A GRAND DAY OUT

FERRY 'CROSS THE MERSEY TYNE

Spurred on by Shygirl73's blip yesterday of North Shields I decided to go there today.  Douglas and I used to go there regularly but I haven't been back since he died.  So today I made the effort.  First I got the bus to Newcastle and then the Metro to North Shields.  Had a wander around getting my bearings.  Did a bit of shopping.

Then I decided to do something I had never done before - take a trip on the Shields Ferry across from one side of the River Tyne to the other.  So I made my way down to the River ( you can see how steep the route was in my extra shot -  taken looking back up the hill into town - the same street which Shygirl73 blipped) and took the short trip across the river on the ferry from North Shields to South Shields.

The ferry service makes just under 25,000 journeys a year, and carries nearly 400,000 passengers a year. There are two vessels that operate the service, currently; The Pride of the Tyne (1993) and The Spirit of the Tyne (2007). Today I was on The Spirit of the Tyne.  The Ferry can be used by cyclists and is part of the National Cycle Network.  There were quite a few cyclists on board today.

After disembarking at the South Shields Ferry landing I made my way into the main shopping area and had a mooch around.  Instead of getting the Metro back to Newcastle I decided to go on the bus.  Bad choice.  It took ages - around 1 hour 20 mins.

It was around 6.pm when I got back to Newcastle.  Then 2 buses to get home. Glad to finally get in the house and put my feet up.

The weather was really warm and sunny today - it was even pleasant down on the river where there was a bit of a breeze.

Steps today - 12,285