Newcastle bridges and shopping trollies high and dry

Sunday. At work today. Not too taxing, but very different from how working weekends used to be thirty years ago. Then we had a staff canteen, oh, and staff, of course! We'd all take our lunch break at the same time, get our food from the canteen, and enjoy a shared bottle of wine supplied by one of the longer serving members of staff. Now there's no canteen, not the same camaraderie - and no wine.

On a more waterways theme than of late, here are a few bridges over the Tyne we saw in Newcastle/Gateshead recently.


The swing bridge (1876) is swung two or three times a week, just to keep it from seizing up, I suppose. In the background is Robert Stephenson's High Level Bridge (1849). Upper deck railway; lower deck road traffic and pedestrians.


The Tyne Bridge was opened in 1928 and carries road traffic.


The Millennium Bridge (2001) is for pedestrians and cyclists. It tilts such that the curved footway/cycleway rises and the arch falls, allowing river traffic through. Again, it is operated a few times every week, but probably more as an attraction than to give way to boats.

Nearby is a representation of the double helix form of DNA - made from shopping trollies.