Blink

I was there when the Gateshead Millennium Bridge was lifted into place in 2000 and opened in 2001. And as a Newcastle and then Gateshead resident until 2005, and as a visitor since, I've walked by and across it many times. I've hardly ever seen it blink though.

8yo, 11yo and I had been standing on the bridge twenty minutes earlier. We'd then climbed the Castle Stairs from the Quayside and then climbed to the top of the Castle keep. In taking in the fine views across Tyneside it took a while to sink in that something was slightly out of kilter, and then it clicked, the Millennium Bridge was raised.

Earlier we'd bussed out to the Angel to stretch our wings and gazed at the seasonal wonder of the the Kittiwakes nesting on every ledge around the Quayside that they could find. An iconic end to our short trip to Tyneside.