The North Pier at Tynemouth runs out to sea for a 1000 yards. At the far end is a lighthouse, and on the morning I walked to it the fog horn was sounding and the lighthouse came and went in the mist.
Across the river is the South Pier, which is even longer. You can see it emerging from the gloom here in a photograph taken from its northern sister.
The two piers define the estuary of the Tyne. The old guide books talk of the constant stream of shipping that passed between them, but today the only ships you are likely to see are the giant ferries heading for Norway and Denmark.
A pedant writes:
ReplyDeleteNo wonder you saw so few ships. There aren't any ferries from Newcastle to Denmark or Norway! DFDS's service between Newcastle and Bergen ended four years ago. And if you want a ferry to Denmark, you must travel south to Harwich.
The only remaining international ferry service from Newcastle sails to Amsterdam.
Thanks, Simon. There is an article on the loss of Newcastle's ferries here.
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, Northumberland has nothing on Lincolnshire.
I think the last ferry from Boston to the continent left with the Hanseatic League.
ReplyDelete