Cone

My train journey to Tyneside and back was without incident, so I spent most of the day inside the Gateshead Hilton discussing the internationalisation of Higher Education.

I had half an hour free at lunchtime so I wandered down to the Tyne and along as far as the Metro bridge scanning the mud banks for birds and old bricks before returning through Riverside Park.  Which is where I bumped into Andy Goldsworthy's cone, which I'd completely forgotten was here, and which could easily have been missed in its secluded spot.

Luckily, I have a copy of the immense Public Sculpture of North-East England  to hand to tell you a little more about it.

"Cone. Installed 1990. A cone constructed out of layers of thin steel plate which have naturally oxidised to rust red... The artist stated that the 'scrap steel cone stands on the site of an old foundry and touches the nature of an urban environment. This cone draws strength and meaning from the nature of steel, city and a site that is now grown over and wooded, where not so long ago people lived and worked.'"

There are a number of sculptures dotted about in the woods and by the river here, barely half a mile up river from the Baltic, but my impression is these are seldom visited.

Postscript: In reviewing my pictures for the day, I found an unusual looking gull. After further investigation it seems I can say with some confidence that it's a Glaucous Gull, a scarce winter visitor to the British coast. I was aware that they are seen fairly often down river at North Shields and Tynemouth, but it was quite a surprise to come across one right in the heart of the city.