Newbiggin-By-The Sea ~ January 2019

Posted in Adventures, Church, Fuji, Fujifilm X100F, History, landscape, photographyTagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Into 2019 outings now, as Whitley Bay was our last trip out in 2018.

Also I’m not posting here as often as I’m busy doing a 365 project over on Fraggles Other Place this year, feel free to pop over and visit me there! Clickety click HERE.

Sophie and I had a day out in Northumberland, visiting a few places, and starting with Newbiggin B-T-S.

The History Bit  

Newbiggin was once an important port for shipping grain and a coal mining town, it is still a small fishing port now making use of traditional cobel boats. The town was at the end of the first telegraph cable from Scandinavia in 1868, and was laid from Jutland, Denmark. Attractions in Newbiggin today include the 13th-century parish church, and the new flagship Newbiggin Maritime Centre, which has replaced the former heritage centre at a cost of £3million. The lifeboat station was opened in 1851 following a fishing disaster in which ten Newbiggin fishermen lost their lives in stormy seas. It is the oldest operational boathouse in the British Isles.
A £10,000,000 renovation to rebuild and improve Newbiggin’s rapidly eroding beach involved importing 500,000 tonnes of sand from Skegness, delivered by the trailing suction hopper dredger, (try saying that after a couple of glasses of vino delecto!)  Oranje, and deposited on the beach through a pipe approximately 1 metre in diameter. A new offshore breakwater was installed to accompany the matching breakwater on the opposite side of the bay. Also installed is a brass statue by sculptor Sean Henry named Couple, anchored in the centre of the bay.
The 13th century Parish Church of St Bartholomew, bleakly situated against a North Sea backdrop at Church Point, contains a notable collection of medieval gravestones. Eight complete cross slab grave covers have been reset in the walls of the north aisle which was rebuilt in 1912. The chancel, the east and western bays of arcades and the west tower are all 13th century, while the spire dates to the 14th century.

That’s about it, let us crack on with the pictures.  We parked up in the community car park next to St.Bart’s Church, and when we got out of the car were surrounded by dogs.

The Bedlington Terrier Brigade

I asked them what they were up to (the owners not the dogs) and was informed that this was the Bedlington Terrier Walking group.

Sophie and I left them to it and we went off to visit the church.

St.Bartholomew’s Church
old grave
Robert Redford drowned :/
Guarding the door
This one still had all his teeth!

We walked down to visit the lifeboat station

Puffin bollards

and took a photo of the expensive breakwater and the statue of the Couple. Click on the pic to see them better. I have no idea what the Couple is about, but in researching (looking on Trip Advisor as it happens) came across the following moving tribute by a resident which I felt was worth sharing here…

“lived in the bay for a number of years and this statue has to be the worst thing that the council could have ever placed in the village
N.C.C literally must have rocks in their heads to totally waste so much of the tax payers money without even consulting locals about what they wanted for their village
Its ugly…dull…drab and in very bad taste
The figures look like Andy Cap and Flo !!
Its an insult to Newbiggin and its history”

and many more concur, so not a well loved landmark, or even seamark, by any stretch.

(for my overseas pals, you can see & read about Andy Capp and Flo HERE)

 

Breakwater & The Couple.

The Bedlington Terriers were having a nice time on the beach

Invasion of the Bedlington Terriers

There was a cobel boat in the yard of the lifeboat station

Glad cobel boat
Safe as houses

we cut our visit short as time was ticking on and the sky wasn’t looking too promising, and we had other places to visit, and as we left, so did some of the Invasion Force

Dogs of fashion.

Stay tooned folks, next time we’re off to lunch in Rock (named after me possibly) and to Dunstanburgh Castle.

All pictures embiggenable and clickable.

37 thoughts on “Newbiggin-By-The Sea ~ January 2019”

  8. Oh Fraggy I love your walkings around. And I love those Dogs, I’m not sure we have that breed here . As for Andy Capp. We’ve known him for years:) in the funnies.
    I’m going back to look again, what a neat place!!!!! Thanks for the education:)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. Pingback: Rock & Craster & Dunstanburgh Castle – fraggle

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