The River Tyne /ˈtaɪn/ (listen) is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is 73 miles (118 km).[1] It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.

River Tyne
River Tyne Gateshead Quayside
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Physical characteristics
Source	South Tyne
• location	Alston Moor, Cumbria, England
2nd source	North Tyne
• location	Deadwater Fell, Kielder, Northumberland, England
Mouth	Tynemouth
• location	Tynemouth, North Tyneside, England
• coordinates	55°0′37″N 1°25′8″W
Length	118 km (73 miles)[1]
Basin size	2,933 km2 (1,132 square miles)[2]
Discharge
• location	Bywell[2]
• average	44.6 m3/s (1,580 cu ft/s)[2]
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	River Derwent

The Tyne Rivers Trust measure the whole Tyne catchment as 2,936 km² (1,134 square miles), containing 4,399 km (2,733 miles) of waterways.[3]

Course

North Tyne

The North Tyne rises on the Scottish border, north of Kielder Water. It flows through Kielder Forest, and in and out of the border. It then passes through the village of Bellingham before reaching Hexham.

South Tyne

The South Tyne rises on Alston Moor, Cumbria and flows 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 those of the Tees and the Wear. The South Tyne Valley falls within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second largest of the 40 AONBs in England and Wales.

Tyne

From the confluence of the North and South Tyne at Warden Rock just to the north west of Hexham, the river enters the county of Tyne and Wear between Clara Vale (in the Borough of Gateshead on the south bank) and Tyne Riverside Country Park (in Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank) and continues to divide Newcastle and Gateshead for 13 miles (21 km), in the course of which it flows under ten bridges. To the east of Gateshead and Newcastle, the Tyne divides Hebburn and Jarrow on the south bank from Walker and Wallsend on the north bank. The Tyne Tunnel runs under the river to link Jarrow and Wallsend. Finally the river flows between South Shields and Tynemouth into the North Sea.[2]

Geography

Thomas John Taylor (1810–1861)[4] theorised 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 (in the area of Bill Quay).[5] His theory was not far from the truth, as there is evidence that prior to the last ice age, the River Wear once followed the current route of the lower River Team and merged with the Tyne at Dunston. Ice diverted the course of the Wear to its current location, flowing east the course of the Tyne) and joining the North Sea at Sunderland.[6]

The River Tyne is estimated to be around 30 million years old.[7]

Conservation history

The conservation of the Tyne has been handled by various bodies over the past 500 years. Conservation bodies have included: Newcastle Trinity House,[8] and the Tyne Improvement Commission.[8] The Tyne Improvement Commission conservation lasted from 1850 until 1968.[8] The 1850–1950 era was the worst period for pollution of the river.[8] The Tyne Improvement Commission laid the foundations for what has become the modern day Port of Tyne.[9] Under the management of the Tyne Improvement Commissioners, over a period of the first 70 years the Tyne was deepened from 1.83 to 9.14 m (6 feet 0 inches to 30 feet 0 inches) and had 150 million tonnes dredged from it.[9] Inside these 70 years, the two Tyne piers were built;[9] Northumbrian, Tyne and Albert Docks were built,[9] as well as the staithes at Whitehill and Dunston.[9] This infrastructure enabled millions of tonnes of cargo to be handled by the Port by 1910.[9] The tidal river has been managed by the Port of Tyne Authority since 1968.[8][9]

Port of Tyne

With its proximity to surrounding coalfields, the Tyne was a major route for the export of coal from the 13th century until the decline of the coal mining industry in North East England in the second half of the 20th century. The largest coal staithes (a structure for loading coal onto ships) were located at Dunston in Gateshead, Hebburn and Tyne Dock, South Shields. The wooden staithes at Dunston, built in 1890, have been preserved, although they were partially destroyed by fire in 2006 and then a further fire in May 2020 means that the Staithes is becoming more vulnerable to vandalism and would need extensive financing to preserve it and make it secure.[10] In 2016, Tyne Dock, South Shields was still involved with coal, importing 2 million tonnes of shipments a year. 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 shipyards in South Shields and Hebburn to the south of the river. 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 (including Kings Meadow, the largest) removed and meanders in the river straightened.

Name and etymology

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). The Vedra on the Roman map of Britain may be the Tyne, or may be the River Wear. Ptolemy's Tína could be a "misplaced reference" to either this river or the Tyne in East Lothian.[11] There is a theory that *tīn was a word that meant "river" in the local Celtic language or in a language spoken in England before the Celts came: compare Tardebigge.

A supposed pre-Celtic root *tei, meaning 'to melt, to flow' has also been proposed as an etymological explanation of the Tyne and similarly named rivers,[12] as has a Brittonic derivative of Indo-European *teihx, meaning 'to be dirty' (Welsh tail, 'manure').[12]

River crossings

River Tyne

Name	Carries	Opened
Shields Ferry	Pedestrians and bicycles	1377[13]
Second Tyne vehicle tunnel	A19 road	25 Feb 2011
First Tyne vehicle tunnel	A19 road	19 Oct 1967
Tyne pedestrian and cyclist tunnel	Walkway, bike lane	24 Jul 1951
Gateshead Millennium Bridge	Walkway	2000
Tyne Bridge	A167 road	10 Oct 1928
Swing Bridge	Unclassified road	15 Jun 1876
High Level Bridge	Durham Coast Line, East Coast Main Line, B1307 road	27 Sep 1849
Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge	Tyne and Wear Metro	1981
King Edward VII Bridge	East Coast Main Line	10 Jul 1906
Redheugh Bridge	A189 road	18 May 1983
Scotswood Bridge	A695 road	1964
Scotswood Railway Bridge	Tyne Valley line, piping	1871
Blaydon Bridge	A1 road	3 Dec 1990
Newburn Bridge	Unclassified road	1893
Wylam Bridge	Unclassified road	1836
Wylam Railway Bridge	Scotswood, Newburn and Wylam Railway, National Cycle Route 72	6 Oct 1876
Ovingham footbridge	Walkway, National Cycle Route 72	1974[14]
Ovingham road bridge	Unclassified road	20 Dec 1883[14]
Bywell Bridge	B6309 road	1838
Styford Bridge	A68 road	1979
Corbridge Bridge	B6321 road	1674[15]
Hexham Bridge	A6079 road, National Cycle Route 72	1793[15]
Hexham Old Bridge	Road	1770[15]
Border Counties Bridge	Border Counties Railway	1856
Constantius Bridge	A69 road	1976

River North Tyne

Name	Carries	Opened
Chesters Bridge	Military Way	122
Chollerford Bridge	Military Road	1785
Wark Bridge	Unclassified road	1878
Bellingham Bridge	B6320 road	1834
Tarset Bridge	Unclassified road	1974
Greystead Bridge	Footpath	1862
Falstone Bridge	Unclassified road	1843
Kielder Viaduct	Border Counties Railway, Lakeside Way	1862
Butteryhaugh Bridge	Unclassified road	1962
Kerseycleugh Bridge	Unclassified road	1853

River South Tyne

Name	Carries	Opened
Warden Railway Bridge	Tyne Valley line	1904
Warden Bridge	Unclassified road	Nov 1903
New Haydon Bridge	A686 road	1970
Old Haydon Bridge	Footpath	1776
Haydon Bridge Viaduct	A69 road	25 Mar 2009
Lipwood Railway Bridge	Tyne Valley line	1866
Ridley Bridge	Unclassified road	1792
Ridley Railway Bridge	Tyne Valley line	1907
Millhouse Bridge	Footpath	1883
Haltwhistle A69 Bridge (East)	A69 road	1994
Alston Arches Viaduct	Alston line, footpath	May 1851
Blue Bridge	Pennine Cycleway, footpath	1875
Bellister Bridge	Footpath	1967
Haltwhistle A69 Bridge (West)	A69 road	1997
Featherstone Bridge	Unclassified road	1775
Featherstone Castle Footbridge	Footpath	1990
Diamond Oak Bridge	Unclassified road	1975
Lambley Footbridge	Footpath	1992
Lambley Viaduct	Alston line, footpath	1852
Eals footbridge	Footpath	1961[14]
Eals Bridge	Unclassified road	1733
Parson Shields bridge	Agricultural road	1972[14]
Williamston Bridge	Unclassified road
Kirkhaugh footbridge	Footpath
Alston railway bridge	South Tynedale Railway	1852
Alston bridge	A686 road	1836
Garrigill Bridge	Unclassified road

Artworks and sculpture

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

The river is represented, and personified, in a sculpture unveiled in 1968 as part of the new Civic Centre (seat of Newcastle City Council). Sculpted by David Wynne, the massive bronze figure incorporates flowing water into its design.[16]

Salmon Trail

The Environment Agency is currently working with architects and cultural consultancy xsite, in collaboration with Commissions North, to create a travelling sculpture trail along the River Tyne.

The Tyne Salmon Trail will serve as a celebration of the river,[17] its heritage and its increasingly diverse ecosystem. Historically a major symbol in the regional identity of the North East of England, the river plays host to a plethora of different species, the number of which is growing year on year in line with the rivers improving health. The trail looks to capture the imagination of residents and tourists visiting the area – providing them with the ultimate 'fact finding' design experience, which celebrates the salmon's migratory journey in the Northeast of England.

FINS, REFLECTION and JOURNEY were the first three cubes to be launched in December 2007 from a family of ten. Each cube is inspired by the textures, changing colours, movement and journey of the salmon. With each offering a 'modern day keepsake' to take away, in the form of a designed Bluetooth message.

The other cubes will be moving along the River Tyne over one year visiting different locations from Kielder to the Mouth of the Tyne in the summer 2008 before starting their long journey back to their birthplace.

Conversation Piece

Created by acclaimed Spanish sculptor, Juan Muñoz in 1999. Celebrating the Tyne Salmon;[17] here with the 2008 River Tyne Bluetooth Salmon Trail Cubes,[18] are the 22 bronze life size figures that command and celebrate a superb view of South Shields Harbour and the Tyne Piers.

Bamboo Bridge

For three days, from 18 to 20 July 2008, a temporary bamboo artwork was installed over the Tyne close to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. The Bambuco Bridge was created as part of that year's 'SummerTyne' festival.

Conservation

The River Tyne has a charity dedicated to protecting and enhancing its waters and surrounding areas. The Tyne Rivers Trust, established in 2004, is a community-based organisation that works to improve habitat, promote better understanding of the Tyne catchment area and build the reputation of the Tyne catchment as a place of environmental excellence.[19]

See also

• Association of Rivers Trusts
• Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England
• Rivers of the United Kingdom
• Tyne-class lifeboats have been operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution since 1982
• Tyne Valley, Prince Edward Island
• Tyne, the name of one of the sea areas of the British Shipping Forecast.
• Tuxedo Princess, moored floating nightclub (1983-2007)

References

Sources

• Leona J. Skelton. Tyne after Tyne: An Environmental History of a River's Battle for Protection, 1529–2015. Winwick White Horse Press, 2017. ISBN 978-1-874267-95-9.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to River Tyne.

• Bridges On The Tyne
• Online Charts of The Tyne, to Newcastle

На других языках

[de] Tyne (England)

[es] Río Tyne

[it] Tyne

[ru] Тайн