Beauty of the Beach

Today, let me bring you on a little journey to South Shields, a suberb of Newcastle Upon Tyne. My wife is from Newcastle, so we have been over many times over the years and did so again last week, while our three children were on their mid term break from school.

South Shields is always on my list when we visit Newcastle, as I'm drawn to the ebb and flow of the North Sea and indeed any water wherever I visit. There is a majesty to rivers and mountains, Oceans and valleys I find, so wherever we go I'll want to get out on a boat, kayak, surf, fish or just stroll along the beach or promenade.

You can read all about South Shields here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Shields

The Famous Cannon

Our middle boy who is six years old is crazy about all things Army related, so a walk up to the famous cannon on the hill was a given. I took some great photos with the boys, with the Cannon and the headlands, as you will see the Cannon sits proudly atop the headland.

This visit with the boys got me thinking about the history of the Cannon, so I went to the library and spent 7 hours researching it's history meticulously _{Either that or 5 minutes searching on Google!}

I found out the following courtesy of this webpage, cough I mean book https://twsitelines.info/SMR/11977

"Two Russian cannons captured from the Crimean War (1853-1856) were set in a walled enclosure. One was a 42-pounder, the other a 24-pounder. They were delivered to South Shields by rail. They were presented to South Shields Corporation in 1858 by Lord Panmure as a spoil of war. The original guns were still on site in the 1930s (photo in The Gazette 1986), but are now replaced by replicas."

It's probably a good job that these are replicas, given the spray painting that they have been treated to over the years.

As you can see from the next two photos I took, the views from up here are incredible and we were blessed with blue skies too, a rarity in these climes in November.

It's not every day that you get up close and personal with a cannon, so these two were jumping for joy, and they'd be jumping even higher for joy in a few minutes when they see where we go next 🍦🍨

Minchellas

Minchellas in an absolute institution in Newcastle and for any local a visit to Minchellas for ice-cream is a cherished childhood memory. As such every time we visit Newcastle, Minchellas is on the itinerary. This visit was no different and we ordered toasted sandwiches for everyone to tuck into and a coffee for my wife and I.

Once everyone had eaten their toasties, it was ice-cream time, with mint choc chip for us and bubble gum with all matter of toppings for the kids. I forgot to take any photos initially but remembered half way through and captured a few.

What a sight

I'll leave you with two more stunning photos, these were not taken by me, nor were the first two, I'll link originals below. All other photos are my own though captured on my trusty Samsung smartphone.

https://www.livingnorth.com/article/south-shields

https://dwellcomehome.com/south-shields-guide-littlehaven-beach/

https://www.visitsouthtyneside.co.uk/article/8439/Beaches-and-coast

https://m.facebook.com/southshieldsuk/photos/a.546219048730536/2459682814050807/?type=3

So, if you are ever lucky enough to visit the North East of England, be sure to check out South Shields and get yourself down to Minchellas for a toastie, an ice-cream and a coffee. Tell them Irish @ablaze sent you and you'll get a 25% discount _{this last statement is 95% untrue and 5% completely made ip}

Thanks as always for stopping by everyone.

Peace Out