Roundabout Publications

Community magazines for local advertising in Monkseaton, Tynemouth, and Whitley Bay

NORTHUMBERLAND AND BORDER WALKS: Small Hill, Big Views

The view from Hart HeughIt was my first solo hill walk of the year, and I needed to slowly rebuild my fitness level with a route less strenuous than normal. So, on a bright, late summer’s day, I headed up to Wooler and the nearby Humbleton Burn Picnic Area, an ideal spot to start any number of fine walks into the Cheviot Hills.

I had mapped out a six mile route containing a variety of terrain, not overly demanding but with sufficient ups and downs, twists and turns to keep me happy. Initially I followed the route of St. Cuthbert’s Way, first alongside the tiny trickle of Humbleton Burn and then across the gentle, emerald green slopes of Wooler Common. To the west lay the track to distant Broadstruther, once a derelict cottage now renovated for use by grouse shooting parties. My route, however, turned south first to Earlehillhead, a handful of neat farm buildings, and then onto Switcher Wood and one of the loveliest views in the area.

The panorama was immaculate, a single native tree in the foreground, Langlee and Housey Crags in the middle distance, heather-clad slopes slipping down to the tree-veiled Harthope Burn, and conical Hedgehope Hill, the second highest hill in the range, majestic in the background.

Then down I went, turning to my right to follow the  delightful Carey Burn upstream. First an easy grass-carpeted track, then a narrow, scree-clinging path until, caught in a jumble of dense foliage and tumbling over cold, grey rock, I reached Careyburn Linn, a diamond in a magpie’s hoard of precious stones. Peaceful, simple to reach places do not come any better than this and I was reluctant to leave.

But on I eventually went, threading my way through the narrow, bracken-infested upper reaches of the valley as far as the junction with the bridleway linking Wooler Common and lonely Broadstruther. This marked the extreme point of my walk. A sharp right turn and I was confronted with a stiff, breath-stealing climb up the tree-covered slopes of Watch Hill to the sun-stroked open moor, where a sea of deep purple flowering heather stretched towards my next port-of-call, flat-topped, grass-covered Hart Heugh.

I was almost within touching distance of this super little hill and I was soon picking my way towards the large pile of stones which marks its 326 metre high top. Whichever way I looked familiar hills came into view: Broadhope, Preston, Watch and Hedgehope Hills, as fine a quartet as you could wish for, The Cheviot with Bellyside and Braydon Crags vying for attention and, last but not least, Cold Law looming large across the deep incision of the valley I had earlier wandered through. I wallowed in the beauty of Northumberland’s finest hills whilst enjoying a very leisurely lunch.

Before I left Hart Heugh I made a first ever visit to its subsidiary top, a puny five metres lower and little more than stone’s throw away from the true summit. The detour proved worthwhile, offering me a slightly different perspective of some of my favourite hills in the range. I then wound my way back to the Humbleton Burn, satisfied with my day’s walk.

by Geoff Holland © 2016

Geoff HollandGeoff Holland is a regular contributor to a number of magazines and the author of four books of self-guided walks, ‘The Hills of Upper Coquetdale’, ‘The Cheviot Hills’, ‘Walks from Wooler’ and ‘Walks on the Wild Side: The Cheviot Hills’. All books can be purchased online from www.trailguides.co.uk. Geoff, who has lived in Monkseaton for over 40 years, also operates the award-winning website www.cheviotwalks.co.uk. His poems have appeared in a number of publications.

LOCAL HISTORY: North Shields Fishermen’s Heritage Project

Fishing Boats at SeaGoing to work for many of us is fairly mundane, and the prospect of being injured or killed rarely crosses our minds. There are professions, however, where death or serious injury is a daily hazard.

It is a fact that commercial fishing is still the UK’s toughest and most dangerous peacetime occupation. There are currently around 12,000 fishermen in the UK, and while there is evidence that fatalities have declined over recent years, the number of serious injuries suffered by fishing crew still remains high. Over the years thousands of fishermen have lost their lives at sea, and amongst these there are many who have sailed through Tynemouth Piers never to return.

There are over 30 principal fishing ports in the UK, with North Shields being widely recognised as the biggest prawn landing port in England. Many of these ports have memorials to remember those fishermen who have died at sea, yet North Shields is without one. Henry Howard is a retired local fisherman who was born in Dublin and fished out of Eire for 25 years, principally in the notoriously dangerous waters off Iceland and the Russian coast. Henry moved to the North East in the 1960s, and for a number of years worked on trawlers sailing out of North Shields and it was he who first raised the idea of erecting a local memorial in 2015.

From there the ‘North Shields Fishermen’s Heritage Project’ was born. Although Henry is the emotional heart of the project, a number of dedicated community based volunteers have been recruited to help realise his dream of creating a permanent and fitting memorial to those fishermen who have sailed from the port of North Shields and have perished at sea just doing their job.

The project, which is based at the Old Low Light Heritage Centre in North Shields, already has the support and backing of much of the community as well as that of North Tyneside Council, the Fishermen’s Mission, the Association of Retired Fishermen and many local businesses.

A site has been identified close to North Shields Fish Quay and it is proposed that the memorial be erected there as a piece of ‘Destination Art’ – something people will travel to see. It will be a fitting tribute to all our fishermen who have been lost at sea.

Designs have been submitted by local sculptors and people can view and vote for their favourite on our website, www.nsfhp.org.uk/vote, until October 17th.

Project volunteers are working on various initiatives with local schools and community groups to help raise the estimated £75,000 needed to achieve our goal. If you would like to help us, and raise the profile of our rich fishing heritage, please visit our website www.nsfhp.org.uk or email us at nsfhproject@gmail.com.

To keep up to date with our progress, follow us on Twitter @nsfh_project or search on Facebook for North Shields Fishermens Heritage Project.

by Charlie Steel © 2016

Charlie SteelFurther reading for many of Charlie’s articles can be found in his books: ‘Monkseaton Village’ (Vol. 1 & 2), ‘North Shields Public Houses, Inns & Taverns’ (Part 1 & 2), ‘Tynemouth Remembered’ and ’Whitley Bay Remembered’ (Part 1 & 2) , all published by Summerhill Books.

More information on www.monkseaton.info and on the Monkseaton Village Facebook Page.

ALL AT SEA: Coasting

British Workman‘British Workman’ lived up to her name – with an average of eleven ports per month, she was a 12,000 ton tanker that was permanently ‘on the coast’ meaning that she only traded between Great Britain, Northern Europe and Scandinavia. A story that went the rounds of the Company claimed she arrived in Swansea with ‘British Workhouse’ painted on one bow. The Company was not very impressed!

However, some years before, she had sailed twice through the Suez Canal bound for Haifa, in Israel. Consequently she was banned from the Canal to spend the rest of her long life ‘coasting’, carrying mainly diesel and heavy fuel oil for ships and a lighter fuel for central heating. She had been built in 1949 by Harland and Wolff at Govan and was broken up in 1967.

On 1st November 1960, I joined her at Grangemouth in Scotland as Third Officer and was promptly assigned to the 12-4 watch. It represented more responsibility as every one else was sleeping between midnight and four in the morning, though it was a lonely watch usually assigned to the Second Officer.

The Captain was a ‘coasting man’, having spent some years on that trade, and knew most of the ports that the vessel called at. He said that if you went past Lands End you would fall off the edge of the world!

I spent eleven months on this ship and enjoyed every moment of it, including the ‘graveyard’ watch and, of course, the many ports that we called at, such as Honningsvaag, (Honey Bay) on the northern tip of Norway where we spent most of the voyage under pilotage, sailing through the fabulous Norwegian fjords. Trondheim, Tromso, Aalsund, Stamsund and Harstad were also ports of call in Norway, whilst Helsingborg in Sweden was a regular stopover where we could take the ferry four miles across the sound to Elsinore in Denmark, where Hamlet’s castle stood proudly on the headland.

Other calling points in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia included the strangely named Lulea, Pitea, Skelleftea and Sundsvaal in northern Sweden. Further south were Gavle, Stockholm, Norrkoping, Karlshamn, Karlskrona, Trelleborg and Malmo. In Denmark we visited Copenhagen, Aalborg, and Aarhus plus, less often, Esbjerg and Fredericia.

The ship was well known at Skagen on the northern tip of Denmark where the pilot boat brought mail to the ship, as well as the pilot for the sea passage through the Kattegat minefields. Fifteen years after the war the residual mines were still considered dangerous and swept routes called NEMEDRI (North Eastern and Mediterranean Routeing Instructions) routes were buoyed for safe passage to all ships.

It was an interesting time, particularly for our old ship whose maximum speed was ten knots with a following sea and a radar we called a forty mile radar – when it was working we could see for forty miles, but mostly it only worked for forty miles so we learned to navigate without its benefits!

by Terry Took © 2016

Terry Took was born in Yorkshire but has lived in Tynemouth for over 50 years. He spent 45 years in the Merchant Navy which included 27 years as North Sea Pilot. He then spent five years as a lecturer at the Marine Department of South Tyneside College.

He is now an Elder Brother in Trinity House.

If you have any comments or would like to contact Terry then please e-mail him at pilotone@pilotone.plus.com.

 

LOCAL INTEREST: Tynemouth Bowling Club

BowlsSituated in the popular Tynemouth Park, behind the boating lake, Tynemouth Bowling Club runs from April to September and joins other local clubs to play indoors at The Parks Sports Centre over the winter.

Always hoping to attract new members, free use of equipment and coaching can be provided to anyone wanting to see what the sport offers.

The green is open every day for casual bowling and the club also plays in afternoon and evening weekday leagues, which involves teams from Northumberland as well as local clubs, therefore there is always scope for advancing skills. Different leagues offer different levels of skill, so it is possible to start in less challenging leagues and progress to more competitive leagues. There are County and National players in some of the leagues. Ages vary from teenagers upwards so this is not just a sport for older people.

Interested? Why not give it a try? We are a friendly club and perhaps now is the time to try something new.

Come along any day and make new friends, watch the action or join in one of the games.

Call or email Colin for more information

Email:  colin.chilton@tiscali.co.uk

Tel:        0191 296 6320

by Richard Coates

LOCAL HISTORY: Whitley Promenades

The Central Lower Promenade in the 1930sPrior to the 1870s there was no seafront road connecting Whitley Bay and Cullercoats; the route along the seafront between these points was simply a narrow and hazardous track, situated close to the cliff edge, with the only buildings of significance being Whitley Manor House along with a row of six houses known as Whitley Park Terrace, which were situated on what became the site of the Spanish City.

In 1893, work began to lay out the new upper promenade road between East Parade and Rockcliffe, including landscaping work to create the ‘Corkscrew Stairs’ near the Esplanade, which led to the beach on the seaward side.

When work was completed, the official opening of the Promenade took place on Saturday 27th May 1911. The ceremony was performed by the Duke of Northumberland, after which he walked several dignitaries and council members to Rockcliffe School for afternoon tea.

A few years later, work began on laying out the new Southern Lower Promenade, which runs from a point opposite the Esplanade to Table Rocks. It was opened in June 1932 and incorporated a large paddling pool.

The Northern Lower Promenade was constructed in 1914 with a northward extension from Panama Dip being added in 1926. Some features of this promenade included an interesting art deco style drinking fountain, erected in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George VI, and a design set into the paving stones depicting the four cardinal points of the compasses.

Substantial shelters were built and, in June 1936, 25 wooden chalets were erected and let out by the council to visitors and holidaymakers at a rent of £15 per year. They were built on circular concrete bases which enabled them to be manually rotated to engage the maximum amount of sunshine. With the onset of World War 2, access to the beach was restricted, and in 1940 the military authorities requisitioned all the chalets and paid the council £1,520 compensation.

In succeeding years, a number of proposals were brought forward to replace the chalets, which were rebuilt in 1959 with a further 25 added in 1960. They were removed in 1990 due to increasing vandalism.

In 1922, the Central Lower Promenade was constructed and stretches from a point near Watts Slope to the Corkscrew Stairs. This promenade incorporated a number of retail units which served the needs of the many beachgoers and holidaymakers, though in recent years these units fell into disuse. Structural surveys in 2010 indicated concerns for the stability of the overhead pavement and, despite many protests, a controversial demolition programme began in 2015. The area is still awaiting improvement work.

by Charlie Steel © 2016

Charlie SteelFurther reading for many of Charlie’s articles can be found in his books: ‘Monkseaton Village’ (Vol. 1 & 2), ‘North Shields Public Houses, Inns & Taverns’ (Part 1 & 2), ‘Tynemouth Remembered’ and ’Whitley Bay Remembered’ (Part 1 & 2) , all published by Summerhill Books.

More information on www.monkseaton.info and on the Monkseaton Village Facebook Page.