Tynemouth

A pleasant stroll around Tynemouth today on an improving afternoon. Tynemouth is an attractive seaside town on the extreme east of Newcastle with some nice coastal scenery and a ruined priory.

The mouth of the River Tyne.

From the end of the North Pier to part of Tynemouth, with the statue of Admiral Collingwood prominent.

Looking along the north pier to the ruins of the priory.

A brighter day now, looking south to Souter Lighthouse.

The north and south piers at the mouth of the Tyne.

Looking south from near the ruined priory.

Busy at the beach.

Another view of the priory.

A Durham coast walk

A walk today from Easington Colliery on the Durham coast down to Crimdon and returning by the Hart-Haswell railway path and Castle Eden Dene. In all honesty the weather was not at its best today (cloudy, hazy and muggy) and my enjoyment of the walk was reduced somewhat why the presence of swarms of flies all along the coast path. However Castle Eden Dene was a pleasant walk, with a surprisingly spectacular, deeply-incised rocky gorge at one point.

Cliff scenery near Easington Colliery.

Looking south down the coastline to Hartlepool with several flies buzzing around.

The railway viaduct at the end of Castle Eden Dene.

A hazy view along the coast towards Crimdon and Hartlepool, with a very faint outline of the North York Moors behind.

The Hart to Haswell cycle path.

Some flowers in Castle Eden Dene.

Roseberry Topping and Captain Cook’s Monument

A return to this very enjoyable walk on the northern extremity of the North York Moors. Some excellent views although it remained cloudy and cool for much of the day, with a very short spell of hail. The walk starts and ends in Great Ayton and is on very good paths throughout.

Walking across fields from Great Ayton towards Roseberry Topping.

A view back down to Great Ayton and to some of the Cleveland Hills from the old shooting box.

Looking across to Captain Cook’s Monument with the rounded slopes of Urra Moor, the highest hill in the North York Moors, on the right.

Looking north to Middlesbrough.

Looking back across to Roseberry Topping from Captain Cook’s Monument.

The Cleveland hills viewed on the return to Great Ayton.

Above Weardale

Yesterday I went a long walk above Weardale, starting from Wolsingham, before descending back down to Stanhope and walking back along the valley floor. It was a lovely day for walking with blue skies for much of the day, and some very pleasant, very flat tracks to walk along (old railway lines and field paths in the main).

Looking down to Tunstall Reservoir.

Waskerley Reservoir, with the upper River Derwent valley behind.

Wonderful, wild moorland scenery.

Horseshoe Hill, with one of the excellent former railway tracks in the foreground.

Looking across to Collier Law.

A view across Upper Weardale from the hillside near Rookhope cutting, where surprisingly a few patches of snow remained.

The remote former mining settlement of Rookhope.

Walking down the road to Stanhope.

Pleasant valley walking between Stanhope and Wolsingham with a very dry looking River Wear.

Penshaw Monument from Durham

A bright day today so I went a walk to the Penshaw Monument from Durham, via Finchale Priory and Chester-le-Street. Much of the walk follows the Weardale Way. Unfortunately the views were hazy, but the walking was generally pleasant and easy going (although many paths were wet and muddy). It was a linear walk with a return by bus.

Early morning in Durham: Prebends Bridge.

The view back to Durham from Frankland Farm.

A sculpture at Great Lumley, with a view over the Wear valley to Chester-le-Street.

The River Wear at Chester-le-Street.

As an aside there were lots of these weird plants along the river bank at Chester-le-Street. They were very large, easily 12ft tall, and had very thick stems. The internet suggests that they are called ‘Giant Hogweed’ and can cause nasty burns.

The Penshaw Monument.

A later view of the Penshaw Monument.

Back to Durham and the River Wear again.

Pit House Plantation and the River Wear

A long low-level walk from Durham up to Pit House Plantation, a low hill above Brancepeth to the east of Durham, with a return along the River Wear to Durham city centre and back. The sun was quite warm in the middle of the day, however on the other hand it was cold in the shade. The views were not exceptional and quite hazy and the initially sunny day clouded over. However it was all good exercise.

Looking down to Durham from Pit House Plantation.

And zooming in on the Cathedral.

Penshaw Hill and Monument, to the north east.

The railway bridge near Sunderland Bridge.

Sunderland Bridge itself with a bit of debris that has built up.

Walking along the Wear into Durham now, the Cathedral and Castle.

Zooming in on the Castle.

Eston Moor

With the forecast set for sunny, I decided to head out a short afternoon walk to Eston Moor, a low hill situated between Teesside and the North York Moors. It is a good viewpoint,  with an interesting contrast between urban and rural views to the north and south, respectively; however the day was much cloudier and hazier than expected. The walk was quite muddy and wet until the moorland was reached, with some melting snow hanging about on the path making walking a little awkward at times.

Eston Moor. The summit is called Eston Nab and features a monument made of the remnants of a watch tower which was built in 1808 (see http://fansonline.net/middlesbrough/lost_teesside/?p=9 for more).

A view from the summit, with a wide range of industrial activity situated around the mouth of the River Tees.

A wide view over Middlesbrough.

Looking south towards Captain Cook’s Monument and Roseberry Topping, with some snow remaining on north-facing slopes.

The hazy Carlton hills.

A zoomed in view on the iconic Transporter Bridge across the River Tees.

Durham snow

Back in Durham and the city has not escaped the large amounts of snow currently being experienced across the UK. I had a walk up to Aidans college to get some views across the city. There is about 5-6 inches of snow lying on the ground with more in drifts. The day seems a little milder than of late, however it is currently snowing again.

 

Durham Cathedral viewed from Aidans College.

Zooming in on the Penshaw Monument.

The Gilesgate area of Durham across the city. The round ball on the hill is a water tower.

Durham Observatory, home of the long-running weather record from the 1840s onwards (http://www.geography.dur.ac.uk/projects/weather/Home/tabid/666/Default.aspx)

Elvet Hill Road, Durham.

An elevated view from the ‘Mound’ at Ustinov College.

Durham Cathedral

I walked up to Aidans College to have a look at the cathedral, as there was a light show in the centre of Durham on over the last few days. Unfortunately the light show had finished, however a combination of a slow shutter speed and some accidental hand movements produced a couple of bizarre images anyway. The normal view of the Cathedral from here is shown in my last post.

 

Three photos around Durham

A few photos taken from various places in Durham today. A nice and bright day with excellent views – I would have gone a longer walk normally, but have been down with a cold.

Looking down to Durham cathedral from Aidans College.

Durham Cathedral viewed from Prebends Bridge.

Looking along the River Wear to Framwellgate Bridge.