16 November, 2024
Wandering Minds - Not all those who wander are lost

Not all those who wander are lost

Date published 14 February, 2019

Tees, Gromit

Tees, Gromit

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!
View the galleries of our travels

Saving a great community asset
The picture shows the Thorold, at Marston, near Grantham in ...

Saving a great community asset

Torrevieja Friday Market
Google, of course, has many uses. But remember - it only knows ...

Torrevieja Friday Market

A New Front Door
To his credit, the taxi driver remained professional, and polite. ...

A New Front Door

There is always a story
I was sitting on a bench, enjoying the afternoon sun, with the ...

There is always a story

Eerie and Empty
The date was 5th December 2020. The location, Newcastle International ...

Eerie and Empty

Lockdown, Travellers
We were sat in the van, enjoying some untypically sunny weather ...

Lockdown, Travellers

Perspective
We love exploring places, mostly on foot, so you can see the ...

Perspective

Islands near islands -Illot de la Galera
I like islands, for no particular reasons. Being an island seems ...

Islands near islands -Illot de la Galera

The Malta Car Museum
Another day, but definitely not just another car museum. Don't ...

The Malta Car Museum

Are We Nearly There Yet?
It's the standard journey joke. Four minutes into the journey, ...

Are We Nearly There Yet?

Beverley. A surprise visit.
I had heard of Beverley, of course. But it sits to one side ...

Beverley.  A surprise visit.

Change of plan - Nottinghamshire to Yorkshire
Sometimes, when you are out and about, your plans get changed. ...

Change of plan - Nottinghamshire to Yorkshire

Quick on the Draw
Playa del Palma, S'Arenal, in Mallorca, is a nicely lively place ...

Quick on the Draw

Travelling, or on holiday?
We greatly enjoyed our trip to Majorca. A temperature in the ...

Travelling, or on holiday?

The Weather
Sooner or later, of course, amongst musings like this, one of ...

The Weather

One Rainy Day. Followed by more rainy days
All 'vanlife' pictures must be taken in glorious sunshine, with ...

One Rainy Day.  Followed by more rainy days

Cromer - lots of ice creams and an upset golfer
Cromer is a magical place towards the north of Norfolk. It sits ...

Cromer - lots of ice creams and an upset golfer

Sheringham - not all High Streets are Equal
The High Street is dead. We all know that. And it is not entirely ...

Sheringham - not all High Streets are Equal

Morecombe Bay Remembers
A regular place that we visit is Morecombe Bay. Well, more usually, ...

Morecombe Bay Remembers

Warm Coldingham
Coldingham bills itself as an historic village. I think it is ...

Warm Coldingham

That is some water feature in your garden.
It is quite possible to visit the Yorkshire Dales near Hawes ...

That is some water feature in your garden.

Riding of the Bounds Berwick upon Tweed
The ancient tradition, known as the Riding of the Bounds of ...

Riding of the Bounds Berwick upon Tweed

The Old Mill Site at Crakehall
Crakehall is really two places. Great Crakehall, and Little ...

The Old Mill Site at Crakehall

Narrow Streets in Castle Donington
We watched as the truck driver edged through the gap. Both his ...

Narrow Streets in Castle Donington

The Inland Port of Shardlow
You are entirely correct. Shardlow, on the border of Derbyshire ...

The Inland Port of Shardlow

What is there at Millshield
There is more than one River Derwent in England, you know. The ...

What is there at Millshield

Hardware Stores Resist Time
The problem with the High Street, of course, is that they are ...

Hardware Stores Resist Time

Perspective - This tree is not upside down
I love this tree picture. Of course, I would do. I took it. ...

Perspective - This tree is not upside down

Edinburgh. How did you get here?
I like Edinburgh. It is a great capital city. There is interesting ...

Edinburgh.  How did you get here?

The Island of Instruction
The picture is of Cramond Island. Cramond is one of those bits ...

The Island of Instruction

Winter wants love too
Winter is where we wait for summer, of course. Actually, of ...

Winter wants love too

Getting People Outside
This muse arose from a wander around a village that is not in ...

Getting People Outside

That is a Tidy Beach Party
Except, regrettably, it wasn't. As we wandered along the sea ...

That is a Tidy Beach Party

Seahouses Harbour Sleeps
In our travellings in February we spent a few days in Seahouses. ...

Seahouses Harbour Sleeps

Steaming out of Bury
The East Lancashire Railway Line is, as you will have swiftly ...

Steaming out of Bury

Second Hand Books in Wooler
If you are doing a tour of Northumberland, a visit to Wooler ...

Second Hand Books in Wooler

Glasson Dock. Forgotten, but alive
Not so many people will have heard of Glasson Dock. Not so many ...

Glasson Dock.  Forgotten, but alive

A Fix in the High Street
I don't only mean the High Street, of course, although untypically ...

A Fix in the High Street

Are you in the Durham Loop?
Durham is a world heritage site. Much may be written about it. ...

Are you in the Durham Loop?

All Roads Lead to Roam
There is a difference between a functional journey and a fun ...

All Roads Lead to Roam