The Groyne

Had a visit to the family in South Shields today as it was Mr H's brother in law's 50th birthday party. Managed 10 minute walk along the pier between eating cake and drinking coffee at various houses! Perfect excuse for me to photograph one of South Shields' landmarks. I have done a bit of research and discovered The Groyne Pier was built between 1861 and 1867. The purpose of the Groyne pier was to help the flow of the river and to protect the Littlehaven beach from being swept away by the incoming tide.

The iron lighthouse was erected by the Newcastle Trinity House Board in 1882 . The official name for the lighthouse is the ‘Herd Groyne Lighthouse’ the word Herd coming from Herd sands which was the original name for the stretch of beach we now call the Littlehaven.

The Lighthouse which stands 13 meters high acts as a navigational aid guiding ships in and out of the river Tyne. It has a very unusual hexagonal shape and is held up on 12 iron legs, the central column being the most important, it has a steel casing which travels a weight to provide motivation for the foghorn mechanism.
The main occulting light is shown for a duration of 8 seconds at 2 second intervals and is visible for 13 miles. The lighthouse is also one of a few in this country that has an operational fog bell which strikes once every five seconds in reduced visibility.
It is currently owned by the Port of Tyne Authority and is still very much in use today further details here link to details of The Groyne

I have also caught up with back blipping from the couple of days last week whenwe were wi fi less.

Hampshire Downs

Thirsk