval church on the site; the foundation-stone of the church was laid by the Reverend James Stephen Lushington on Monday the 14th of August, 1786. The church was was deconsecrated in 1961. This picture was taken recently before the snow melted.

faces at Gusto

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The Gusto restaurant on Newcastle's Quayside is one of a chain of seven around the UK . http://www.gustorestaurants.uk.com/ This picture shows an internal feature there.

Arctic Terns head for the Farnes.

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Right now thousands of these fascinating birds are beginning a very long migration from Antarctic waters to the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast and beyond .

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The Arctic Tern has a remarkable migration pattern which involves flying from its Arctic breeding grounds during spring to the Antarctic and back again. It lands every one to three years to nest and once it has finished nesting it begins another long migration south.

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The average Arctic Tern will travel about 1.5 million miles during a lifespan of around 30 years. Arctic Terns mate for life, and usually return to the same colony to breed.

R.N.L.B. "Grace Darling".

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The Royal National Lifeboat Institution ( RNLI www.rnli.org.uk/ ) is the UK and Ireland charity which " saves lives at sea". It is an independent charity, funded by voluntary donations.' its lifeboats are crewed entirely by volunteers. It is regularly one of the 10 best supported charities in the UK.

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This photo shows the RNLI vessel "Grace Darling" which is based at the fishing village of Seahouses on the Northumberland coast. It was called out on 32 occasions during 2009.

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This lifeboat pictured is named after local heroine Grace Darling who, when 22 years old , risked her life in an open boat to rescue 9 survivors from the SS Forfarshire which was wrecked on the Farne Islands on 7 September 1838. At that time Grace's father was the lighthouse keeper at the Longstone Lighthouse . Grace was immortalised in a poem by William Wordsworth.

Holy Island

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This tidal island lies off the Northumberland coast in the North-East of England

It is the site of the ruined monastery of Lindisfarne which was founded by the Irish born Saint Aiden who was sent from Iona in Scotland in around AD 635.

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In the distance of this photo can bee seen Lindisfarne Castle which dates from Tudor times and which was re-designed for use as a private home by Sir Edwin Lutyens . The castle is now in the hands of the National Trust and is open to visitors.

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The islands main industry for many years was fishing but is now tourism.

The Priory Theatre, Tynemouth

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The Priory Theatre is located in Percy Street, Tynemouth and seats around 200; it stages several amateur productions a year including a pantomime.

The Grand Hotel, Tynemouth

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Tynemouth, became a fashionable seaside resort in the 1800's partly due to the patronage of the Duchess of Northumberland who had a summer residence built their in 1872; that building is now the Grand Hotel, pictured here.

Common Wheels Car Club

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Common Wheels (http://www.optionc.co.uk/) is a car club based in several UK cities where members can hire cars for £4 per hour. One of their vehicles is shown here on Newcastle's Quayside, to the rear can be seen the JP Turnbull building and the Cooperage, one of Newcastle's oldest buildings .

Town Moor

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The Town Moor is around 400 hectares of open space within the city boundary of Newcastle upon Tyne; it is used mainly as pasture land. which is an unusual feature set against the urban landscape which surrounds it. Two artificial mounds were created by the spoil from urban demolition and re-generation in the 60's and these now provide a great recreational facility for winter sports when snowfall levels permits.

Sage and snow

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the Sage concert hall and the Tyne and High Level bridges can be seen here. The snow, thankfully, has gone for now but it was very picturesque while it lasted

The Baltic

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http://www.balticmill.com/

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a recent view from outside The Sage concert hall; the Tyne Bridge and St Nicholas Cathedral can be seen in the distance

winter fall-out

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the shattered remnants of cheap plastic sledges and toboggans litter the frozen ground on Newcastle's Town Moor.

cold stairs

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Over thousands of years the River Tyne cut a gorge through layers of sandstone, mudstone and coal seams where the city of Newcastle upon Tyne now stands , as a result, stairs such these climb steeply up from the river towards the city centre.

Toon dogs

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these dogs were on the Town Moor today enjoying the snow; they are wearing coats in the
colours of the local football ( soccer) team, Newcastle United, who are sometime called The Toon which is derived from the Geordie way of saying "Going into town" which is "Gannin into toon."

Live Theatre Building

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Live Theatre is in Broad Chare, Newcastle upon Tyne , and specialises in new writing. http://www.live.org.uk/

Tyne Winter

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The coldest winter for over 25 years currently has Britain in its grip.

sitting comfortably?

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The Gibraltar Rock

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The Gibraltar Rock is a pub next to Tynemouth Castle and Priory. It has a commanding view of King Edwards Bay below.

a cold bike in Tynemouth

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the cold spell on Tyneside shows no sign of abating; this is a recent picture from Tynemouth.

Tynemouth North Pier

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an extended cold snap has kept Tyneside coated in snow and ice; this picture was taken this morning on Tynemouth North Pier. The first North Pier was opened in 1895 but was breached by a great storm in 1897. It was redesigned and rebuilt and finally completed in 1911.

Tokyo, Westgate Road

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Tokyo, a bar on Westgate Road in Newcastle, wrapped up for the festive season.

New Years Day. Tynemouth Castle

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Heavy snow fell in the North-East overnight and this morning. This picture shows Tynemouth Castle. The site has been fortified for hundreds of years being a strategic location at the mouth of the Tyne; the present castle was built in the 14th century with later additions.