28th August 2022. A warm and sunny Sunday afternoon – time for a short trip eastwards along the river Tyne to North Shields, a historic fishing port near the river mouth which first became noticed in 1225, by the local priory as a likely spot from which to go fishing.
In the time since, North Shields grew to become one of the most important fishing harbours on the north-east coast. Photos from the 1800s show the quayside lined with sailing fishing boats. More and more fishing over the centuries brought its inevitable result in the 20th – the fish disappeared.
That once great fleet of fishing boats is now gone. However the harbour lives on and is still used as a base by a few modern boats, European as well as British, not least because of its proximity to Dogger Bank, an important fishing ground in the North Sea.
North Shields has also been ‘found’ by the developers, and the skyline on the river frontage is changing fast as blocks of luxury flats rise on the backs of a ‘river view’. Fortunately or unfortunately perhaps, many locals are too sensible to want to pay high service charges on a leasehold flat, no matter how good the view.
The town is also a popular destination for local days out, not least as it has a metro station. Ice creams are on offer, as is beer, and even some rather excellent fish and chips (however the price pushed me to ask for extra vinegar).
And the past is marked on a small promontory over the river by a striking statue in steel of a fisherman, cigarette in mouth, sat waiting. The figure commemorates the countless lives lost at sea over the years in the course of the fishing industry. What the figure is awaiting is for the onlooker to guess. For his ship perhaps, or the weather, or even the fish!
© Philip Hunt 2022
