The Kittiwakes of the Tyne

Tags

Gateshead, Kittiwake Tower, Kittiwakes, Newcastle, Tyne, Tyne Bridge

As I walked around Newcastle, especially near the river, I couldn’t help noticing that there seemed to be an awful lot of ‘seagulls’ around, and that at times they made a heck of a row.  Personally, I loved them, and couldn’t help admiring how they made their nests in the most ingenious of places:

Under the Tyne Bridge

When I reached the top of the Baltic Flour Mills, now the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, my breath was taken away with surprise:

I had already been thinking that no doubt the powers-that-be spent thousands of pounds trying to get rid of them, but I was delighted to be absolutely wrong:

Impossible to read here, and difficult even on site, but broadly the panel indicates that Newcastle Gateshead is proud to assist the kittiwakes, and does so through a partnership of local authorities and wildlife bodies.

Kittiwakes usually nest in sea-cliffs from March to August (the rest of the year they are at sea) but these were used to nesting on the Baltic building. When this was redeveloped and finally opened in 2002, a Kittiwake Tower was built a little down-river for them to move to. Some did, but many returned to the Baltic building, and even more continue to nest on and around the Tyne Bridge. This is the most inland colony of kittiwakes in the world. More information here.

Young kittiwake preparing to fly off to sea.

For me it was a thrilling discovery, and it’s so good to learn that these kittiwakes, which bring so such pleasure, are being protected.  Searching for information on them does however sadly indicate that not everyone agrees with me.

Next post: on to Glasgow.

A second day in Newcastle

Tags

Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Baltic Flour Mills, Bessy Surtees, Charles Avison, Charles Avison Bessie Surtees, Charles I, Maddison Memorial, Newcastle, Newcastle Cathedral, Newcastle Millennium Bridge, Newcastle Railway Station, Northumbria University, Sage Gateshead

The view from my hotel bedroom window was not brilliant, but there did seem to be one interesting building over to the right.

Having checked out of my hotel, I was able to look for its frontage, and found this:

I am afraid I had never heard of Avison. But found out more here.

My walk today took me past more splendid 19th century buildings, including the Post Office.

Next was a visit to the cathedral, a huge 13th to 15th century church which only became a cathedral in 1882.

At that point some very fine neo-gothic alabaster work was added, among many other things.

The Cathedral’s own hand-out describes the mid-17th century Maddison Memorial as its ‘most attractive and lively monument’. It commemorates three generations of the family.

Once upon a time, Newcastle had, of course, a new castle: here is its keep.

I moved on towards the River Tyne, via the mediaeval Sandhills area,

and was amused to see this:

Bessie’s elopement with John, who came from a poor family, was not approved by her own, but they came round later…

Moving on towards the quayside, I wondered what this building was.  It made me think of a cinema.

It turned out to be the Law Courts.

I was now on the quayside, and got my first glimpse of Newcastle’s famous Millennium Bridge, swung upwards at that point.

Now, I had heard of Paris Plage when I lived in France, but was very surprised to come across Newcastle’s Quayside Seaside (and wondered whether Teesside had thought to get in on the act).

Time to cross the bridge, back to its normal position now, and to look up river to see the Sage Gateshead building, (a splendid concert hall, home to the Northern Sinfonia), and many bridges, including the nearest, the Tyne Bridge, announcing the Rugby World Cup 2015, to be held, it would appear, in the UK this autumn.

Having crossed, I was now in Gateshead, and visited the top floor of the Baltic Arts Centre (more tomorrow, with a wildlife flavour).

(The line is a corner join in the glass through which the panoramic photo was taken.)

I walked back along the Quay on the Gateshead side, through the Sage, by now getting rather chilly (the weather had now turned for the bad, and so it was to remain for the rest of my time away), and crossed back to Newcastle over the red Swing Bridge, which is opened regularly to keep it in working order.

The tourist office walk I was on suggested studying the station, which I did, admiring particularly the huge doors.

My feet were by now pretty sore, so with the prospect of quite a walk to Northumbria University, where the geology symposium was to be held, I went to rest them in the lobby of my hotel which had kindly stored my suitcase, before setting off again.  Least said soonest mended about the problems I had getting to the university, but, on the way, I did notice these two interesting features.

I was not aware that the Scots had occvpied the city.

 

 

 

 

 

First real post, a few hours in Newcastle

Tags

Annie, Craig Revel Horwood, Dominicans, geology, Great Reform Bill, Lord Grey, Newcastle, Open University Geological Society, Richard Grainger

Having decided a couple of weeks ago to start a blog, I thought a sensible time would be when I had something to say, and more importantly to show, since the purpose of the blog is mainly to share photos I have taken. (The six previous posts were really just practice.)

Newcastle upon Tyne station

I’ve  not long been back from ten days ‘up north’, as we southerners say, in Newcastle, Glasgow and beautiful Dumfriesshire, but I am not going to post all 550 pictures I took. Over the next few days, in hopefully reasonably sized chunks, I’ll be sharing some of them, with as little explanatory text as I can limit  myself to.  After that, it could be quite a while before I post again.

The excuse for the trip was a symposium of the Open University Geological Society (OUGS) in Newcastle, though there’ll be no photos of that.  I couldn’t go all that way without adding quite a few days on to explore places I had never been to, and meet up with people I was in contact with but had never met.  So on Thursday 16th July, I went up 24 hours before the start of the symposium, by train, and was delighted to find that the hotel I had booked online was not only conveniently placed, opposite the station, but was somewhat above my own normal station in life.

Having settled in to my comfortable room, and with much of the afternoon left, I decided to do one of the tourist office walks I had downloaded, starting in Grainger Town, named after the 19th century property developer, Richard Grainger, and dominated by Grey’s Monument, erected in 1838 to commemorate the passage by Lord Grey of the Great Reform Bill in 1832.

St John’s Church and Grainger Street

Off Grainger Street was the Central Arcade, with it beautiful Edwardian tiling.

And round the corner was the Theatre Royal, where that evening I was to see the musical ‘Annie’,with Craig Revel Horwood as Miss Hannigan, in a new touring production. Highly recommended.

Blackfriars was rather older.  Dominican friars arrived here in 1239.

The original town walls date from 1280-83.

But this sculpture, round the corner from my hotel, is very recent.

The rest of my time in Newcastle, tomorrow.

Coming to the end of training…

Tags

learning, Strode, Wordpress

It’s been a great course, in very good company. When I started it yesterday morning, I was far from sure that I wanted to get involved in having a blog. (Why have I come on the course then? That’s a long and complicated story.) But I’m totally sold on it now, and when I return from a trip up north in a couple of weeks’ time, with no doubt lots of photos, I might just do some ‘serious’ posts and start inviting people to have a look. Thank you Jane, Lisa, Barry, and particularly Kev Cook of Strode College.

Photography course at Aigas

Tags

Aigas, Easyjet, Inverness-shire, John LIster-Kaye, pine marten, salmon

This gallery contains 15 photos.

I’d long wanted to visit the nature centre, Aigas, in Beauly, Inverness-shire, founded and run by the wonderful naturalist/author John …

Continue reading →

Day two of training

Tags

Glastonbury, Polden Hills

Tuesday morning. All seems to be going well, and my three co-learners are all pursuing their own very different purposes, one even having been inspired to something completely different from her original one.

So I’m continuing my own practice by posting a picture I took last year, when St John’s Church in Glastonbury High Street held an open day. They took groups up to the top of the tower.  Looking south towards the Polden Hills, with glimpses of the Abbey in the foreground.

A porpoise at Burrowbridge

Tags

Burrowbridge, geology, Harbour porpoise, Somerton, U3A

The King Alfred Inn at Burrowbridge may possibly ring bells as the ‘community HQ’ during the Somerset Levels flooding a couple of years ago. I was there recently having lunch with the Somerton U3A geology group. As we were having a drink beforehand on the upper deck of the pub, I spotted a fin in the River Parrett alongside, and I knew it had to be either a cetacean (= whale family) or a small member of the shark family.  It couldn’t be the latter, from its style of swimming, and almost involuntarily I cried out “I’ve just seen a dolphin”, feeling rather foolish as I did so. Fortunately others saw it as it rose to the surface again after a few seconds.  The barmaid on duty had never seen the like in 20 years. It swam up and down the river for perhaps 300 metres – it was high tide – a few times, but was not there an hour later. I now know, from Somerset Wildlife Trust contacts, that there have been as many as five Harbour porpoises – for such they are – seen in this river recently.  It is thought they are coming up this far – some 15 miles from the mouth of the river – after the increasing numbers of sea bass now available.  It was a wonderful sighting, and I managed to get a photo on my phone. Wish I’d had my zoomy camera with me.

 

Just testing…

Tags

garden, Scarlet tiger moth

Scarlet tiger moth in my garden

Being trained at Strode!

Tags

learning, Strode, Wordpress

Monday morning. Shall I ever get the hang of this WordPress stuff? Tutor is very helpful, and there are only four of us on this two-day course, so hopefully at the end of it all will be (fairly) well…