Fog on the Tyne

Today’s the day ..................... to obscure

It’s not actually the Tyne – but it was definitely fog.

This was taken just a bit further up the Northumbrian coast at Whitley Bay from what used to be the promenade, looking southwards.  The seaside resort of Whitley Bay has a history dating back to the 12th century and has been popular with visitors since Victorian times when the railway opened up the coast to visitors from nearby Newcastle upon Tyne.  It still has its magnificent beach but most of its former glory is now a thing of the past.  Work to restore the promenade and the sea frontage has been on-going for several years.  There are signs that things are beginning to happen – but just for now, the fog was probably a bit of a blessing in disguise.

At the other end of the scale, we paid a visit to the wonderful Cragside on our way here today.  We’re following the footsteps of Paula and Gordon who were there not so long ago.  I have wanted to see it ever since Will described it to me – and it did not disappoint.  It was the home of William and Margaret Armstrong built in the early 1860s.  William Armstrong was a scientist and technical innovator of genius, one of the most successful industrialists of his generation and the principal founder of Newcastle’s Victorian wealth and of its advances in education and health provision.

The extras show the house – and the library, the first room in the world to be lit with Joseph Swan’s newly invented filament light bulbs.  The globes containing the filaments were placed on vases.  On the wall behind are portraits of the Armstrongs ..................