North East Day 7 - Ships (and Nowt Much Else)

Although Sunderland is my home town there wasn't too much of visiting old haunts today as I had a couple of specific purposes in mind. I'd toyed with the idea of getting the bus in rather than taking the 'van but ultimately decided I'd prefer to have the flexibility, and it would have been a lot more expensive. Due to where I planned to go and the availability, or otherwise, of parking there I used the Pay-and-Display at the Stadium of Light Metro (it's only £1 all day) and bought a one day ticket for another £3. The first stop was Pallion, where Doxfords Shipyard was located. My Grandpa and Dad both worked there and one of my model railways will be loosely based on the yard so I wanted a few photos. There's not really a lot to see to be honest, a lot of the site is now very overgrown with old cars and vans scattered around the roadways, it's also not accessible. Being there, and the photos I have taken, will help clarify my thinking and will help me make things as realistic as I can.

The new Northern Spire Bridge, mentioned yesterday, may bring some regeneration to the area.

There's already a newish shopping centre adjacent and one building, I believe it was part of the engine works, is in active use. Sadly there's also dereliction. The West Gatehouse to the yard was further damaged in an arson attack in late 2017, although there is a campaign to save it in its entirety it looks likely the Council will only preserve the gates and arch in a new location nearby.

It would be much better if the whole building could be saved but I think that could only happen if there was a commercial use to fund the repairs. From Pallion I caught the Metro back into the City Centre, Sunderland Station has changed a bit since I was last there! It's still not very good, but it's better than it used to be, My next planned call was to Sunderland Maritime Heritage. Primarily this is a group of volunteers who're involved in various maritime related projects, in particular they have two main vessels they're working on. 

The MFV Wildora is a Dunkirk Little Ship, built in 1901 and credited with saving over 200 lives in Operation Dynamo. The ship has few direct links with Sunderland but was purchased by the Council in the 1970s as a project for a school. She's very nearly ready to go back into the water in time for the Tall Ships Race later in the year. Another project they've taken on is completing a 1/10th scale model of HMS Venerable. In 1797 the Battle of Camperdown took place between the British and the Batavian Navy (the latter allied to the French). Venerable was Admiral Duncan's flagship and, at the height of the battle, her colours and signal flags were shot away. Amidst the confusion this would have  been seen as a sign of surrender so Jack Crawford, a Sunderland lad, climbed up and, "Nailed the colours to the mast!" This act is commemorated in statues, songs and now in a replica ship! Although in theory the model will float, and it appears the two people who started the build intended it to be capable of carrying a couple of people, it's now been decided it will be a land-based model instead - it's on a trailer and is taken to schools and events.  

Visitors to the heritage centre are very welcome when they're open and I was fortunate to have a personal tour around by the chap who's doing the bulk of the work on the Venerable and another volunteer. They are working on improving their heritage presentation and setting up a small café area for visitors.

As by now I was almost down on the quayside I continued to the river to see what was happening down there. There is still some cargo trade carried on, one ship was in, the bulk carrier Ocean Spirit.

Walking along the quaysides I did find one reminder of the shipbuilding heritage in the form of a mural. 

Certainly at that end of the river though everything else has been swept away or redeveloped. Once I'd had a late lunch (Cheese and Onion Stottie*) I picked up the 'van and had a very quick drive down through Seaburn past where I was born before driving up the North bank of the river. I did get a couple of photos looking over towards Doxfords' Yard which may help slightly in placing things. All that remained of the day was a call in to a Farm Shop near the site to stock up on some fresh goods. Tea tonight is sorted anyway, the Fish and Chip van is due!

*Stottie Cake is a staple of the North East, although there is some dispute as to what it really is. For this purpose it's a flat, round, oven bottom loaf of bread (but some people would say that's Fadge!)