The Bridge

After an early lunch, we set off for Washington, Tyne & Wear, where MrM was to have his Covid jab at the Nightingale Vaccination Centre. It was an easy enough journey, except for the very last bit, where the directions said to "follow the signs ... when you are close". But they were sadly lacking, and we eventually found the car park with 10 minutes to spare. While MrM had his jab I spent a very pleasant 30minutes sitting in the van reading, something I rarely do before bedtime.

Afterwards, a proper MrM tour - the sort where you're always going the right way for somewhere, you just don't know where it is! We headed for the coast, and had a very brief stroll on the beach at Seaham (extra), before driving up to Sunderland. 

MrM spotted the impressive Queen Alexandra Bridge across the River Wear (extra, taken from a moving van), and couldn't resist driving over it. Opened in 1909, it was a combined double-deck rail/road bridge, but only the lower road deck is in use today. The railway bridge was last used in 1921 and dismantled in 1985. 

We passed the new (opened in 2018) Northern Spire Bridge shown in the Blip, and headed once again for the coast. Fish & chips were bought in Cullercoates, and we drove the short distance up to Whitley Bay to eat them with a sea view.

By then it was getting dark, and time to go home. This time last year, who would have thought that a 100-mile round trip to have an injection would be such an exciting adventure!

Lockdown 3, day 72