Introduction You will note that there has been a long gap between walk 2 and 3. Illness, work commitments and a trip to Scotland has kept me from the challenge. Even this short stretch of the England Coast Path proved to be a challenge and I completed it in 2 stages on 2nd May and the 2nd June, both bank holidays. Roker to the Wearmouth Bridge (2nd May) When I left home, the weather was fine, by the time I had arrived in Sunderland the rain had started. I parked the car in the town centre and then went to the bus stop only to find the bus stop had changed from the published schedule. As I reached the new bus stop I was quite shocked to see the E1 come around the corner in its open-topped glory! Clearly no-one wanted to sit on the top deck in the rain. On a nice day this would be great because this bus goes all the way along the seafront from Roker to South Shields. I got off at the Roker Hotel and walked down to the beach. The rain got heavier. As I walked around the marina I stopped to talk to a lady who told me she had seen a pod of dolphins off Roker Pier, I have seen them before but missed them on this occassion. Further round I started to look at the artworks, I particularly liked the 'Stone Stair Carpet' and 'Passing Through'. I then met a gentleman who pointed out the boats on river. He told me the MSC Seawell was one of the last ships built on the Wear. Just a little piece of our history. I continued on and stopped off at the National Glass Centre for coffee and a warm up. There cafe is on the riverbank level. It is also worth checking out the glass blowing demonstrations and exhibitions. It was still raining when I left the National Glass Centre, I continued walking along the river bank passing the Sunderland University St Peter's Campus and began the climb up towards the Wearmouth Bridge. The views from the bridge back down the river were amazing even in the drizzle, but soaked through I decided to save the remainder of the walk for another day. As I walked back to the car, it hit me. That old smell I associate with Sunderland was still there. The smell of Gregg's pasties and cigarette smoke. Funny how many people still seem to smoke here Wearmouth Bridge to the City Centre (2nd June) It is a bank holiday on a Thursday for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The morning was warm and clear, so I drove to Sunderland. Knowing that the walk would not take too long, I combined it with another, the Historic Buildings of Sunderland's East End. This starts and ends at the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, the same finishing point as the England Coast Path wald. Disappointingly the ECP does not pass any of the historic buildings other than the Fish Quay and the museum so combining the walks is definitely worth considering. Sunderland has managed to retain many of its beautiful historic buildings, more so than other towns in the North East. Fawcett Street The East End I remembered from my student days was very different from the one I saw today. I began the walk at the museum and walked down Fawcett Street checking out the Athenaeum Buildings, Corder House (no. 21) and Sydenham House (no. 22). The Athenaeum was opened in 1841 by the Sunderland Literary and Philosophical Society and at one time housed the museum. The two buildings show a mixture of Moorish and Gothic influences. All 3 buildings are spoiled by the modern frontages of discount shops and a housing association but looking above that provides a great view of the buildings. You can't really see anything at street level because of all the buses. The entire length of Fawcett Street is lined with bus stops. Further down is the Elephant Tea Rooms, sadly no longer a tea room and again the modern frontage of the ground floor ruined the building, but do look up to see the elephants carrying their tea chests. They are actually gargoyles, but not the usual ones. On the opposite corner is Mackies Corner. I remember this as Chamber's nightclub from my university days. When it was original built it was the main shopping area for the well-healed. Following the closure of the nightclub it fell into disrepair and for a long time was a sad sight on the corner of the High Street. It has since been fully renovated and now houses boutiques and other specialist shops and is once again a place to meet. I had passed all of these buildings hundreds of times but had never noticed them. The beautiful old Town Hall used to be located in Fawcett Street too. It was opened in 1890 and demolished in 1970, when the town council moved to the new Civic Centre, now also earmarked for demolition. Fortunately St Mary's RC Church is still there at the end of the street. Quayside Once bustling with the shipyards and fishing industry, the quayside on the south side of the Wear is now quiet and lined with many new buildings including Sunderland University Halls of Residence looking more like luxury appartments than student digs. There are 2 significant artworks at the top of Panns Bank and at the bottom. The first piece gives information on the ship yards and includes a steel cut outline of a shipyard worker. A number of these information boards line the Sunderland to Seaham route which follows the East Coast Path. The second is a mural is a nod to Austin's Shipyard by Frank Styles, best viewed from the Wearmouth Bridge. From the bottom of Panns Bank is probably the best view of the Wearmouth Bridge. There appears to be an inlet here, maps show there was once a floating pontoon dock here. The traditional dock next to it now houses small boats. The ECP route along the edge of the river was blocked by building work, it had been blocked back on 2nd May when I completed the first half of the walk so I walked back up Panns Bank a short way to continue following the road. Perhaps it is a good thing that I did as I passed the Bonded Warehouse and rear of the Exchange Building which I would not have seen had I followed the ECP signs which continue along the front of the student residences to the Fish Quay. Fresh fish can still be bought here but there is no longer a large fishing fleet. East End The official route of the ECP continues along the High Street towards the dock and across the Town Moor missing all of the important places of interest. This is why I explored using the Historic Buildings of Sunderland's East End rather than walking straight back to the museum. The first stop was Holy Trinity Church, now a project called 1719 (the year the church was built). This church once acted as the town hall and courts. The East End used to be the hub of the town, but as the population expanded, the town expanded to Bishopwearmouth, the current town centre. The church is open and has a small coffee shop, a very kind gentleman bought me a coffee and told me the next stretch of coast is his favourite walk. Leaving the church I walked up Church Walk past the Donnison School, built in 1798 to educate girls. I continued past Trafalgar Square, built in 1840 as almshouses for mariners. I walked past the Town Moor which is on the ECP passing the Orphanage and then turned back towards the river passing Pheonix Hall (Freemasons' Hall) which was undergoing some renovations and then back to the High Street passing the Exchange Building, now a bar and restaurant, and the Eagle Building, once the Eagle Tavern, with its stunning eagle on the roof. The Exchange Building operated as the court, market hall and town hall, taking over the role from Holy Trinity Church. Sunniside Walking back up High Street, I turned into West Sunniside. This area has seen a lot of regeneration in recent years with a new multiplex cinema, lots of restaurants, cafes, the green space that is Sunniside Park and the musem to the southern edge. There are well-kept Georgian terraces and the old Post Office Building. This cultural centre is just a nice place to hang out. I finished the walk with a visit to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens. If you are into to art, do go and check out the works by LS Lowry or just hang out in the Winter Gardens. I also highly recommend the cafe here. Conclusion
When I lived in Sunderland in the early 1990s the East End and Sunniside were run-down and there was no real reason to visit. Crime was perceived to be relatively high and the decay of the buildings and decline of the shipyards and fishing industries were taking their toll on the area. This was in sharp contrast to the enjoyment of shopping, particularly in Joplings (John Street) in the 1970s and 1980s. During my time living in Sunderland, the rot really set in, many shops closed including Binns and I began to visit Sunderland less and less in the following years. I was realy glad that I took this diversion from the ECP as I enjoyed exploring this part of Sunderland again. It was not even as though I was revisiting old memories, the area had changed so significantly that it could have been a completely different town and yet had managed to regain that air of gentility it probably had when first built. I strongly urge anyone walking the ECP through Sunderland to get explore this area.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. CategoriesAll England Coast Path North Gare To South Bents South Bents To Amble
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