Northtynesidewalks

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Out & about in the North Tyneside towns & villages of Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, Cullercoats, North Shields & Wallsend & beyond into the outer reaches of the beautiful Northumberland countryside

It is the small details that make the difference: Whitley Bay Metro Station June 2026.
17/06/2026

It is the small details that make the difference: Whitley Bay Metro Station June 2026.

Ooops! And here are the rest of the random selection from this morning`s walk.
09/06/2026

Ooops! And here are the rest of the random selection from this morning`s walk.

A random selection of point & shout photos from this morning`s wander up & down the banks & stairs connecting the Fish Q...
09/06/2026

A random selection of point & shout photos from this morning`s wander up & down the banks & stairs connecting the Fish Quay area & the edge of the town. Blue skies turning to hailstones & a thorough soaking. Such is life in the slow land.

Never mind the King Eddie`s Stairs Challenge, it is a challenge in both navigational & balance skills getting from the t...
09/06/2026

Never mind the King Eddie`s Stairs Challenge, it is a challenge in both navigational & balance skills getting from the top to the bottom of the Knotts Flats Butterbur Stairs or vice versa. Such is the power of nature. Just don`t try to enjoy the view as you pick your way through this guard of honour. Such fun!

Relatively common but always lovely to see, a Pyramidal Orchid along the Whitley Bay coast this morning. There were othe...
08/06/2026

Relatively common but always lovely to see, a Pyramidal Orchid along the Whitley Bay coast this morning. There were others dotted around.

Holywell Dene never fails to disappoint
30/05/2026

Holywell Dene never fails to disappoint

A cunning plan, a lovely Tuesday morning & at 17 degrees ideal for a walk in the country. I am walking home, what better...
27/05/2026

A cunning plan, a lovely Tuesday morning & at 17 degrees ideal for a walk in the country. I am walking home, what better way to spend a couple of hours or more with spring in full flow. First, a Metro ride to Northumberland Park & then a couple of stops on the newly reopened Northumberland Line & then I am standing on the tarmac outside Newsham railway station eager to be on my way. This is a novelty, 60 years in the making as I wander towards the winding footpath to Meggies Burn reservoir, all water lily pads & solitude. Not an angler in sight. The world still slumbering, a sound track of bird song as I make tracks through a small, shaded plantation & then out across a well-cropped field & a trio of horses grazing quietly, untroubled it seems by this solitary interloper. A freight train, a lengthy snake slowly slipping southwards, alumina powder from the port at Blyth to the Highland Smelter in Fort William, passes by quietly on the horizon. A fine, although slightly unloved late 18th century five-arch cart shed at lonely Lysdon Farm & then the stately 18th century house of Seaton Red House Farm, burnt to a shell in 1911 but now lovingly restored to its former beauty. No need to reinvent. I am striding out. Over to the west, a wave of new housing brings life to the former mining village of New Hartley, fresh blood running through its veins. But still the memory of that fateful day in 1842 when disaster struck the Hester Pit, 204 dead, men & boys, a village stripped of its manhood. Soon, the old Avenue Branch railway line beckons, now a well-established & well-used green corridor leading me in time over the border, Northumberland to Tyne & Wear, & the unseen Seaton Burn deep in Holywell Dene. Once a busy place, corn mills & houses & the clatter of coal carts, now an escape from the madness of modern life. I am definitely homeward bound, walking on familiar ground, a quick peek at the superb octagonal gin gang at Brier Dene Farm, a rarity in the area, & before I know it, I am home again, a couple of unusual Irises flowering in the garden, Northumberland Piper by name, & the rhododendrons looking as lovely as the day has been.

My last post, about local artist Robert Jobling, prompted a response from a lady whose mum had been painted by another l...
17/05/2026

My last post, about local artist Robert Jobling, prompted a response from a lady whose mum had been painted by another local artist who formed part of the Cullercoats Artist Colony, John Falconer Slater (1857-1937), when she was just a wee girl. The painting was entitled `Girl on the Rocks` & the lady was desperate to track down the painting so she could see it for the very first time. Alas, her search so far has hit a road block. So, if anyone has a copy of this painting, please feel free to post it here. Whilst on the subject of Slater, here is one of his paintings of North Shields, an oil on board which, whilst signed and dated, the date is difficult to decipher although, at a guess, sometime after the beginning of the 20th century. The scene is, of course, the Low Town & Fish Quay area of the town roughly from where the new walkway has been constructed (Salt Market Stairs).

Born in 1841 in the St. Lawrence area of Newcastle, Robert Jobling spent his childhood in the crowded and dirty terraces...
15/05/2026

Born in 1841 in the St. Lawrence area of Newcastle, Robert Jobling spent his childhood in the crowded and dirty terraces on the northern banks of the River Tyne. From this lowly & difficult start in life, Robert went on to exhibit his work to a wide audience and will always be best remembered in his native North East where he was a prominent member of the Cullercoats Artists Colony, along with his fellow local artists, John Falconer Slater, Henry Hetherington Emmerson, Isa Thompson and the now world-renowned American artist Winslow Homer. The Cullercoats Artist Colony and the Newlyn School were both part of the late 19th-century British `plein air` movement, sharing themes of maritime life, fishing communities, and natural light. Both colonies focused on the dramatic, daily lives of local fishermen and families, with artists often capturing the emotional toll of the sea, such as women watching boats or waiting on the beach. At the time of his death in 1923, Robert was living in Victoria Avenue, Whitley Bay within smelling distance of the sea.

Looking bonny on a bright May morning, wildflowers in profusion on slopes running down to the mouth of the Tyne, Cuthber...
12/05/2026

Looking bonny on a bright May morning, wildflowers in profusion on slopes running down to the mouth of the Tyne, Cuthbert Collingwood keeping watch from his monumental sand stone plinth.

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