JUDY II travels: Thursday 4 July (1)

Much seen this week.

I started at Skinningrove which was a quiet farming/ fishing village until the opening of ironstone workings which led to a railway, smelting works, large scale jetty and extensive housing development. This boom lasted just over a century boosting the population hugely. However inevitably it all eventually died a death, rows of terraces were demolished and the population now is just over 400. Ironically, no pun intended, new terraces are now being built. One relic from mining days is the continued popularity of pigeon racing with lofts and cooing all round the village.

Skinningrove at its busiest

Pigeon loft

Beach boats and launching/recovery
tractors wrapped up

Local boat with carved figures,
memorial to those lost at sea

Releasing pigeon
carving

I was at Saltburn by the Sea on the hottest day of the summer, allegedly. However we had a strong and chilly onshore breeze!

Saltburn cliff funicular lift cabin,
135th birthday so free sweeties!

Saltburn funicular

Brrrrr!

The Zetland Hotel had an extension of the original Stockton-Darlington railway line right up to the

back door. Ordinary passengers left the train at an earlier station.

Zetland Hotel

Zetland terminus

After a rather too exciting drive along narrowing lanes through allotments, looking for an overnight

parking spot, I returned to the upper sea front road. During the evening this turned into a camper van jamboree with 15 other vans parked within sight and probably a few more further on. All were very friendly and locals totally welcoming.

Next stop was Hexham Abbey. A lovely building with extraordinary relics and artefacts within. Many local Roman and Saxon remains were incorporated in the building. There are also a large number of early medieval painted wooden panels which somehow escaped destruction at the Dissolution.:The abbey church was retained as the parish church and the remaining monastic buildings have recently been restored to the abbey’s possession.