Summer Walk, St Peters Marina & River Tyne - Tuesday 6th August 2024.

     

After recent outings to coastal and countryside locations, Morpeth Camera Club's summer evening visits to places
of local interest continued with a trip inland on Tuesday 6th August 2024. Tucked away on the Byker riverfront, one
mile from Newcastle city centre & seven miles from the mouth of the River Tyne, St Peters Marina was the venue for
this week's walk.

  

Leaving the car park at the entrance to St Peter's Village, members stopped at a Fish with Two Heads, an odd statue
designed by children from Raby Street School in Byker for the Gateshead Garden Festival in 1990. Depicting the heads
of William Hawthorn, founder of the famous Hawthorn Leslie Engineering Works which originally occupied the site, and
Benjamin Brown the company's first chairman, it has recently been restored as a community project in the village.

  

The group proceeded south down Dobson Crescent and onto the promenade along the north bank of the River Tyne.
This location offers a beautiful tree-lined view of the river to the east, and south towards the Friars Goose area of Felling.
We then passed the vibrant marina office and crossed the bascule bridge over the river entrance to the sheltered dock.
Surrounded by housing, offices, and a public house, the collonaded ground floor of St. Peter's Wharf reflects its maritime
history. The adjacent street names, including The Moorings, Merchants Walk, Chandlers Quay, and The Ropery, also
maintain a link to the past.

  

With a hundred & fifty berths the marina is home to a huge variety of craft from ocean-going yachts to a converted
deep sea trawler, from beautifully painted houseboats to fast power boats. It is also the base for several preserved
fishing boats owned by the North East Maritime Trust. This is an excellent venue for photography and members were
soon spread out around the dock, recording the boats, the buildings surrounding this unique location and the colourful
reflections in the calm water.

      

After another warm and sunny evening, the group retired to the Merchants Tavern overlooking the marina, for
refreshments. Thank you to everyone who supported Walk Number Five on the Summer Programme.

Davy. 📷