71. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (15)

A really interesting Quayside walk to the Ouseburn area - Blacksmith's Needle sculpture, Victorian tunnel, Ouseburn Farm, Bike cafe and three wonderful bridges over the River Ouseburn Valley

  North East Index  (re-edit  05/09/2022)

 Scenes of North-East England, Newcastle upon Tyne, Co. Durham & Northumbria - Northumberland

One day in January 2020, I decided to walk eastwards from the Millennium Bridge, along the Quayside of the River Tyne, towards Ouseburn River.

The Blacksmiths Sculpture at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

The first thing I came across of interest before reaching Ouseburn was this wonderful Blacksmiths Needle sculpture.

The Blacksmiths Needle sculpture (1997) on the north bank of the River Tyne between the Millennium Bridge and the Ouseburn.

The inscription reads "GLEAMS THROUGH THE TREES THE RED LIGHT OF THE FORGE"

The Blacksmiths Needle sculpture by craftsmen of the British Artist Blacksmiths Association

The Blacksmith's Needle comprises of six layers, each layer with objects relating to the senses including what was describes as 'the mysterious sixth sense'. Created from sections made at public 'forge ins' around the country. The Needle was ceremonially inaugurated by the percussionist Evelyn Glennie.

A view up the River Tyne towards the Baltic Arts Centre, the Sage and Tyne Bridges from near where the River Ouseburn enters the River Tyne.

It is then just a short walk to where the Ouseburn River flows into the River Tyne and a walk full of history begins!

A dusk view from Ouseburn west down the River Tyne towards the Baltic Arts Centre, the Sage and Tyne Bridges.

See also Newcastle-upon-Tyne-Gateshead area River Tyne Bridges and Quays

Newcastle-Gateshead area The Gateshead Sage Theatre & Concert Hall

Newcastle-Gateshead area The Baltic Arts Centre Gateshead

The Ouseburn Area of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

What was once an industrial hub of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Ouseburn is now a hip residential area clustered around the Ouseburn River which flows in the River Tyne. Ouseburn has many things to see and do e.g. the entrance to Victoria Tunnel, a 19th-century coal wagon route, is a starting point for underground tours. 'Young', creative locals frequent cool bars, farm-to-table eateries, and live music venues including the Biscuit Factory arts complex. There is also Ouseburn Farm, a popular family 'city farm' destination with gardens, farm animals and a cafe above the River Ouseburn.

The Cycle HUB Bike Cafe, Ouseburn, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

The Bike Cafe at Ouseburn is situated ...	... where the Ouseburn River flows into the River Tyne
The Cycle HUB sign for cycling enthusiasts	The Bike Cafe at Ouseburn, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
The entrance to the Bike Cafe	Traces of the old quayside railways can be seen.
The interior of the Bike Cafe, Ouseburn	The cycle repair shop and bike hire facilities

The Toffee Factory, Ouseburn River Flood Gates and the Tyne Bar

The Toffee Factory Offices, Ouseburn - a fine chimney!	The Toffee Factory Offices, Ouseburn, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, now converted into offices and flats and nearby are the ...   ... flood defences Ouseburn River, River Tyne, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. These prevent flooding from tidal surges up the River Tyne or hold back water from the upper Ouseburn. The Tyne Bar is a fine looking building where the Ouseburn River meets the River Tyne. It is a popular waterside pub with free jukebox, live music and a garden sheltered by the arch of a road bridge, an all-weather pub!
The flood gate defences at Ouseburn ...	... just before the Ouseburn river flows into the River Tyne
The fine looking 'Tyne Bar' ...	... just by Ouseburn River from the flood gates!

From the Tyne Bar you can begin the walk on either side of the Ouseburn that flows down into the River Tyne.

Walking up the footpath on the banks of the Ouseburn

Small boats moored up on the quayside of the Ouseburn, left stranded in the tidal reaches of the River Tyne, Newcastle.

An old warehouse on the Ouseburn now converted to mixed use developments e.g. offices and flats, Ouseburn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

The Ouseburn Farm, Ouseburn, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

A city farm and great place for children see and experience life with farm animals.

The Ouseburn animal farm including a few remaining stone walls from the Northumberland Lead Works of 1871

The animal farm at Ouseburn is built on the site of the Northumberland lead works.

Remains of the Northumberland lead works

https://www.ouseburnfarm.org.uk/

The Byker road bridge that carries the A193 road over the Ouseburn river valley (two railway bridges beyond), Ouseburn farm is up on the left of the picture.

Wow! That was some chimney in Ouseburn.

The base and section of the huge Lime Street chimney in the once highly industrialised Ouseburn of Newcastle.

The Lime Street  chimney was built in 1848 and was part of the original steam operated flax mill designed by John Dobson (and now known as Cluny Warehouse)

The Victorian Tunnel, Ouseburn, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

Information board on the Victoria Tunnel and the Riverside railway branch line in Ouseburn, Newcastle.

The Victoria Tunnel

The Victoria Tunnel is a subterranean waggonway that runs under Ouseburn, an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

It runs from the Town Moor down to the River Tyne.

It was built between 1839 and 1842 to transport coal from Leazes Main Colliery in Spital Tongues to riverside staithes (quayside jetties) ready for loading onto boats for export, usually to other parts of Great Britain.

The tunnel was driven through boulder clay and formed by a base course of stone supporting a brick arch.

Loaded wagons descended the incline of the tunnel under their own weight, and were rope-hauled back to the colliery by a stationary engine.

The colliery closed in January 1860 and the Tunnel was abandoned until the start of the Second World War when it was converted for use as an air-raid shelter.

The tunnel is 2.4 miles (3.9 km) in length with a maximum depth of 85 feet (26 m) and drops 222 feet (68 m) from entrance to exit.

The Ouseburn Victorian tunnel, was wonderfully well built, and amazingly remains largely intact.

(adapted from Wikipedia)

The Quayside Riverside Branch Railway

The Riverside Branch was a 6.5 mile (10.5 km) double-track branch line, which ran between Riverside Junction in Heaton and Percy Main West Junction in Percy Main near the Ouseburn area of Newcastle.

It carried both freight and passenger traffic in highly industrial area on the northern bank of the River Tyne.

Passenger traffic ceased in 1973 and the line totally closed to freight by 1988.

One of two riverside Tyne branch electric railway locomotives in the National Railway Museum Shildon, built for North Eastern Railway in 1905 for working the Newcastle Riverside Branch above the River Tyne Quayside near Ouseburn. This electric locomotive, (Bo-Bo, 26500, overhead 600 V DC), with its two sets of bogie driving wheels could negotiate tight curves as well as providing safe clean 'non-smokey' motive power. NER/LNER Class ES1, both retired in 1964, 26500 is preserved and 26501 scrapped in 1966.

Three Bridges over the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle

The brick built Byker bridge, originally built in 1878-1879 for pedestrians, carts and carriages. The base of the Byker road bridge was rebuilt in 1985-1986 with pre-stressed concrete beams (see picture above) to widened to support public footpaths and safety barriers as well as its original purpose as fully functioning main road bridge for heavy traffic.

The Byker Bridge and beyond a yellow/grey coloured Metro train passing over the Byker viaduct.

The concrete Byker viaduct carrying the Metro trains over the Ouseburn Valley (Byker Metro bridge, built 1976-1979).

The bridge was built of pre-cast concrete sections - it was notable, in being the first such structure in Britain to be built using cantilevered concrete sections with joints glued with epoxy resin. 

On the left is the other railway viaduct - the Ouseburn Viaduct

The Byker Metro bridge carries the Metro line from Manors Metro station to Byker Metro station over the River Ouseburn and valley.

Beyond is an inter-modal freight train passing over the Ouseburn Viaduct of the East Coast Mainline above the River Ouseburn.

The massive iron arches and stone supports of the Ouseburn valley railway viaduct, carrying the East Coast railway mainline.

Originally built mainly of timber in the late 1830s, this wonderful Victorian construction was rebuilt in iron from 1867 to 1869 by the Weardale Iron & Coal Company to the designs of engineer Thomas Elliot Harrison for the North Eastern Railway Company, thus doubling its width to accommodate four tracks but preserving the bridge's original appearance.
 

The Ouseburn viaduct carries the East Coast mainline over the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle.

Left plaque reads "Weardale Iron & Coal Co. Limited 1869 St Peters" on the Ouseburn Railway Viaduct

Right plaque reads "National Railway Heritage Awards, The Ian Allen Publishing Award. Presented to Network Rail and Carillion for Ouseburn Viaduct Lord Grossman OBE FSA2013" on the Ouseburn Viaduct

The Biscuit Factory Art Gallery, Ouseburn, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

The Biscuit Factory is a Contemporary art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The Biscuit Factory art complex Gallery opened in 2002 after undergoing major renovation work.

It is the largest commercial art, craft & design gallery in the UK.

The gallery's home is a former Victorian warehouse, constructed in 1870.

Until 2002 the Building was used in the manufacturing of biscuits (hence the name.

The biscuit factory, changing its name over the years from The Tyne Biscuit Factory to the name Newcastle upon Tyne Biscuit Manufacturers.

(adapted from Wikipedia)

North East Index

The north-east of England is as varied as anywhere in the country with much to offer the tourist with lots of interested places and buildings to visit  whether in the City of Newcastle or the surrounding coast and countryside of County Durham and Northumbria (part is old county of 'Northumberland') and its many varied districts and regions rich in history, industrial archaeology and good walking country, lots of major tourist attractions, a wide selection of accommodation to suite all budgets from hotels, B&B's, rented property, and hostels. Digital images pictures photos photographs © DocsPics Phil Brown for a selection of interesting, scenic and historic places to visit and walk around and the many tourist attractions in the North-East of Northern England dining out travel tours top tourist destinations tourist information weekend breaks mini-breaks family holidays restaurants touring coach trips continental tours cruise ships pleasure cruises summer breaks spring breaks continental winter breaks winter holidays spring holidays summer holidays North East England docspics photos images pictures © Phil Brown * touring holidays in Newcastle, Durham and Northumbria-Northumberland, tourism information, top tourist attractions, accommodation, luxury hotels, B&B, holiday cottages, property,  pubs, cafes, restaurants, historic towns & cities, churches, castles, abbeys, museums, art galleries, local transport, interesting buildings properties, great walking country, varied scenic walks docspics images photos of Ouseburn Newcastle © Phil Brown Tourist information on Ouseburn Newcastle, Walks near Ouseburn Newcastle, Having holidays near Ouseburn Newcastle, England, Top tourist attractions near Ouseburn Newcastle, luxury hotels near Ouseburn Newcastle, self-catering holiday cottages near Ouseburn Newcastle, airbnb air B and B near Ouseburn Newcastle, quality B&B near Ouseburn Newcastle, friendly pubs near Ouseburn Newcastle, cafes near Ouseburn Newcastle, eating out in fine restaurants near Ouseburn Newcastle, weekend breaks near Ouseburn Newcastle, wining & dining weekends near Ouseburn Newcastle, walking holidays around Ouseburn Newcastle, touring coach tours including Ouseburn Newcastle, pretty villages near Ouseburn Newcastle, historic towns and pretty village near Ouseburn Newcastle, museums near Ouseburn Newcastle, local art galleries near Ouseburn Newcastle, guided walks from Ouseburn Newcastle, excellent fell hill walking around Ouseburn Newcastle, rambling near Ouseburn Newcastle, exploring the landscape near Ouseburn Newcastle, good places to eat near Ouseburn Newcastle, tourist attractions near Ouseburn Newcastle, tourist information for places near Ouseburn Newcastle, good places for wining and dining near Ouseburn Newcastle, good walks near Ouseburn Newcastle, properties for sale near Ouseburn Newcastle, renting a flat or house near Ouseburn Newcastle, property for rent near Ouseburn Newcastle, houses for sale near Ouseburn Newcastle, lettings near Ouseburn Newcastle, places to rent near Ouseburn Newcastle, holiday cottage accommodation near Ouseburn Newcastle docspics images photos of Ouseburn Newcastle northern England © Phil Brown Tourist information on Ouseburn Newcastle, Things to do in Ouseburn Newcastle, What to see in Ouseburn Newcastle, guided walks in Ouseburn Newcastle, weekend breaks in Ouseburn Newcastle holidays in Ouseburn Newcastle, Top tourist attractions in Ouseburn Newcastle, luxury hotels in Ouseburn Newcastle, self-catering holiday cottages in Ouseburn Newcastle, airbnb air B and B in Ouseburn Newcastle, B&B in Ouseburn Newcastle, friendly pubs in Ouseburn Newcastle, cafes in Ouseburn Newcastle, eating out in fine restaurants in Ouseburn Newcastle, bargain holiday breaks in Ouseburn Newcastle, wining & dining weekends in Ouseburn Newcastle, touring coach tours visiting Ouseburn Newcastle, pretty areas in Ouseburn Newcastle, historic buildings in Ouseburn Newcastle, visiting museums in Ouseburn Newcastle, local art galleries in Ouseburn Newcastle, guided walks in Ouseburn Newcastle, history of Ouseburn Newcastle, architecture of Ouseburn Newcastle, trains to Ouseburn Newcastle, historic houses in Ouseburn Newcastle, historic churches in Ouseburn Newcastle, information centre in Ouseburn Newcastle, heritage places in Ouseburn Newcastle, good places to eat in Ouseburn Newcastle, top tourist attractions in Ouseburn Newcastle, tourist information for things to do and see in Ouseburn Newcastle, good places to eat out in Ouseburn Newcastle, good places to walk to in Ouseburn Newcastle, tourist attractions properties for sale in Ouseburn Newcastle, renting a flat of house in Ouseburn Newcastle, property for rent in Ouseburn Newcastle, houses for sale in Ouseburn Newcastle, lettings in Ouseburn Newcastle, places to rent in Ouseburn Newcastle, holiday cottage accommodation in Ouseburn Newcastle