River Tyne, England
:
Tyne redirects here. For the river in Scotland, see
River Tyne, Scotland. Or see
tine or
Thynne.
 |
The Tyne Bridge across the River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead. Taken from the deck of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, looking west and upstream. |
The
River Tyne is a
river in
England. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers, the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near
Hexham in
Northumberland at a place dubbed the Meeting of the Waters.
The
North Tyne rises on the
Scottish border, north of
Kielder Water. It flows through
Kielder Forest, and passes through no major settlements before Hexham.
The
South Tyne rises on
Alston Moor,
Cumbria and flow through the towns of
Haltwhistle and
Haydon Bridge, in a valley often called the
Tyne Gap.
Hadrian's Wall lies to the North of the Tyne Gap. Coincidentally the source of the South Tyne is very close to the sources of the other two great rivers of the industrial north east namely the
Tees and the
Wear.
The combined Tyne flows from Hexham through
Corbridge in
Northumberland. It enters the county of
Tyne and Wear between Clara Vale (on the South bank in
Gateshead) and Tyne Riverside Country Park (on the North bank in
Newcastle upon Tyne) and continues to divide Newcastle and Gateshead for 13 miles, during which it is spanned by 10 bridges. To the East of Gateshead and Newcastle, the Tyne divides
Hebburn and
Jarrow on the South bank from
Wallsend and
North Shields. Jarrow and North Shields are linked underneath the river by the
Tyne Tunnel. Finally it flows between
South Shields and
Tynemouth into the North Sea. As it passes through the
Tyneside conurbation, the river marks the pre-1974 border between
County Durham (to the south) and
Northumberland (to the north).
The Tyne was a major route for the export of
coal from the
13th century until the decline of the
coalfields of North East England in the second half of the
20th century. Dramatic
wooden staithes (a structure for loading coal onto ships) have been preserved at
Dunston in Gateshead.
The lower reaches of the Tyne were, in the late
19th and early 20th centuries, one of the world's most important centres of
shipbuilding, and there are still major shipyards at
Wallsend on the north of the river and
Hebburn on the south.
To support the shipbuilding and
export industries of
Tyneside, the lower reaches of the river were extensively remodelled during the second half of the 19th century, with islands removed and meanders in the river straightened.
Nothing definite is known of the origin of the designation "Tyne", nor is the river known by that name until the
Saxon period:
Tynemouth is recorded in
Anglo-Saxon as
Tinanmuðe (probably
dative case). There is a theory that
TÄ«n was a word that meant "river" in the local
Celtic language or in a language spoken in England before the
Celts came: compare
Tardebigge.
The
River Vedra on the
Roman map of Britain may be the Tyne, or may be the
River Wear. The late Thomas John Taylor supposed that the main course of the river anciently flowed through what is now
Team Valley, its outlet into the tidal river being by a waterfall at
Bill Point. There may have also been communication with the River Wear via Team Valley, though this is subject to debate.
River Tyne
*
Tyne Tunnel (road)
*
Tyne Pedestrian & Cycle Tunnel (foot, bicycle)
*
Gateshead Millennium Bridge (foot, bicycle)
*
Tyne Bridge (road, foot)
*
Swing Bridge (road, foot)
*
High Level Bridge (rail, road, foot)
*
Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge (
Metro light rail)
*
King Edward VII Bridge (rail)
*
Redheugh Bridge (road, foot)
*
Scotswood Bridge (road, foot)
*
Scotswood Railway Bridge (disused rail, now carries water and gas mains)
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Blaydon Bridge (road, foot)
*
Newburn Bridge (road, foot)
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Wylam Bridge (road, foot)
*Hagg Bank Bridge (at
Wylam) (foot, bicycle)
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Ovingham Bridge (road)
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Ovingham Footbridge (foot)
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Bywell Bridge (road, foot)
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Styford Bridge (road, foot)
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Corbridge (road, foot)
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Hexham Bridge (road, foot)
*
Constantium Bridge (road)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:River_Tyne%2C_England"
River North Tyne
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Chollerford Bridge (road, foot)
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Wark Bridge (foot)
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Bellingham Bridge (road, foot)
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Falstone Bridge (road, foot)
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Kielder Viaduct (foot - previously rail)
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Kerseycleugh Bridge (road, foot)
River South Tyne
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Warden Bridge (road, foot)
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New Haydon Bridge (road, foot)
*
Haydon Bridge (foot)
*
Ridley Bridge (road, foot)
*Millhouse Bridge (at
Bardon Mill) (foot)
*A69 Bridge (at
Haltwhistle) (road)
*
Alston Arches Viaduct (at
Haltwhistle) (disused rail)
*
Blue Bridge (at
Haltwhistle) (foot - previously road)
*
Bellister Bridge (at
Haltwhistle) (foot - previously road)
*A69 Bridge (at
Haltwhistle) (road, foot)
*
Featherstone Bridge (road, foot)
*
Featherstone Castle Footbridge (foot)
*Diamond Oak Bridge (at
Coanwood) (road, foot)
*Lambley Footbridge (foot)
*
Lambley Viaduct (foot - previously rail)
*
Eals Bridge (road, foot)
*Tyne (or Brewery) Bridge (at
Alston) (road, foot)
*
Garrigill Bridge (road, foot)
In 1944 the North, South and main Tyne were good
trout rivers with prolific insect life. There were also
dace throughout their deep pools. On several occasions 4 lb trout were caught, although the "average" big fish was normally around 1 lb 4oz. It was suspected that some of the larger trout were escapees from private lakes. James Hall, a school teacher from
Hexham, fished with fly for 50 years. His biggest trout was 2 lb 1oz from the
West Allen, a tributary of the South Tyne.
Smolts were still caught in the spring in varying numbers.
In 1950 indiscriminate gravel digging throughout the Tyne system left deep lagoons and stretches of sluggish water. A large population of
pike built up, mainly in the Hexham area. At this time Guy Hall, the 12-year old son of James, bought a 30
shilling salmon licence. Between 1944 and 1952, Guy saw only two fresh salmon, and just one
sea trout.
In the late 1950s the removal of gravel below Hexham Bridge eroded its foundations to make, in effect, a high dam. Here a school boy, fishing for
pike, caught a fresh spring
salmon. Other anglers caught a number of fresh salmon and the run steadily increased from year to year. An employee of
Tyne Metal Company caught 40 in a single season fishing only in his lunch hour! Without external intervention the salmon had returned to the Tyne. Killing of the fish was indiscriminate, and complaints about the "dam" eventually resulted in building a
fish pass.
There were numerous disputes over the ownership of many stretches of Tyne fishing. Some continue to the present day.
In the early 1960s the Tyne system was badly affected by
ulcerative dermal necrosis (UDN). (A similar disease broke out in the 1880s, and lasted for at least 40 years. The exact duration is unknown due to the disruption caused by .) On the
River Border Esk (to the west of the Tyne), UDN rendered the entire run of spring salmon extinct. The Tyne salmon were not affected to such an extent, but some suspect that UDN persists to this day, and that it may be involved in the summer
estuarine deaths which occur in periods of low water from June onwards.
Every autumn after the first frost large numbers of dead and dying salmon and sea trout are found near the mouth of the Newbrough Burn in the South Tyne. Of those found dead since at least 1985, more than 50% had not spawned.
The North Tyne was dammed in 1980 to supply water to Teesside from
Kielder Reservoir, and a salmon hatchery was opened to compensate for a lack of spawning ground. Intermittent and highly unnatural surges of water now flowed down the North Tyne and into the main Tyne. This resulted in the drastic reduction in the population of
crayfish,
swan mussels and the insect population.
Water abstraction made this worse. The water flow from the
reservoir is now dark brown, peaty and flocculent, and the river bed is slimy. The population of river flies is a pathetic fraction of its former self. Concurrently the brown trout population of the entire system is in severe decline. In order to compensate for this, stock fish whose average size is unnaturally large for the system, are regularly added to the river. It is thought that many of these fish may migrate and return to the river as sea trout. Unfortunately many Tyne sea trout are of poor culinary quality.
Due to the heavy summer fish mortality, there is great discussion on the future of the Kielder hatchery. Many people consider that it is responsible for the steady improvement in salmon runs. The Environment Agency's report The role of stocking in recovery of the River Tyne salmon fisheries (http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/105385/review_10.4_version2b_885710.pdf) has received little publicity locally, despite its potential contribution to the debate.
â€"On 18/07/06, concerned about the effects of the heatwave, I walked the upper Tyne estuary at low tide, finding no dead fish; or indeed seeing any dead or alive in the notorious Wylam Bridge Pool.The North and Main Tynes' levels were augmented, and rendered almost opaque by released water from Kielder.On 21st. I observed four dead migratory fish at Haydom Bridge and heard of a further dead salmon at Allerwash.These were reported to the Environment Agency hotline at 1.30.p.m.
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Rivers of the United Kingdom
