Strange Objects at North Hylton

I pass these two objects each day as I cycle home from work. They are located behind a house that faces on to the river Wear at North Hylton. Question is, what are they?





Canon 450D Samsung 35mm f2

Since posting this piece I have met the gentleman who owns these objects and his explanation is as follows: -


1) The railed trolley was used in the maintenance of a water main that passes through a tunnel beneath the river Wear, adjacent to his house. It dates back to Victorian times.

2) The other thing is also of the Victorian era. It is a paper press, used to bale used newspapers to be returned to the mill for processing.

Both of these objects are for sale, the trolley, if I remember correctly, for £400, which I am told is the scrap value. They are to be found down by the river in North Hylton.

Cautley Spout

Cautley spout is reputed to be the waterfall with the greatest drop in England, falling through some 650 ft. It is situated near to Sedbergh in the Howgills and is clearly visible from the Kirkby Stephen road.





Wild foxgloves are to be seen in the lower sections of the walk.



Carol, posing as a fellwalker. The waterfall is situated in the background just right of centre. As this is intended to be a photo blog, let me waffle a bit about the background to this shot.

I saw the potential of the location walking towards it, and managed to take a shot of a group of walkers in the same position as Carol, but there was extensive shadow right across the hillside in the background. I therefore waited until the clouds had blown into a better position with their shadows forming a reasonably attractive pattern on the fells, probably having to wait for around 15 minutes. At that time I asked Carol to walk towards me without looking at the camera. This did try the patience of my very patient wife, but she does like the result. The point that I am making is that, in my experience, good photos rarely just materialise before the camera, they require forethought, preparation and, above all, patience!



I almost lost my telephoto lens while taking these shots. It rolled out of my slingback camera bag and started a descent into the abyss. Fortunately it was stopped in its tracks by a clump of grass!



Even after a period of relative drought there is plenty of water coming down. I must return in the spring when the flow is at its maximum.

Launching a fishing boat

If you own a moderately sized wooden fishing boat you can carry out repairs and a repaint job on the quayside, in this case adjacent to the fish quay in Sunderland.

When the work is completed along comes the mobile crane and lifts the boat back into the water. It was quite a struggle getting this large vehicle onto the quayside, but once there it lifted two boats back into the water very quickly. That in the photos is the Sunderland registered Isabella, built from wood in 1988 with a gross registered weight of 9.63 tons.




Canon 450D 70-200L

The doors open at Pallion Engineering

I pass this covered shipyard every day, but rarely do the doors open.





The old Manx ferry is to be seen lurking within, but there were also signs of productive work, rumoured to be units for the offshore industry. I would like to think that, should the offshore wind power thing take off, then this yard might see a big upturn in business. In that instance the old ferry will have to find a new resting place.

Wearside bridges in the sunshine

Completed in 1909, the lattice girder Queen Alexandra bridge was originally built as a double decker with a railway above the road. Declining coal traffic lead to the railway line falling out of use not long after the bridge was opened.





The Monkwearmouth road bridge, completed 20 years later in 1929, is a rather more elegant structure. In fact, if you plot the bending moment diagram for a uniformly loaded beam, this is the shape that you get!

Canon 5D 24-70L

Washington Old Hall - Interior

Now that the National Trust allows photography within their buildings I have been able to take a few shots within my local property, Washington Old Hall. You are not allowed to use flash and there are some other restrictions, but this is a very welcome development. For those who do not know, Washington old hall is the ancestral home of George Washington.

The place is pretty dark inside, and, ideally, you need a tripod and the ability to take a series of shots at different exposures to cope with the very contrasty lighting. Without a tripod I wound the camera up to ISO1600 and hoped for the best!




Canon 5D 24-70L

Nissan Turbines - Poppies

I've taken this scene at various times of year, here the emphasis is on the poppies at the edge of the field.

Canon 450D Samsung 35mm f2

George Cross Afloat

I pass this boat every day on the way to work in Sunderland. It has recently acquired an England flag. Hopefully it will still be flying in a couple of weeks time.

Azaleas In Northumberland

We visited the National Trust property Cragside in Rothbury today. The weather was overcast and not very promising for general photography, but the dull conditions were pretty good for close ups of the flowers.





Canon 5D 24-70L