The wonder of engineering, shown off in a way the cheese eating duo would love to see.
So no-one takes a holiday in Middlesborough, then. But once again, slowing down proves us wrong. Here is one of the biggest engineering projects of its time, its time being 1995. Lots of working parts, covering a big area, need to be explored and wondered at.
Here you can see a big barrage, which manages the flow of the River Tees just down river from Stockton, with a road bridge, a foot bridge, a lock, a fish path and a proper sized white water rafting course. There is a decent cafe, and boats in marinas, and good paths forming the 8 bridges walk. The enthusiastic can walk to the Transporter Bridge. It is an easy walk into Stockton with a nice town centre and a weird steam thing. Nearby is the left over ghost of a goods train yard - still partly used, and all in full sight of the A19.
We were even treated to a rescue helicopter searching for a missing person who, thankfully, turned out not to be missing at all.
So a decent day can be spent exploring here, but mostly, that engineering. Those big moving parts. The amazing challenge of lifting big chunks of water to fill the white water course for the rafts. This is what happens when we do our engineering large.
We are happy snappers!
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