Ouse burn crossings

Ouse Burn Crossings Roger Broughton This is based on a website documenting a journey down the Ouse Burn photographing all the crossings.

I have to take the dog "Bobby" for a walk every day, and normally I pick up litter.

I made this journey to have a bit of variety, it took 5 days beginning 7th February 2012, I revisited several crossings in September that year after 1018mm rainfall and have included additional notes over the last couple of years.

Bobby is in many of the photographs, he is a white/brown/black Welsh Collie. He is normally in front, never on a lead, but when he comes to a choice of ways to go he stops for me to indicate which way by a wave of an arm.

Before we begin the journey we look at a sculpture on the City Stadium This is The Ouseburn Monument. It is two tapered half tubes back to back joined by a wiggly bit of metal surrounded by an oval kerb. The wiggly bit of metal represents the Ouse Burn, which is actually flowing about 35m below the monument in the culvert below.

On the kerb are names of places the Burn flows through: Callerton, Woolsington, Brunton, Jesmond Dene and Ouseburn Valley.

The journey begins in Northumberland near Callerton Village.

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From the Source of the Ouse Burn

This little green pool at NZ 16766820 might be the source of the Ouse Burn, but on the day I was there, there was no running water, the ground was frozen solid.

That patch of blue is Callerton Pond from which the Ouse Burn flows for sure through the reeds/grasses in the foreground.

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I found 61 crossings of the Ouse Burn so there are a lot of pages in Ouse Burn Crossings. should you want to enter at other than this first page just click on the link below.

Callerton Village sewer

Dene Bridge

Whorlton Lane

Recreational bridge

A696 airport/Ponteland road

North Lodge driveway bridge

Airport Metro bridge

Stepping Stones

Three private little bridges

Mill bridge

Woolsington Bridge

Smallest Crossing

STRICTLY PRIVATE road

Road crossing

Brunton Bridge

Red Walk bridge

Brunton farm track

Banqueting Hall bridge

New bridge

Pet's Corner bridge

A1 Western Bypass

Coleman's Field bridge

Substantial footbridge

2011 footbridge

Flimsy footbridge

Armstrong Bridge

Crossing found in 2014

A1058 Cradlewell Bypass

Great North Road

Benton Bridge

Allotment bridge

White footbridge

Whitebridge Park bridge

Bluebell Inn bridge

White Bridge

Stone footbridge

Golf course sewer and footbridge

Ouse Burn Culvert

Golf Course crossings

Ouseburn Railway Viaduct

Penultimate golf crossing

Ouseburn Metro bridge

Final golf course crossing

Crawford's Bridge

Dentsmire Bridge

Byker Road Bridge

Salter's Bridge

Cluny footbridge

Gosforth Metro bridge

B1312 Byker Bank bridge

South Gosforth

Glasshouse Bridge

Haddrick's Mill bridge

Low Level Bridge

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1&2

Callerton Village sewer

The first crossing is a sewer at 9.9 miles from the Tyne NZ17606853, the horizontal black pipe just in front of the second crossing.

The second crossing is the Lough Bridge at 9.87 miles carrying the B6324 Stamfordham road over the burn.

The burn exits in a deep ditch with a trickle of water alongside the road.

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3.

Whorlton Lane 500 meters down the road Whorlton Lane crosses the Ouse Burn to join the road.

It is an old stone arch bridge with modern brick parapets in place of the old wooden railings.

It is 9.51 miles from the River Tyne.

This is the road on top.

Downstream view of bridge.

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4.

A696 Airport/Ponteland Road

The burn meanders its way 1.2 miles across farmland with no crossing shown on the Ordnance Survey map till it is crossed by the A696. This is the longest uncrossed stretch of the burn.

The bridge, 8.39 miles from the Tyne, is a modern reinforced concrete arch, the A696 was opened in 1988.

The construction is a corrugated iron tunnel covered by steel reinforced concrete.

The corrugated iron sheeting might rust away, but the reinforced concrete will remain. These bridges MUST NOT FAIL! On the right inside the tunnel is a ledge, I think it is an otter route under the road.

On this journey down the Ouse Burn you will see a brown/black/white dog, it is Bobby, a Welsh collie sheep dog. It is my dog who needs lots of exercise hence the journey down the Ouse Burn to give Bobby walks and me interest.

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The A696 is the connection from Newcastle to its airport, Ponteland and beyond.

It is a busy road, not one you would like to cross on foot.

The Ouse Burn goes under the road between the two big traffic signs on the right, by the roadside crash barrier.

It exits with two surface water drains adding to its flow when it is raining.

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5

Airport Metro Bridge

The railway bridge taking the Metro to Newcastle Airport is the most massive so far over the burn. Here it enters the tunnel on the right. On the left is a cattle/farm access under the railway.

The METRO was extended to the Airport in 1991. The bridge is 8.31 miles from the Tyne. This is the METRO dual track railway line on top.

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This is the exit of the burn on the right, track on the left.

Note how high the debris is on the gate indicating how high the water level gets.

Looking back you can see the structure of the crossing.

Burn on the left, track on the right but very much washed out, really unused now, hence the massive gates capable of coping with flood conditions are permanently left open.

This is looking back from a private garden. As you can see the bank on the right is lower than the garden bank on the left which meant that in flood conditions the water floods to the right.

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6, 7 and 8

Three private little bridges

These are three private little bridges over the burn just downstream from the Metro crossing. Although I was able to visit and photograph them the owners of the 6th and 8th crossing were unwilling to allow the photos to be used. You can see the bridges for yourself from the end of Dukes Meadow, Woolsington, NE13 8AU

This is the seventh crossing A little private bridge over the Burn.

You can see on the right the erosion defences to cause Ouse Burn to flood to the left over a lower field.

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9/10 Woolsington

Bridge This is the burn entering the Woolsington Bridge that carries the B6918 over the burn. It is a substantial construction with a steel reinforced concrete roof.

The traffic now is quiet, just local traffic, because the A696 dual carriageway takes the bulk.

The bridge is quite wide, grass verge on left, two carriageways, and side road on right.

The burn exits via an archway which shows that the bridge was widened on the upstream side, the original bridge just carrying the side road.

This now is a problem, is it one crossing or two? The old and the new. I shall now show a crossing count of now and historical So this crossing becomes 9th/10th.

There are more multicrossings downstream.

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10/11 STRICTLY PRIVATE

road

Access to this is down a STRICTLY PRIVATE road, but I did it passing very large properties. So it was not to just one property. Just before the burn crossing was a gate.

I took a photograph of the burn going under the bridge.

It is 7.86 miles from the Tyne.

This is the track going over the bridge, I don't think it is much used for vehicles, dog walkers more likely.

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Here the burn exits.

It was a rather grand bridge in its time leading to Woolsington Hall, but now access to the Hall is some other way.

The bridge is in need of repair.

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11/12

Brunton Bridge

Brunton Road crosses the Ouse Burn over Brunton Bridge, this is the upstream side.

Brunton Road is a simple two lane road, but quite busy.

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This is the downstream side, the Ouse Burn has entered The Great North Park.

As it crosses the Park to the A1 it has large flood plains on either side, and two small bridges.

On the upstream/west side of the bridge parapet is an engraved stone BRUNTON BRIDGE, 1885, with a BENCHMARK where surveyors could position an angle iron to form a "bench" for a levelling rod to measure the height above sea level.

The original Ordnance Survey was done way before 1885 so this BENCHMARK must be to do with a re-survey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retriangulation_of_Great_Britain 15

12/13 Brunton

Farm Track

Upstream view, getting this involved clambering through a bramble patch.

Bobby didn't follow me, he had no footwear.

The bridge is quite old, but substantial, strong enough to take a tracked vehicle.

Downstream view.

Just further downstream this is the view of the north flood plain before and after 1018mm (4") of rain had fallen on the 25th September 2012.

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13/14

New bridge.

This bridge was built before 2001 according to Google Earth.

Now it links housing developments north and south of the burn through the Great North Park.

It is very simple, just two brick pillars and two rolled steel joints.

It will be here forever, one of the smallest crossings of the Ouse Burn.

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14/15

A1 Western Bypass

This is the crossing under the A1 Western Bypass of Newcastle 5.99 miles from Tyne. It was built in 1990.

It is a massive construction incorporating a footpath as well as the Ouse Burn crossing.

The Ministry of Transport bridge number is 458 8/Q.

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Looking back you can see the burn and the footpath.

Overhead the A1 Dual carriageway traffic crosses the burn. This is one of three main roads carrying traffic between Scotland and England. The others are the M6 and the A68.

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15/16

Substantial footbridge 5.97 miles from the Tyne: At the dowstream end the footpath crosses the Ouse Burn by this substantial footbridge, although the obstructions to prevent wheeled traffic are a bit over the top.

After 1018 mm of rain on the 25th September 2012 we were unable to get anywhere near.

You can just make out the obstructions.

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Flimsy footbridge.

A couple of hundred yards downstream is this little bridge 5.77 miles from Tyne.

It is just for pedestrians and cyclists and is rather flimsy.

You really need wellington boots at the North end.

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17/18

Crossing found 2014

5.41 miles from the Tyne.

Walking the dog in Brunton Park along a public footpath alongside the Ouse Burn I noticed a beaten grass track to the burn and there was another crossing. Albeit it could only be used when the water level was low. A few small stepping stones over to the CITY OF NEWCASTLE GOLF COURSE. Made by young nimble people, I would not like to try and use it.

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18/19

A1318 The Great North Road.

The Great North Road crosses the Ouse Burn at the Three Mile Bridge, 3 miles north of Newcastle.

Nearby is the Three Mile Inn, popular for Sunday Lunches. This is the upstream side.

The Great North Road is a dual carriageway, it used to be the A1 trunk road. Then in 1968 the Eastern Bypass was opened crossing the River Tyne by the Tyne Tunnel when it became the A1, and the Great North Road became the B1318. The Newcastle Western Bypass was opened in 1990 and became the A1 then the Eastern Bypass became the A19.

This is the downstream side of the crossing. Note there is another crossing of the Ouse Burn under it, another pipe, it is the 21/22nd crossing of the Ouseburn.

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19/20 Allotment

Bridge

4.59 miles from the River Tyne.

A couple of hundred yards downstream of the Three Mile Bridge is the crossing to the allotments. It is strong enough to take a small vehicle.

Allotments are a wonderful resource in England.

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20/21

Whitebridge Park Bridge 4.43 miles from the Tyne.

This is the upstream view of a bridge carrying a road, Broadway East, over the burn.

On top it is a good sized road leading to Whitebridge Park housing estate.

This is the dowstream view.

A rather boring bridge.

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White Bridge

4.35 miles from Tyne.

On the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 scale map this is called White Bridge, it looks green to me.

I think there was a stone arch bridge here before, this is a modern bridge.

It is a bridge to a bridle way and track to the Gosforth Golf Club visitor’s car park.

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This is the downstream view.

This is the downstream view after 1018mm of rain.

Underneath you can see the footings of the old stone bridge, it was a narrow arch.

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22/24 & 23/25

Golf course sewer & footbridge

4.31 miles from the Tyne.

After the White(Green) Bridge the Ouse Burn travels through the Gosforth Golf Course.

The first crossing is a pipe (sewer?) suspended from an I beam.

This is the view after 1018mm of rain:

This is the downstream view.

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Just downstream is a footbridge that connects the visitor's car park to the clubhouse.

This is the view after 1018mm of rain:

This is the path over the bridge.

And the downstream view.

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Golf Course crossings

4.27 miles from the River Tyne.

Next crossing is another sewer and golf buggy bridge, this is the upstream view.

After 1018mm of rain this is the view:

No wonder there are no housing estates here, it is a flood plain.

Downstream view with club house in the background.

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Another crossing, upstream view.

downstream view.

The Ouse Burn is at a high level here but it has been higher note the high water mark litter on the left. A groundsman told me that he had seen the water flood over to the hedgerow on the left.

This Gosforth Golf Course, like the Newcastle Golf Course before it, and parts of The Great North Park are flood plains that spread the shock of a torrential downpour so that housing estates downstream are not flooded.

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Penultimate golf crossing

4.16 miles to the Tyne.

This is the penultimate golf crossing.

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Final golf course crossing

4.09 miles to the end of the Ouse Burn.

Bobby has found me a bottle to throw.

He does that, finds something, bottle/twig/ball anything and drops it at someones foot and looks at them with his brown eyes for them to kick or throw it.

99% he wins.

We even have children coming round to play with him, and Oriel a medical doctor who comes at 10:00 on Monday to take him for a two hour walk. She wants the exercise.

This is the upstream side of the final crossing.

The downstream side. After 1018mm of rain there was no way to get to where the previous photo was taken.

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28/30 & 29/31

Dentsmire Bridge 3.9 miles from the Tyne.

After the Gosforth Golf Course the burn is crossed by a bridle path via Dentsmire Bridge.

This is the upstream side of the bridge.

This is the bridle path/farm track that goes over the bridge.

This is the downstream view.

As you can see the arch is quite small, so when there is a lot of rain the Ouse Burn might flood the bridge. I do not know why it is called Dentsmire Bridge.

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After 1018mm of rain there is no way across without waders.

A short distance downstream the burn divides the Woodlea allotments in two, they are connected by a footbridge. This is the 31st crossing and can only be found by going into the allotments which are normally locked. This is about 3.7 miles from the Tyne.

The smoke comes from a wood burning stove heating a greenhouse. Not much wind.

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Salter's Bridge The next crossing is Salter's Bridge, it dates back to the 13th century.

It is a Grade 1 listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

There are two arches, round on the right, pointed on the left.

After 1018mm of rain this is the view: It is a credit to the builders that it has survived 800 years.

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This is the dowstream side, two round arches.

Originally it was only 7 foot wide it has been widened but is still single track.

You can see here underneath the original three ribbed arch bridge and the widening.

So this crossing of the Ouse Burn could be three crossings: 1 The original 7ft wide three ribbed arch.

2 The second rounded arch crossing.

3 The widening of the first crossing.

The second round arch and widening of the first could have been done at the same time. So for my crossings count I'll just count it as two.

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Gosforth Metro Bridge

3.5 miles from the Tyne.

The North East Electric railway started in 1904 when this crossing was made by a culvert for the Ouse Burn under an embankment to carry the 3rd rail electric railway in a loop to the coast and back. The track was taken over and extended in 1980 by the Tyne and Wear Metro light railway system.

The next crossing is the Metro where it splits into two lines. The pair on the left go to the Gosforth Metro Depot and Regent Centre station whilst those on the right go to South Gosforth station and to Newcastle and Sunderland.

The railings of the bridge are just beyond the worker to the left of the railway track. The train is "Not in Service" which means it is going to the Gosforth Metro Depot to be serviced!

This is the downstream side.

Looking through I thought I could see the arch of another bridge, but going on Google Earth it cannot be.

I have not got a photo of the upstream side, it involves access to allotments that are locked.

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That dog in the water is "Bobby", my dog, in his exuberance he jumped onto the wall where the workers were busy and landed up in the Ouse Burn, a drop of about 2.5 metres. No way could I rescue him from that side. Fortunately the other side sloped up to allotments. I had to go 200 metres downstream to the next road bridge over the Ouse Burn, Then 200 metres back up, climbing a 2 metre fence into the locked allotments before being reunited with him.

The problem now was to get out of the allotments with Bobby over the 2 metre fence. I noticed one of the back gardens adjoining the allotments had a gate, I went in and up the garden to a conservatory where a woman was reading a magazine, she had not seen me, so when I knocked on the window she was quite startled. She came to the garden door and I explained my predicament. She would not let me through her house because she had cats (and dogs don't mix), but she contacted her neighbour who was happy to let me through her house.

The serendipity of Bobby's fall into the burn is that I got the downstream photograph of the Metro crossing. No way would I have climbed a 2 metre fence for the photograph unless to rescue Bobby.

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South Gosforth

3.53 miles from the Tyne.

An interesting crossing because six roads converge on the crossing and there are no traffic lights and it works. Traffic flows.

This crossing carries the A191 Scotswood to Whitley Bay road over the Ouse Burn. Above is a view of the upstream side and and this from the other side:-

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The crossing is quite busy above the Ouse Burn, because three roads join at a mini roundabout on one side, and three at a mini roundabout on the other.

The white pickup with a trailer carrying an orange wood chipper is on the bridge.

This is a Google Earth view of the crossing, it enters at the top at about 1 O'clock, and exits at the bottom at about 6 O'clock. The 6 roads plainly visible, the burn not so.

This is the downstream side of the crossing. The Ouse Burn now enters Jesmond Dene.

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This is an update made on the 12th January 2013.

Nevil Tomlin, a member of the Regent Bridge Club, showed me a photograh of an engraving from a book SKETCHES OF THE COAL MINES IN NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM

BY T. H. HAIR, here it is:

I went to South Gosforth and with some difficulty took a photograph.

It is a bit dark so using Photoshop I altered brightness and contrast to get:

The old bridge on the right in the engraving is still there incorporated in the new bridge, plus that waggonway is another ouseburn crossing, albeit there is nothing of it left now.

Thankyou Nevil for another crossing of the Ouse Burn.

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Haddrick's Mill Bridge

3.27 miles from the Tyne.

The first bridge in the Dene carries a footpath, though in earlier times it might have taken small vehicles. It is called Haddricks Mill bridge.

It is restricted by two wooden railings and a new surface. Interestingly it is at an angle.

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Dene Bridge

2.83 miles to the Tyne.

The next crossing is Dene Bridge, this is the upstream side.

This is the downstream side.

Dene Bridge carries Castle Farm Road over the Ouse Burn, it is single carriageway.

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Recreational Bridge

2.77 miles to the Tyne.

This is the first of the recreational bridges crossing the burn, upstream view.

This is the view after 1018mm of rain:

The path over it leads to the entrance to a quarry called Blackberry Crags.

Dowstream view. It is a concrete block arch with decorative stone parapets.

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North Lodge driveway bridge

2.77 miles to the Tyne.

This is the upstream view of a substantial bridge.

It carries a driveway from Jesmond Dene Road over the Ouse Burn to a house named North Lodge.

See the next crossing for a picture of The Lodge.

This is the downstream view of the bridge.

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Stepping Stones

2.7 miles to go.

The stepping stones are a crossing of the Ouse Burn.

They are a bit uneven so care is required when crossing.

This a view from the other side including The North Lodge which the previous crossing led to.

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Mill Bridge

2.47 miles from Tyne.

The upstream view of the bridge at the water mill which dates from 1800.

It is now a Grade II listed building. This bridge probably dates back to that time.

To find out more go to https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1186739 It is an elegant slender stone arch, stone parapet, bridge.

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Smallest Crossing

2.4 miles to go.

An upstream view of a rather delightful narrow bridge.

It carries a single person footpath.

The smallest crossing of the Ouse Burn in Jesmond Dene?

Its edges are protected by a slender balustrade.

This is the view after 1018mm of rain:

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Road Crossing

2.39 miles to go.

A substantial double arched bridge is next.

This is the view after 1018mm of rain:

It carries a road over the burn that is used by vehicles to get to the public toilets, a picnic area and litter bins.

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Red Walk Bridge

2.05 miles from the Tyne.

A few yards downstream is a small hump backed bridge, its single arch is made of concrete blocks.

From the downstream view you can see the public toilets in the distance.

It carries the Red Walk that comes down a steep cobbled path starting at Jesmond Dene Road.

You can see the downstream view of the road bridge in this picture. The question does arise though, why are two bridges so close together? The road bridge looks older. So I am guessing this is one of Lord Armstrong's recreational bridges in his 'garden'.

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Banqueting Hall Bridge

1.85 miles to the Tyne.

In a single span this bridge carries a footpath from the Banqueting Hall over the burn and road.

This is the view after 1018mm of rain:

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Low parapets make it an elegant bridge.

This is a listed building you can find more at https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1024856

The arch is stone blocks and the parapet massive stone blocks.

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Pet's Corner Bridge

1.76 miles to the Tyne.

Leaving the road and take the path behind Pets' Corner and you come to this bridge.

It slopes upwards, a simple concrete beam bridge with iron railings.

A view of the path over the bridge, Pets' Corner behind.

Downstream view of the bridge.

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Coleman's Field Bridge

1.76 miles to the Tyne.

This bridge carrys a footpath from Jesmond Dene Road over the burn to Coleman's Field and the Visitor Centre.

It is wide with metal railings.

The dowstream view.

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2011 Footbridge

1.64 miles to go.

This is a new to me bridge, I had not seen it before, it is a substantial footbridge with clean lines. Wide enough for two pushchairs to pass each other.

This is taken from the Armstrong Bridge.

Interestingly it is wider at the North end.

Top right is The Pet's Cemetery.

It connects a footpath from the new Benton Bank entrance to Millfield House visitor Centre and was installed in 2011.

It was part of the OUSEBURN PARKS RESTORATION PROJECT.

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Upstream view, the balustrade is interestingly constructed.

Downstream view.

The steel is untreated and suspect it is the same steel that the Angel of the North was made from, and the entrance to the Baltic Contemporary Art Gallery. It is COR-TON steel.

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Armstrong Bridge

1.59 miles to go.

The next bridge is The Armstrong Bridge, it carried this road on the left of the bollards not just over the burn but also over Jesmond Dene.

This is the view underneath.

Down there by the path is a notice board - here it is.

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Armstrong Bridge is a Newcastle upon Tyne landmark and a Grade II listed building.

To find out more go to https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/listentry/1355205 From a map in the above web site it shows the Ouse Burn to be at an altitude of 15 meters.

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A1058 Cradlewell Bypass

1.64 miles to Tyne.

This bridge built in 1973 carries the A1058 Cradlewell Bypass over the Ouse Burn.

Before it was built the Coast Road was just two lanes going steeply down Benton Bank crossing the Ouse Burn over Benton Bridge (the NEXT one), then steeply up to Heaton.

This is the underside of the Cradlewell Bypass bridge with the old Coast Road to the right.

It crosses the Ouse Burn just beyond the red roofed house and its four lanes goes through a tunnel to avoid the steep slope of Benton Bank. The area of Jesmond called Cradlewell is on the top of the tunnel, hence Cradlewell Bypass (or should it be Underpass?)

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Benton Bridge

1.64 miles, same as Cradlewell bridge.

This is the upstream view of Benton Brige that used to carry the A1058 Coast Road.

Now it just has traffic to Jesmond Dene to the right and Jesmond Vale to the left, it used to be a complete bottleneck and traffic jam before the four lane bypass.

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White footbridge

1.58 miles to the Tyne.

The next crossing is in Jesmond Vale, not the Dene, and gives footpath access from Ouseburn Road to the Vale.

It is a gently arched platform with wooden railings. There was something else here before see the stonework in front of it. There were dozens of waterwheels on the Ouseburn.

View back to the road.

Beyond the road is Armstrong Park another gift to Newcastle from Armstrong.

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Bluebell Inn bridge

1.58 miles to the Tyne.

Further downstream is a substantial road bridge.

It links the road passing The Bluebell Inn to Ouseburn Road.

It is difficult to see the dowstream side because of the vegetation.

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Stone footbridge

0.94 miles to the Tyne.

Upstream view obscured by vegetation of next crossing the last in Jesmond.

It is a substantial footpath crossing.

A better view of the downstream side.

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Ouse Burn Culvert Entrance.

0.84 miles to the Tyne.

The Ouse Burn now enters a culvert 2150ft long, this is the entrance.

The dene was more than 100ft deep and steep sided so it was decided to culvert the Ouseburn and landfill the dene with Newcastle's rubbish to improve access between the city and Heaton.

Work began in 1906 to build a 30ft wide, 20ft high steel reinforced tunnel.

This is it entering the culvert, the fencing around it is elaborate. They do not want you to fall in.

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I have cut and paste the following from http://www.twsitelines.info/Siteline.nsf/SMR/487A569F9EC7C785802576AF003 E6F2C?opendocument As the Ouseburn leaves Jesmond Vale it disappears underground and re-emerges below Byker Bridge.

[That is not true, it is below the Ouseburn Viaduct that is a railway bridge, Byker bridge is the road bridge.]

Within an underground chamber it passes under Newington Road, Warwick Street and beneath the City Stadium.

The culvert is 2,150 feet (third of a mile) long. It was built in two stages in the early years of the twentieth century. Before its construction, the Ouseburn cut a deep ravine through this part of the town making access from the town to eastern suburbs difficult. The valley was more than 100 feet deep and steep sided.

Thus the stream was enveloped inside a ferro-concrete conduit, the valley was then infilled (mostly with industrial waste) so gradually ground level rose, creating new land for housing and roads.

In fact the land was never built upon because by the time the valley had been totally infilled (it was estimated that it would take ten years to fill the valley but tipping was still taking place in the 1940s), laws had changed and it was no longer permitted to build on land fill sites.

The "City Stadium" was created here instead.

The culvert was built in an elliptical shape, 30 feet wide by 20 feet high.

The walls are only 8 inches thick at the top of the arch, because ferro-concrete is so strong.

Building work started in 1907 and completed in 1911. It cost ÂŁ23,000 to build.

Workers broke into a lagoon of gravel which had to be scraped out and filled with concrete before the construction of the culvert could be continued.

While the culvert was under construction the burn was diverted into millraces.

When the culvert was finished the burn was diverted back through it.

Used as air raid shelter in WW2. It could seat up to 3000 people and had its own sick bay.

A plan of the Council's air raid precaution, including the culvert and the Victoria Tunnel survives in TWAS. In the 1970s the wartime entrance to the culvert was boarded over to create an outdoor riding arena.

Today the culvert still carries the Ouseburn and part of the sewer system.

There are some interesting photographs at http://www.28dayslater.co.uk

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This is the exit at water level. The water quality can not be too bad as Bobby is drinking it.

Going up to the entrance and peering in one can see the end of the arch.

Going further the roof is massive concrete beams and there is a concrete footpath.

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Looking back to the exit (SB) I realize this is another Ouseburn crossing incorporated in the culvert. It is the James & Co Bridge built to their Ouseburn Lead Works on the west bank in 1801.

Going further, it gets darker and I have no torch, I make out a platform across the Ouse Burn.

The flash on the camera is not good enough. Will have to go back with a torch (or two).

For my 74th birthday in 2014 my wife gave me a present of a book BRIDGING THE OUSEBURN by Sue Bright, Ouseburn Ancestors Publishing 2013 ISBN 978-0-9927230-0-2. It only deals with lower Ouseburn but has such a lot of information that I am updating this page.

From this publication I learnt that in 1939 the culvert was modified to have a horizontal platform above the water surface, the culvert was 20ft high so there was plenty of space, to make an air-raid shelter at both the north and south end. There was not just an air-raid shelter but: warden's office, a canteen, a youth club, a place for worship, a fully fitted hospital room, along with seating and bunk beds.

So at the exit of the culvert there are two more crossings, the horizontal platform and the James & Co Bridge. Have to remember to up the crossing count after the end of the culvert.

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This is the exit after the Ouseburn Railway Viaduct high up from the Byker Road Bridge.

The Ouse Burn has now entered the lower Ouseburn Valley which used to have a lot of industry, but is now more tranquil and regenerating (See the Ouseburn Trust.)

This is an October 2013 update.

Earlier this year a load of rubbish was washed out in the Ouse Burn.

The culvert had failed somewhere.

This stairway has been constructed to allow workers access to repair the culvert.

This is a good view of the James & Co Bridge and its cobble track over the burn

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53/57 Ouseburn

Railway Viaduct This is the Ouseburn viaduct. Cannot see much of it as it is having a ÂŁ10 million of work to clean it up and strengthen it.

It is named The Ouseburn Viaduct, length 918ft, width 50ft. Constructed 1839 using laminated timber, hence the design, replaced 1869 by five wrought iron arches, and widened to three tracks.

This is what is on top, three railway tracks, gantrys supporting overhead electric cables of the North East Coast Railway line.

Close by there are three posts supporting the cables, but further away there is just one post in the middle, hence the more complicated horizontal gantrys.

There used to be four railway tracks, two on the left for the North East Railway to Edinburgh, and two on the right carrying the North Shields railway. Then in 1979 the new Metro bridge was built to take the Metro to the new Byker station. In 1990 the North East Coast mainline was electrified and one of the tracks was used for the overhead wire gantrys.

This is the upstream view towards Newcastle Central Station.

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This is an October 2013 update.

The scaffolding has gone and the cleaned painted viaduct can be seen In all its Glory.

This is the view downstream. All three bridges crossing the Ouse Burn, rail, metro and road, all in great leaps of engineering.

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This is the viaduct 3.5 miles towards the coast where the railway crosses the Willington Gut valley. It is longer than the Ouseburn Railway viaduct but a very similar design and construction.

It was taking photographs of the Willington viaduct that made me realise that the Ouseburn Railway Viaduct is in fact two viaducts. The original viaduct was opened in 1839 by the Newcastle North Shields Railway Co. The Stone columns were spanned by laminated wood arches. 38 years later in 1867 the laminated wood was replaced by iron components hence the design.

In 1854 another viaduct to the same design was built alongside by North Eastern Railway Co on the north side.

This is the underside of the Ouseburn Railway Viaducts. The later viaduct was narrower than the first as can be seen.

So this is another crossing of the Ouse Burn discovered in 2015 from looking at the Willington Viaduct which is the same design but 7 arches and 319m long.

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This is a plaque above one of the viaduct arches.

This is another plaque found on one of the stone pillars near a public footpath.

It is dated 2013 when Carillion Plc finished a refurbishment of the viaducts.

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Ouseburn Metro bridge

0.51 miles to Tyne.

This is the Metro Bridge over the Ouseburn dene, it was opened in 1982.

It is a magnificent structure of reinforced concrete bounding over the dene.

Just beyond it is the North East Coast Railway viaduct.

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On top on the right are two railtracks that sweep off over the bridge to the right to Byker Metro station 800 metres away towards the blue bits of the Byker Wall.

The bridge is 2674ft long and 27ft wide.

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55/59

Crawford's Bridge

0.47 miles to Tyne.

Underneath all these monster bridges is this tiny pack horse bridge named Crawford's Bridge.

The name derives from Thomas Crawford who owned a number of properties in the area in the early C19th.

It is 18th Century, one of the oldest bridges in Newcastle upon Tyne.

It is now a scheduled ancient monument. It was built to carry the main northsouth pack-horse route through the valley. The bridge appears to have replaced an earlier wooden bridge.

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On the upstream/West parapet is a Mason's Mark On the downstream/East parapet is a Bench Mark probably dating from about 1750 when the bridge probably dating from about 1850. was built.

To find out more go to https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1024785

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Byker Road Bridge

0.44 miles to the Tyne. This is the most massive crossing of the Ouse Burn.

Downstream from Crawford's Bridge is the Byker Road Bridge, six brick arches in this view. The Ouseburn is just a trickle, with Ouseburn Farm on the left.

Above is a four lane road and two footpaths/cycle tracks.

This is copy and paste from http://www.northumbria.info/Pages/bykerbr.htm Byker Bridge Opened: 19th October 1878 by the ViceChairman of the Byker Bridge Company.

Traffic: Road. (Half-Penny Toll, withdrawn 1895). Length: 1130 ft (344.65m).

Width: Originally 30 ft (9.15m) widened to 50ft (15.25m) in 1899.

The deck of the bridge was rebuilt May 1985March 1986.

This is a photograph of the base of one of the columns, how many bricks?

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Cluny Footbridge

0.41 miles to go,

Downstream of the Byker Road Bridge is this simple footbridge.

The photograph is taken from Byker Bridge.

It is just upstream of what was a ford thought to date back to the Roman times.

It is well used because of the car park on the far side.

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B1312 Byker Bank Bridge

0.23 miles to Tyne.

The next crossing carries the B1312 Byker Bank road over the Ouseburn.

The road is a good size.

The bridge is named the Ouseburn Bridge.

The dowstream view of the Bridge.

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Glasshouse Bridge

0.8 miles to Tyne

The Glasshouse Bridge was built in 1878, this is an upstream view.

It is a solid brick construction like the Byker Road Bridge which opened the same year.

Another upstream view including the upstream half of the Ouseburn Barrage, which along with the downstream half can form a lock that can keep Ouseburn full of water covering up the unsightly mud.

The Barrage is open in this photograph.

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This is the top of the bridge, the A186 Walker Road.

Downstream view of the bridge including the downstream half of the Barrage and the Tyne Bar public house.

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Low Level Bridge

0.4 mile from Tyne

This is the final bridge over the Ouseburn. It is the Low Level bridge.

It looks like two bridges with that massive central support.

I think it may have carried a railway line on the river side.

This is the downstream view from near the River Tyne.

It is a leisure boat mooring area.

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This is not the next crossing, but the end of our journey down the Ouse Burn, where it joins the River Tyne, taken from Low Level Bridge.

The ten mile journey down the Ouse Burn found 60 distinct crossings, some incorporating one or more historical structures giving a total crossing count of 64.

There were of course many more crossings, especially where the Ouse Burn Culvert is now, but I hope I have got the best count of Ouse Burn Crossings in the World.

In memory of Roger Broughton who died in December 2016, shown here with his dog Bobby and some of the litter collection made on his daily walks when not exploring the Ouse Burn Crossings.

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