A-Z Challenge 2018 - British Rivers: 'T' Tees

There are so many rivers beginning with 'T' - Tay, Tweed, Tyne, Tees, Trent,Thames, Test, Taw, Tamar - it's impossible to cover them all.

So I'll stick to the one I know best.

River Tees 'looping' round the town of Yarm

Here you can hardly miss the railway viaduct that appeared in my 'Theme Reveal' post.

Railway viaduct crossing the River Tees

That's it, together with the road bridge, at the left of the first photo.

Upstream of the viaduct the river looks very peaceful. A seal has been fishing there this week.

You can see the road bridge with the viaduct behind from this shot taken from down stream.

The name of Yarm is derived from the Anglo Saxon 'yarum' meaning 'fish pools'

The road bridge was built in 1400 by Walter Skirlaw, Bishop of Durham; now it is twice the width of that 1400 bridge, but original stonework still makes up part of the pillars you can see.

The first bridge over the Tees at Stockton, further downstream, was built in 1771. Until that time the port of Yarm had been the nearest place to the North Sea where River Tees could be crossed. As ships got bigger port facilities moved down river, first to Stockton, then and now to Middlesbrough.

When we first moved to Yarm in 1970 the Tees was a tidal river up to and beyond the town. It was not uncommon for the town to be flooded; high water heights are recorded on some buildings.

In the 1990s a tidal barrier was installed between Stockton and Middlesbrough. The Tees at Yarm is now no longer tidal with the water level controlled by the Tees Barrage.

Geese on the River Tees at Yarm

Raised floodgate on the Barrage

High Tide

Low Tide

Meanwhile back at Yarm the geese line up - 

For their turn in a gala on the River

We cannot leave the Tees without taking a look at some bridges further down river,

The Infinity Bridge at Stockton
(with the Tees Barrage in the background)

The Infinity Bridge was erected to celebrate the end of the 20th century.

You can walk alongside the River from the Infinity Bridge down past the Tees Barrage, alongside the Portrack Nature Reserve. Then if the mood takes you can cross over to the other side via - 

Newport Bridge

Designed as a lift bridge to allow ships to past, the road section is now fixed in place and only small craft pass to go up to the Barrage and through its lock to Stockton and beyond.

Along that stretch of the Tees you may, if the mood takes you, indulge some bird watching.

A curlew in the mud

Closer to the sea you come to Middlesbrough and the bridge that has become an icon for the town.

Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge in action

From Behind - Thematic Photography

Carmi wants us to try something a little different with this week's theme: from behind. We've been conditioned to take pictures from the front - think about it, when we pose, we stare straight at the camera - that we've virtually forgotten what goes on on the other side. For the coming week, he hopes we'll walk around to the back and see what we can find.

Interestingly my first picture is from behind some ropes at a dog show in Gloucestershire in 2001.

Puppy Class 2001

The girl with her back to the camera with the dog is my granddaughter. The boy just happened to be watching what was going on. The dog is an Irish Water Spaniel, 6 months old at the time.

Next it's a holiday shot from Grand Canaria of an unknown man.

Rear of the Year 2006

Some shots however have to be taken from behind because of the location.

Boat Race - Yarm Gala 2009

The shot had to be taken from Yarm Bridge over the River Tees.

Similarly the only way I could get these ducklings was from behind - mother duck was shepherding them to safety,

Ducklings on the River Tees - 2009

And this is Sam, checking out who is calling him.

Sam

 

Sam was my daughter's Golden Labrador who was blind for the last two years of his life.

Should you go to Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire you too can have a chance to capture this:

The Behind of Any Year

For other behind the scene shots you need to check out the links on Carmi's blog at Thematic-photographic-209

 

Orange - Thematic Photography

I have shown photos before of Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain in its Bristol dry dock; the orange theme this week allows me to show two more.

Rudder of SS Great Britain

This shot is taken through the 'glass' covering that surrounds the ship. Visitors may go into the dry dock and walk round the hull of the ship. You can get a different view of the rudder and go right up to it.

Propeller and Rudder - SS Great Britain

Boat races are held on the River Tees on Yarm Gala Day; the boats fit our theme.

Boat Race on River Tees

During my holiday in Michigan this year one of the jobs to keep me amused was to cut the grass.

Orange mower

If you are wondering about the driver, he's behind the camera ready to take photos of the wildlife before moving them out of harm's way with that metal snow shovel.

Snapping Turtle laying eggs in the grass

It's not often that you get the chance to see a bird of paradise but this is one I like,

Bird of Paradise flower

growing in my son's flat in Cornwall.

For orange treats you need to pop over to Thematic-photographic-204 where you will find others who have responded to Carmi's challenge.