Infinity Bridge, Stockton-On-Tees

Welcome to my first blog entry of 2013, and a Happy New Year to everyone!

With the new year just a few hours old I was out and about once again with the trusty Canon 7D, heading south down the A19 towards Stockton-On-Tees, home to the Infinity Bridge. I don't know what it is about illuminated bridges that draws me in, as I've photographed quite a few nearer home, in particular the array of bridges along Newcastle Quayside. For some time now I've dedicated a lot of my 'Camera Time' to low-light photography, mainly at dusk, but also at dawn, when I'm often in pursuit of that dramatic sunrise shot. When I recently noticed the Infinity Bridge on a local news bulletin, I made a mental note of it and added it to my 'Places to visit' in 2013, although I never imagined I'd be making that visit on January 1st. So what better way to begin a new year of photography than adding more low-light shots to my collection - no doubt this will be my first of many visits to this location, of that I'm sure.

The bridge was officially opened in May 2009,
following construction work that started in June 2007. It is a public pedestrian and cycle footbridge across the River Tees in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in the north east of England. The bridge is situated one kilometre downriver of Stockton town centre, between the Princess of Wales Bridge and the Tees Barrage and it links the Teesdale Business Park and the University of Durham's Queen's Campus in Thornaby-on-Tees on the south bank of the Tees. The bridge is a dual, tied arch bridge or bowstring bridge. It has a pair of continuous, differently-sized structural steel arches with suspended precast concrete decking. The bridge deck is 5 m wide and 4 m between its handrails. The main arch of the bridge is 120 m long, weighing 300 tonnes, 32 m tall with its top 40 m above the Tees and the short arch is 60 m long and 16 m tall. The hangers (droppers) are spaced 7.5 m apart and are made from 30 mm diameter high strength locked coil steel cable. The tie cables are 90 mm diameter on the large arch and 65 mm on the smaller. A special feature is made of the way the bridge is lit at night. The bridge handrail and footway are lit with custom made blue and white LED lighting built into the handrail that changes colour as users cross. Attached to the steel cable ties are white metal-halide up-lighters to illuminate the white painted bridge arches, and blue LED down-lighters to illuminate the water and ground surfaces immediately below the deck. At night from certain viewing angles when the river surface is flat calm, the twin arches together with their reflection in the river appear as an infinity symbol ∞, and it is this effect that inspired its name.

Following the SatNav, I arrived at the bridge after a thirty minute journey, steady away from Houghton le Spring. The light was falling quickly so I got to work straight away, shooting from the top of a staircase, across the water, with the Infinity Bridge slightly over to my left. It was a great angle to shoot from. I fired off a few frames before making my way onto the bridge and making the short walk across to the other side of the River Tees, where I took more shots, this time with the last colours on the horizon directly in front of me, looking West. The river was flowing quickly, with the tide heading out, so there was no chance of any still water reflections tonight. Maybe another time. I headed back across the bridge, struggling to keep a grip on my tripod due to the fact that my fingers were about to drop off. It was effing freezing! But I was almost done, so I made my way back across the water and once again took up position on the staircase where I originally photographed the Infinity Bridge. The sky was much darker by this time and it looked much better as a backdrop, which you can see here (shots 3 & 5). Click an image to reveal a larger version.

And that was that. Another outing that yielded some good shots. I was glad to get back in the car to be honest. The heated seats were on full throttle and I out of there in no time. Job done.

Back soon, Ash

Lumley Castle, Chester le Street

Lumley Castle is a 14th century quadrangular castle at Chester-le-Street in the North of England, near to the city of Durham and a property of the Earl of Scarbrough. It is a Grade 1 listed building.

History
It is named for its original creator, Sir Ralph Lumley, who converted his family manor house into a castle in 1389 after returning from wars in Scotland. However, after being implicated in a plot to overthrow Henry IV he was imprisoned and ultimately executed, forfeiting his lands to the Earl of Somerset. In 1421 the ownership of the Castle reverted to Sir Ralph Lumley's grandson, Thomas. By the nineteenth century, the castle had become the residence of the Bishop of Durham, after Bishop Van Mildert gave his residence of Durham Castle to the newly founded University of Durham. The castle thus became a hall of residence for University College, Durham. Castlemen, as the students of University College, Durham are known, spent their first year at Lumley Castle and subsequent years in the Castle at Durham. Lumley Castle was sold in the 1960s by University College to fund the building of the Moatside residential halls in central Durham, in order to keep all students on the same site. The role of Lumley Castle in University College's history is still commemorated by students in the biannual 'Lumley Run'.

Hauntings
In 2005, the touring Australian cricket team was said to have been haunted during their stay at Lumley Castle. Shane Watson got so spooked that he slept on the floor of teammate Brett Lee's room. Even the Australia media officer Belinda Dennett said: "Several of the players were uneasy although a lot of them in the morning said they were fine." Australia are not the only cricket team to said to have been scared by hauntings. In 2000, three members of the West Indian cricket team, including captain Jimmy Adams, checked out of the same hotel because they were scared.

Today
In 1976, management of the castle was handed over to No Ordinary Hotels (although the property is still in the possession of Lord Scarbrough), who had the castle turned into the 59-bedroomed hotel it is today. It is also a picturesque backdrop for Durham County Cricket Club's Riverside Ground, which was first used in 1995.

These two shots were taken at dusk yesterday evening. There were a scattering of parked cars on the drive in front of the castle, which hampered my chances of getting the shots I wanted, so I improvised and done the best I could. Ancient castles and brand new Mercedes cars don't go hand in hand! A very photogenic castle is this - the grounds and nearby golf course are very well kept and there's Squirrels all over the place - photographing them is a different ball game altogether.

Back soon with more shots of the Seven Sisters, Houghton le Spring.

Until then, see ya.

Ash