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Bridge Street, BLAYDON-ON-TYNE, NE21 4JQ

The wooded Blaydon Burn is on the left.

The old road bridge in the foreground was built for the Hexham Turnpike Trust in 1778. The large road bridge behind was added in 1936. http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1380569 From this point to its outlet into the River Tyne, the Blaydon Burn flows in a culvert below the track and railway line.

The area of grassland beside Blaydon Burn at its northern end was once part of Cowen's Low Yard, a firebrick manufactory. The factory, opened in 1838, and at peak could make 6 million firebricks a year. The factory closed in 1975 and the walls you can still see near the bridge are part of a kiln back. The line of the Blaydon Burn Waggonway can be seen on the right side. The impoverished grassland created here is rich in wildflowers and supports dingy skipper buterflies.

The burn runs in a culvert below a track and under the Newcastle to Carlisle railway line which runs here close to the river. A new path is being made on the promenade between the railway and river bank, which will form the new line of Keelman's Way, a cycle path on the south side of the Tyne http://www.cycle-routes.org/cycle-gateshead/routes/keelmans/keel_01rev.html

The family business of Pumphrey’s Coffee was originally started in the Flesh Market (opposite the Bigg Market) in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1750. Since 1983, it has been based at Bridge Street, Blaydon, comprising of a warehouse, factory and a coffee shop, open to trade and the general public http://www.pumphreys-coffee.co.uk/history-of-pumphreys/

The sculpture is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne close to the railway line and Keelman's Way cycle track. It was unveiled in 2012 as part of celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the famous Tyneside song, The Blaydon Races written by Geordie Ridley, which is about the journey to the event on 9th June 1862 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaydon_Races The sculpture was commissioned by Gateshead Council close to the site of the Blaydon horse races which from 1861 were held on an island in the River Tyne known as Blaydon Island or Dents Meadow. The first race had been held in 1811 on the site now occupied by Blaydon Railway Station. After removal of the island, dredging and realigning of the river by the Tyne Improvement Commission, races were again revived in 1887 on land at Stella Haugh. The last was held in 1916 http://www.rolyveitch.20m.com/BlaydonRaces.html The work by sculptor Andrew McKeown represents the horses and jockeys as they approach the finishing line. There are three life-size horses and riders, a three-metre tall winning post, and two five-metre high flagpoles made with galvanized steel plate, and pipe. It is intended that the flagpoles will make the artwork stand out in its riverside location beside the new footpath and cycleway from Blaydon Burn to Stella, from passing trains on the Newcastle to Carlisle railway and even, with difficulty, from the north bank of the river Image http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/artwork-fitting-tribute-blaydon-races-4408554 http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/local-news/new-sculpture-unveiled-blaydon-races-1366645 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-18550904 https://www.playgroundsculptures.co.uk/gallery/bespoke-designs/blaydon-races-sculpture/