Even though my walk a week year is finished I've still been doing bits and pieces of walks. But today was Spring! And maybe for one day only, so I though I'd take advantage of the sun and walk along the Leas to Souter.
I got onto the coast road by the Bamburgh pub and crossed onto the Leas. I took the path across the middle, rather than round the edge and was soon nearing Marsden Grotto. It is still 'clarty' as we good Geordies say, but drying up all the time. Half of Shields was out walking the dog, or jogging or riding bikes and just strolling along. The sea looked lovely and the Leas are starting to look green again. Souter, of course, never changes and after a quick canter round the shop I headed back to Marsden beach.
The steps down to the beach did wonders for my knees! The left one was a bit creaky but it was fine by the time I got to the sand. I walked along the beach, marvelling yet again at the sculptural effects of the cliffs, and watching the seabirds beginning to nest. Then it was up the slope and along by the Velvet Beds and the cliff tops to the road down to the Waterfront.
From there I headed inland to Highfield Road, Westoe and home.
How many miles? Must have been a few and I felt quite tired by the end. But, Hadrian's Wall beckons so I'd better start getting fit!
Showing posts with label South Shields. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Shields. Show all posts
Sunday, 17 February 2013
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Round and about South Shields
After last week I was keen to get another section of Hadrian's Wall out of the way. But you know how it is when a plan doesn't quite seem to gel. I hadn't really got organised about whether I was driving or bussing to Heddon. I hadn't really investigated how I would get back from Chollerford. Was it going to pour with rain? Should I have bought a lightweight waterproof? Time's getting on - maybe I could do the Durham Coastal path instead - but what about buses back? A quick phone call to Sunderland tourist office told me it wasn't going to be simple. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I was going against the spirit of a walk a week. I wanted it to be about enjoying a walk as part of a daily routine, wearing ordinary clothes, leaving time for other things - and here it was turning into a monster that was threatening to take over my life!
So, today's walk required no special clothes, no pre-planning, no outlay on bus fares or petrol. I simply put on my trainers, said goodbye to the cats and headed off on the McDougall/Garrick nostalgia walk. Passing by Chichester metro on the way to Laygate, I recalled the photos we have of the metro station being built, also buying weekly tickets at the office and waiting for buses at Stanhope Road. Laygate is good old family territory, I remember my aunt talking fondly of the shops in Frederick Street, my uncle talking about the mosque (opened by Muhammed Ali), there is the site of the factory my cousin (and half of South Shields) worked in, the industrial units bearing the names of streets that were known to my forebears. Then on to the site of Holy Trinity church, across the road and down past the Trimmers Arms to the riverside and desolation. I find it hard to picture this as a vibrant place, a river full of ships, streets full of men returning from work, the whole place would no doubt have been dirty, dangerous and noisy but there would have been some pride there. Where is our pride now? The docks are derelict, factories and works are closed and the sites locked, barred and bolted. How can we salvage any satisfaction in a job well done?
Further along the riverside the Customs House and the Mill Dam are restored and presentable but the whole heritage is gone. Now there are supermarkets and call centres - all built since I came to live here. The town is changing, nothing stands still. It's been far too long since I walked down King Street and paid any attention to the shops. I spotted at least one new one and several old faithfuls now gone. Along Ocean Road there were new names and new shop fronts too. I realised the cause of my restlessness - ten years ago at Wooler I heard that my mother had died. Do I really remember walking with her and my father on the Lawe Top when I was a young child, or do I just think I do?
The beach I happily discovered is still a 'thin' place were you can think spiritually and be in quiet watching the waves and the sand. And then it was home, via Westoe Village. Not a route march, maybe not much of an achievement physically but it was everything a walk used to be for me. I must do more of it. Oh, and I will do the Wall as well!
So, today's walk required no special clothes, no pre-planning, no outlay on bus fares or petrol. I simply put on my trainers, said goodbye to the cats and headed off on the McDougall/Garrick nostalgia walk. Passing by Chichester metro on the way to Laygate, I recalled the photos we have of the metro station being built, also buying weekly tickets at the office and waiting for buses at Stanhope Road. Laygate is good old family territory, I remember my aunt talking fondly of the shops in Frederick Street, my uncle talking about the mosque (opened by Muhammed Ali), there is the site of the factory my cousin (and half of South Shields) worked in, the industrial units bearing the names of streets that were known to my forebears. Then on to the site of Holy Trinity church, across the road and down past the Trimmers Arms to the riverside and desolation. I find it hard to picture this as a vibrant place, a river full of ships, streets full of men returning from work, the whole place would no doubt have been dirty, dangerous and noisy but there would have been some pride there. Where is our pride now? The docks are derelict, factories and works are closed and the sites locked, barred and bolted. How can we salvage any satisfaction in a job well done?
Further along the riverside the Customs House and the Mill Dam are restored and presentable but the whole heritage is gone. Now there are supermarkets and call centres - all built since I came to live here. The town is changing, nothing stands still. It's been far too long since I walked down King Street and paid any attention to the shops. I spotted at least one new one and several old faithfuls now gone. Along Ocean Road there were new names and new shop fronts too. I realised the cause of my restlessness - ten years ago at Wooler I heard that my mother had died. Do I really remember walking with her and my father on the Lawe Top when I was a young child, or do I just think I do?
The beach I happily discovered is still a 'thin' place were you can think spiritually and be in quiet watching the waves and the sand. And then it was home, via Westoe Village. Not a route march, maybe not much of an achievement physically but it was everything a walk used to be for me. I must do more of it. Oh, and I will do the Wall as well!
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
On the beach, South Shields
I had a morning to do this walk and a sore foot, but it was a route I've done a few times before and I'm sure the exercise helped the foot. Here's where I went.
I went through Westoe Village, all gorgeous, spring flowers in evidence and then through the allotments, across Bamburgh Avenue, Kingsway and then across the coast road onto the Leas and down to the beach. The allotments look incredibly well groomed these days, some people obviously take a lot of pride and care in their plot.
As for the beach, well the tide was in and the waves roared to the shore. The sand looked clean and lovely. There were dog walkers and the occasional jogger around but enough space for all of us. I turned back at one point and watched the waves curving in, spray blown back like hair, the sun catching them and making them shine like silver. Easy to see how tales of mermaids, white horses, Neptune himself, arose.
It wasn't easy to walk of the sand and I was conscious of need to hurry to get back and get ready for work, so I wasn't in the best frame of mind to enjoy the beach to its full.
I made my way from the pier pavilion back up Ocean Road, noting new and exciting looking Indian restaurants along the way. It's time I had another curry! Up to the Town Hall and home along Chichester Road. All done in an hour and a half and still got to work on time!
I went through Westoe Village, all gorgeous, spring flowers in evidence and then through the allotments, across Bamburgh Avenue, Kingsway and then across the coast road onto the Leas and down to the beach. The allotments look incredibly well groomed these days, some people obviously take a lot of pride and care in their plot.
As for the beach, well the tide was in and the waves roared to the shore. The sand looked clean and lovely. There were dog walkers and the occasional jogger around but enough space for all of us. I turned back at one point and watched the waves curving in, spray blown back like hair, the sun catching them and making them shine like silver. Easy to see how tales of mermaids, white horses, Neptune himself, arose.
It wasn't easy to walk of the sand and I was conscious of need to hurry to get back and get ready for work, so I wasn't in the best frame of mind to enjoy the beach to its full.
I made my way from the pier pavilion back up Ocean Road, noting new and exciting looking Indian restaurants along the way. It's time I had another curry! Up to the Town Hall and home along Chichester Road. All done in an hour and a half and still got to work on time!
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