Captain's Log

Stockton on Tees

I’d arrived on Teeside for a 6 day campaign to fill some of the remaining gaps in the area on my England Coast Path Venture. To be honest, these walks hadn’t been at the top of my list. They go through the most industrialised areas of the northeast coast. The area is also noted as one of, if not the, most deprived areas in England. I packed my knuckledusters in my rucksack for good measure. My outlook didn’t improve as I entered Stockton and waited at some traffic lights at a busy junction. Some youths on electric bikes carried out wheelies across the junction whilst waving and shouting to the traffic around them. I turned into a Lidl to pick up supplies. There was a security guard on the door. I scanned my groceries and the bill came to £6.66 which made me a bit uneasy. As I tried to exit the self-scan area a barrier wouldn’t let me through. A local said that I had to scan my receipt on a reader for the barrier to open. I scouted around in my carrier bag and was relieved to find that I’d actually retrieved it from the printer rather than left it as I usually do. On leaving the carpark, I found that the main road to my hotel was closed for roadworks. There were no signs offering alternative routes. I find Middlesbrough and Stockton a nightmare to drive around. The River Tees  meanders through the towns and I find it quite easy to become disorientated. I was on the correct side of the Wear to get to my hotel, but found myself having to cross and re-cross the river to actually get there. I felt relieved as I eventually drove into the carpark of Stockton’s Premier Inn. 

Tees Barrage

In order to relieve the stress induced by my journey, I decided to go for a short walk and check out the area around my hotel. The Premier Inn was actually at an excellent location, immediately next to the Tee’s Barrage. Not only that, but the Portrack Marsh Nature Reserve was next door too. This was a fairly large marsh area and I walked down to a viewing platform. I could hear plenty of birds about, but they remained elusive in the 5 minutes I kept a lookout for them. 

I wandered over to the impressive white water circuit. This was a world class course for canoers and kayakers. Judging by the photos on the information boards, you can elect to descend it on a raft too. Since there wasn’t any water coming down, I could see the plastic blocks on the bottom of the course that would create some of the waves. Right at the end of the course, 4 large Archimedes screws took the water that had run down the course back up to its start again. I wondered how much energy it took to turn those screws. It must be an expensive sport to run. 

Next door to this white water run was the barrage itself. This was built in 1991 and at the time was the largest Civil Engineering project in the UK. The river’s flow was controlled by four gates which are 8m tall and weigh 50 tonnes. The gates are operated by hydraulic rams, each weighing 21 tonnes. The river level above the Barrage is permanently held at an average high tide height. Adult Salmon and Sea Trout return to the River Tees to spawn. Between April and November one gate is lowered when the incoming tide gets within 1m of the upstream level creating a flow for the fish to jump the gate. 

If all this excitement wasn’t enough, there’s also an Air Trail high ropes course. It looked as though the frame was about as high as a 3 storey building. Presumably, punters are karibinered on to safety wire. The information board recommended booking an event for a ‘...hilarious group visit.’ I can imagine one of my walking groups that wouldn't find it so hilarious. 

University Of Durham

I started walking westwards alongside the river. There were quite a few, large modern buildings along here. At first, I thought they were office units, but it soon became apparent that they were university campus buildings. I was surprised to find that it was part of Durham University’s campus. Why Durham University has extended its facilities 20 miles south into Stockton, I’m not too sure. It must have come as a bit of a surprise to some prospective undergraduates thinking they would be studying in the leafy suburbs of the city of Durham only to find themselves amidst the massive industrial complex of Teesside. To be fair, this section of the River Tees was very agreeable, in fact I'd go as far to say, pretty. A couple of university rowing 8s were paddling up and down the river. Maybe being an undergraduate here wouldn’t be as bad as I first thought. 

Infinity Bridge

At this point I headed off southwards to checkout Thornaby Railway Station. I’d use the station as part of tomorrow’s walk. I then went around the new buildings to the west. To be honest, there wasn’t much merit in this part of the walk and I’ve not included it in the route. In fact, at one point I ended up getting corralled in a company carpark. The area was a bit of a maze of public and non-public access. I made my way back to the River Tees where I’d left it. This happened to be at the very impressive Infinity Bridge. 

The Infinity Bridge is a pedestrian bridge across the River Tees. It is a tied arch bridge having two arches. The bridge gets its name from the mathematical infinity symbol…imagine the number 8 on its side. If the River Tees is calm, the reflection of the arches can be seen in the river, creating the infinity symbol. A special feature of the bridge is its illumination. It has blue and white LEDs. As pedestrians walk over the bridge, sensors are triggered which switch on the white LED lights leaving a ‘comet’s tail' as people walk along. The sun hadn’t gone down yet and so I didn’t see any of this. There was a good view along the river from its centre though. In the far distance I could make out the North York Moors and the distinctive peak of Roseberry Topping. 

Return

I dropped down from the bridge to walk along the path back towards the hotel. Houses overlooked the path and the river. It must have been a pretty good view from their windows. The male rowing 8 passed nearby on the river. Despite the coxes encouragement, the rowers looked a bit half-hearted to me, although I’m no rowing expert. The pathway was quite busy with walkers, runners and cyclists. I reached the barrage and white water course and made my way back up to the hotel. 

It had only been a short walk, but it had blown some cobwebs away. Looking at the map, I rather imagined the area to be industrialised, but it was really quite pleasant. A nature reserve, a barrage, a white water course, a university campus and an impressive bridge made it an interesting 2 mile walk.