This year the Northern Ireland Branch Study Tour visited the North East of England in early May.  Thanks to some excellent advice from the North East Branch and blessed with near perfect weather the 30 strong party had a most enjoyable and memorable time in Newcastle and Durham.

Our first day was spent enjoying the ‘museum’ of 7 bridges across the Tyne including the Tyne Bridge, the forerunner of the Sydney harbour bridge, and the magnificent Gateshead Millennium Bridge.  Tours were arranged to see the Swing bridge engine room and many of us were privileged to see the mechanism in operation as the bridge opened for pleasure craft.

The disused quays along the Tyne presented a major opportunity for urban regeneration and considerable redevelopment has taken place.  We took the opportunity to visit the Baltic art gallery and the futuristic Sage concert hall.  In the evening we joined with our friends from the North East Branch to enjoy dinner cruising down the Tyne from Newcastle to the sea passing under all 7 bridges.

The boat trip took us past many disused quays and industrial sites and conjured up images of the bustling waterway it must have been in its prime.  It was interesting to see the Vosper Thorneycroft yard still busy servicing the offshore pipeline industry.

On the second day we visited Durham to see how Durham City Council deals with modern traffic conditions in the ancient Cathedral City.  We saw the new Park and Ride facilities on the outskirts of the City and learnt how the Council has introduced congestion charging on the ‘island site’ around the Cathedral to limit the traffic in the historic centre of the City.  This was the first congestion charge to be introduced in the United Kingdom.

No trip to Durham would be complete without a visit to the magnificent Cathedral on the commanding site above the River Wear and we marvelled at the craftsmanship of the cathedral built approximately 1000 years ago.

We visited the Beamish open air museum and travelled on buses and trams from the early 20th Century and some of us had the chance to travel on the steam engine Locomotion built in 1825.  While there we saw the plaque commemorating the work organised by the North East Branch and sponsored by the local companies to assist the museum with road repairs.  It is a fascinating place and well worth a visit.  Unfortunately time did not allow us to see all the museum but that is a good enough reason for us to return at a later date.  We are grateful to Miriam Harte, the Director, for the warm welcome and for a most interesting afternoon.

That night we dined at Newcastle United Football Club, the “home of good football” and friendships across the Irish Sea were formed and strengthened.

On our final day, following a most interesting paper on the Newcastle/Gateshead Transport Plan we travelled by metro to Tynemouth and had lunch in the Grand Hotel, an experience to be recommended.

Our sincere thanks to the North East Branch for their help, advice and companionship during the study tour.  We look forward to maintaining the links and visiting other branch areas in the future.

Geoffrey Perrin  Chairman  (Northern Ireland branch).   May 2006.

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