Dunston Staithes

Took a walk today in the bright sunshine along part of the River Tyne on the Gateshead side - a very short walk from the car park to Dunston Staithes on the River Tyne -  believed to be the largest timber structure in Europe. It is a Scheduled Monument, Grade II listed and is owned by Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust (TWBPT).
 
Opened in 1893 by the North East Railway Company (NER), it was built to allow coal arriving by rail from the Durham coalfields to be loaded onto waiting colliers ready for customers in London and abroad. At the coal industry's peak around 5.5 million tons of coal was moved this way each year.   
 
 As the coal industry declined Dunston Staithes eventually fell into serious disrepair.  The National Garden Festival held in Gateshead in 1990 saw extensive restoration work carried out, with the Staithes becoming a performance space and an art gallery. 
  
Acts of vandalism and arson in 2003 inflicted extensive damage. Fortunately, TWBPT succeeded in raising the funds required to kick start the ongoing restoration which has seen it transformed into a visitor attraction.