Curling Pond, Ryton Willows
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Curling Pond, Ryton Willows by Andrew Curtis as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Curling Pond, Ryton Willows
Image: © Andrew Curtis Taken: 3 Jan 2011
The Curling Pond and nearby Glebe Pond were formed by excavations when the Newcastle to Carlisle railway was built. They support a range of animal and plant life including bladderwort, marsh cinquefoil and bottle sedge and are part of Ryton Willows SSSI http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001266.pdf There was a specially built ice rink here which was last used by the Newcastle Caledonia Curling Club at the beginning of World War II. In Edwardian times, the main part of the Willows was the site of a mini fairground with roundabouts, ‘shuggy boats’ and a café. There were also boats to hire on the ponds. http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Leisure%20and%20Culture/countryside/sites/rytonwillows.aspx There is an old photo of Ryton Curling Club in action here http://isee.gateshead.gov.uk/detail.php?t=objects&type=all&f=&s=ryton&record=145
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
54.978467
Longitude
-1.758425