2011

NZ1565 : Ryton Willows

taken 14 years ago, near to Ryton, Gateshead, England

This is 1 of 6 images, with title Ryton Willows in this square
Ryton Willows
Ryton Willows
The white notice board in the centre, by the trees, is near the former location of Ryton Railway Station, this side of the railway.All that remains there now is a ruined toilet block and a pedestrian subway under the track. The station opened on the Newcastle to Carlisle Railway line in 1835 and closed in 1954.
There is a photo of the railway station here LinkExternal link (Archive LinkExternal link )
The old meandering water-course which crosses the path ahead is named on the 1858 map as Willow Letch but probably dried up following the building of the railway embankment.
Ryton Willows

Ryton Willows is a Local Nature Reserve located on the banks of the Tyne, just north-east of Old Ryton Village. It consists of 43 hectares of grassland, ponds, woodland and locally rare species of flora and fauna. Because of this it has been designated as a site of special scientific interest. The majority of the site is grass and scrub growing on extensive alluvial deposits deposited by flooding and the altered course of the River Tyne over thousands of years. The steep bands to the south harbour woodland, some of which is likely to be ancient and from which water seeps maintaining the ponds at its base.

The Willows was an important area for recreation in the early C20th. Trippers were brought up the River Tyne by boat from Newcastle. Up until 1953, they could also arrive by train at Ryton Station or by ferry from the north shore until the early 1960s. There were swings, 'shuggy boats' and roundabouts at the fair, boats for hire on the local pond and teas at a café. In winter there were curling matches on the Curling Pond and a skating rink.

Ryton Willows was used for lots of other sporting activities including under-arm bowling, pigeon and sparrow shooting, rabbit coursing, quoits, football, ice skating and curling and so the area was busy and congested, especially at weekends. Golf was played on Ryton Willows by the Ryton Working Men's Club until 1911. Ryton Rugby Club have records of a match between Ryton and Blaydon on Ryton Willows in 1876.

Wikipedia: LinkExternal link
English Nature: LinkExternal link
Gateshead's Countryside Sites: LinkExternal link
Tyne and Wear HER(13570): Ryton, Ryton Willows Golf Course LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Andrew Curtis and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Category: Grassland
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Ryton Willows [24] · Near [17] · Trees [11] · Railway Line [9] Title Clusters: · Ryton Willows [6] ·
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Grid Square
NZ1565, 140 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Andrew Curtis   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 7 January, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 7 January, 2011
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 1538 6502 [10m precision]
WGS84: 54:58.7731N 1:45.6738W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 1542 6508
View Direction
South-southwest (about 202 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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