THE COFFIN

Went on a Sunday afternoon walk organised by the Newcastle City guides.  The title of the walk was  " Railways and Riverside"   We started the walk outside The Sage on Gateshead Quayside and went on a 1½ hour wander around the riverside area of Gateshead. We saw the sites of four former railway stations and heard about another station which used to be further up the river.  Gateshead does not have any railway stations now.  Back in the day Gateshead was more important than Newcastle with more industry on the Quayside and it was where the coal was shipped from the river Tyne. Once the Central Station in Newcastle was built things changed and the Gateshead stations all closed. The last one closed in 1981.  It used to be just to the right at the back of my blip shot.  The walk was very interesting and I found out lots of local history. My extra shot shows some of the bridges over the Tyne.  The one in the foreground is the High Level Bridge.  The railway line runs over the top with road traffic underneath.

My blip shot is of The Central Bar - a Grade 11 listed building.  I chose it as it stands near the railway line and is located between the High Level Bridge and The Tyne Bridge.  It opened in 1854 and was built as business premises for Alderman Potts who was a wine merchant.  It became a hotel around 1890.  It fell into disrepair over the years but recently it has had a makeover and re-opened in 2010.  It is nicknamed " The Coffin " because of its unusual shape.

It had rained through the night but today the weather was fine and dry - a perfect Autumn day.

Steps today - 10,915