NEWCASTLE. Bridging The Tyne.

The Quayside by the Tyne with the Tyne Bridge, Swing Bridge, the High Level Bridge and the Metro Bridge all crossing the river.

A river gives a city an identity, London has the Thames, Liverpool the Mersey, Glasgow the Clyde and Newcastle has the Tyne. Again like the above The Tyne’s origins are in The Scottish Borders where the North Tyne rises and the Pennine moors near the market town of Alston where the South Tyne first sees the light of day. These watery twins combine near Hexham as they continue their way onto the Northumbrian coast and the North Sea.

The Quayside on the River Tyne with the former flour mill now the Baltic Gallery on the Gateshead side and the Millennium Bridge crossing the river.

Industry increases its grip along banks the nearer the river gets to the sea. The scars of the industrial past can still be seen, leftovers from the Industrial Revolution onwards. Reminders of the often painful transition from the ship building on other heavy industries to the modern, less people intensive businesses of today.

The Quayside. The Tyne Bridge crossing Side, the street leading down to the Tyne and the quayside.

A Metro train crossing the bridge over the River Tyne. The bridge connects Newcastle with Gateshead.

If you have a river, especially one close by a city you might want to cross it without too much inconvenience. Ass well as a road tunnel and a ferry there are a selection of bridges for you to choose from, lined up neatly along the Quayside.