The transporter bridge over the Tees at Middlesbrough, made famous in 'Auf Weidersehen, Pet'. The largest in the world, one of only three in the UK and eight in the world.
Approaching the far side, this is where I wonder if Bee is going to start, or whether we will be going back and fore at £1.30 a time ...
The start at Belsay Hall, with friends David and Helen
Some superb vistas along the way
Said to be one of the best views in Northumbria ...
... Edlingham viaduct, castle and village in the distance
... and an unusual almost 'free-hand' inscription apparently dating back to 1771
Edlingham castle and viaduct beyond
A fearless young blackbird sunning itself on the churchyard wall
St Mary's lighthouse, on an island reached by a tidal causeway.
The finish at Tynemouth Priory, being 'walked' in as the entrance is usually pedestrians only (all he needed was a red flag).
As this was quite a small local run we did wonder if we would be in with a chance of the longest travelled. But no, the chap to the left of us was from Bromsgrove, beating us by five miles!
View back to Whitley Bay. Not in this picture but Whitley Bay has a large building with a white dome which used to be an amusement arcade - Spanish City - the self-same Spanish City arcade referred to in Dire Straits 'Tunnel of Love' (and there was me thinking is was in some exotic location like LA).
The entrance to the Tyne river
The Tyne heading up towards Newcastle, with an imposing statue of Nelson's right-hand man Collingwood
The Angel of the North. Quite impressive, especially when you realise it goes down further than it goes up. However I've never thought it looked much like an angel with those aeroplane wings stuck out like that ...
... and dotted along the path were various objects glued into pieces of wall-block - a Barbie doll with her arms outstretched (on the left here), a model aeroplane, a window cleaning blade and suchlike. By one was a note that it was an art project, a friend of the creator also having made the comment that it wasn't much like an angel, so said artist had come up with a number of possible alternatives. That's the difference between artists and engineers - the engineer will think about the wind forces on those outstretched wings, the artist with other ways of depicting wings.
Subsequently a picture of David and Helen and an account were published in a local paper (copyright Trinity Mirror plc)
