WATER, WATER...: TEES BARRAGE/AFTER THE FLOOD

The ITV series After The Flood, as its name suggests, tells the story of the aftermath of a flood in Yorkshire, an all too frequent occurrence in real life.  The opening episode shows a dangerously flooded river in the fictional town of Water…. with dramatic rescues and tragic loss of life. 

This scene was filmed not on a real river, but at the Tees Barrage International White Water Centre, where people pay to negotiate the foaming waters.For the filming the main straight section of the barrage was made to look like a village, complete with bridge and foliage.

Map of the area.

Tees Barrage - geograph.org.uk - 5079651. Photo by Richard Webb, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Tees Barrage is located in Stockton-on-Tees and offers a range of waterborne activities such as paddleboarding, white water rafting, canoeing and kayaking.  The centre is open year-round.

PLAYING THE FOOL IN HARTLEPOOL: THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND THE CANOE

 The story behind the ITV drama The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe is so fantastical that one would think it is entirely fictional.  But in fact the drama is based on a true story, that of prison officer John Darwin, who had racked up debts totalling more than £700,000 arising from properties purchased for renting out.  In order to avoid having to face the music, Darwin set out in his canoe one day in 2002 and ‘disappeared’, presumed drowned, allowing his wife to claim on his life insurance.  In fact, Darwin secretly moved into a bedsit right next door to the family home, before sneaking back into his own home the following year.

 

The real-life location of the Darwins’ home was Seaton Carew on the outskirts of Hartlepool, and this area is where much of the filming for the series took place.  The Darwins owned two adjacent properties on The Cliff, living in one of them and renting out the other.  For the filming, while Elstree Studios was used for the interiors, the exterior shots were filmed at The Headland, an area near the harbour at Hartlepool which is a 10-minute drive north from Seaton Carew.  This was also where the beach scenes for John’s departure by canoe were filmed.  The town scenes, including the bus station with its clock tower, were filmed in Seaton Carew itself.  As for the beach where John emerged, this was filmed at Steetley Pier, about 3 miles north of Seaton Carew, while the real-life location was North Gare, three miles south of the town.

Seaton Carew (32694294543). Photo by Alex Liivet, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Seaton Carew lies near the mouth of the River Tees, and borders on a National Nature Reserve extending from the river mouth to the town’s southern edge.  The much bigger Hartlepool grew up around a thriving shipbuilding industry, and the maritime tradition lives on in the form of the Historic Quay, featuring among its attractions the HMS Trincomalee, Britain’s oldest floating warship.  The town suffered badly during the First World War, particularly on 16 December 2014, when a raid on the town left 117 dead.

Hartlepool Headland- geograph.org.uk - 136636. Photo by Martin Routledge, via  Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area.

A DAWDLE THROUGH THE DALES: WAINWRIGHT'S PENNINE JOURNEY

 

The late Alfred Wainwright is best known for his walks in the Lake District, and the wonderful series of guides that he wrote, complete with hand-drawn maps.  However, in 1938 he escaped the rising tensions in the country brought on by the threat of impending war by taking a holiday from work to go walking in the dales of Yorkshire, heading through into Teesdale and Weardale, reaching the climax of his walk on his arrival at Hadrian’s Wall before heading back down south, all on foot.  This was well before the days of the Internet and accommodation booking websites, so when he turned up at his chosen overnight destination, unless he was lucky enough to find a room at the inn, he would knock on a random door to enquire about rooms in the private homes of the area – unthinkable nowadays.  Wainwright documented his holiday in his book A Pennine Journey.

When we think of The Dales, it is the Yorkshire Dales which immediately spring to mind.  However, a bit further north is Teesdale in County Durham, which I visited for the first time a few years ago, and found quite charming.  Wainwright’s introduction to Teesdale is a descent “from heather to pastureland, and”...”further downhill amongst meadows and woodlands”.  He comes to Cotherstone with its village green and prosperous air, too posh to offer accommodation to the passing walker.  He therefore ends up spending the night in Romaldkirk, with two inns: the upmarket Rose and Crown and the much more modest and neglected Kirk Inn.  Wainwright opts for the latter, which he likens to a shy woman looking over her shoulder at a prospective lover (the Rose and Crown).  Wainwright is less taken with the larger Middleton with its “homes built in long, ugly rows”.  For present-day visitors, the Rose and Crown is still operating as a hotel and the Kirk Inn as a pub but with no accommodation. 

 

       Romaldkirk. - geograph.org.uk - 132432. Photo by Colin Smith, via Wikimedia Commons.

The highlight of Wainwright’s walk is Hadrian’s Wall, and he makes no bones about his excitement on approaching this great feature of the landscape of Northern England.  The first hint that he is approaching his much anticipated goal is when he comes to a village called Wall, around 5 miles north of Hexham.  His eagerness to reach the Wall is such that he breaks into a run on approaching it. 

When he joins the Wall he can’t see it as it is buried under tarmac at this point, but he presses on to Cilurnum – now known as Chesters Roman Fort and Museum, run by English Heritage.  In Wainwright’s day you just knocked up the caretaker and paid a fee. Now there is a proper visitor entrance, a shop, cafe and toilets.  He then heads west to Borcovicium, better known as Housesteads, where he encounters a single solitary car in the car park – a bit different to when we visited a few years ago.  Like Chesters Roman Fort, Housesteads has a cafe, shop and toilets for modern day visitors, and is also run by English Heritage.

 

               Chesters Roman fort gate. Photo by Steven Fruitsmaak, via Wikimedia Commons.

After exploring the Wall, Wainwright heads south again via Appleby-in-Westmorland, with the village of Dent in Dentdale as his last overnight stop.  He gives a vivid description of Dent, which is across the border in Cumbria, as being “like a fairy tale”, with narrow twisting streets paved with cobbles, “one block of jumbled masonry”.  Then homeward via Ingleton (famous for its waterfalls and dominated by the peak of Ingleborough) to Settle.  He arrives back home relieved that there is not going to be a war (for now – little does he know what is coming).  Anyone wanting to retrace this part of his journey but reluctant to do it on foot can take the Settle to Carlisle Railway, which has stops at Dent and Appleby. 

                          Main Street, Dent. Photo by Parrot of Doom, via Wikimedia Commons.

For A Pennine Journey Route Summary, follow this link.

A TOUR OF ENGLAND'S FINEST CATHEDRALS: ELIZABETH AND ELIZABETH:THE GOLDEN AGE

Any film about events in English history will inevitably be chock-full of some of the finest examples of English heritage.  In the films Elizabeth (1998) and its sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), both starring Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I, it is some of the country’s finest cathedrals that come to the fore among the locations used.

In Elizabeth, the coronation scene was filmed at York Minster, which proved a splendid substitute for Westminster Abbey, where the actual coronation took place on 15 January 1559.  The Minster lies in the centre of this historic city, and due to the flat terrain in the area surrounding it can be seen from miles around.  There has been a place of worship at this spot since the 7^th century, but it was not until 732 that the first Archbishop of York was recognised by the Pope.  The present building took a massive 250 years to complete, starting in 1220 and ending in 1472.  The Minster brought shocking images to our TV screens in 1984 when a fire which started in the south transept raged out of control, and firefighters were forced to deliberately collapse the roof to save the rest of the building.

York Minster from M&S. Photo by Matze Trier, via Wikimedia Commons.

The other cathedral which  makes an appearance in Elizabeth is Durham Cathedral.  The cathedral plays the part of the royal palace, and its distinctive pillars are seen in the scene where Elizabeth searches for Lord Robert after receiving a message.  Like York Minster, Durham Cathedral was preceded by a humbler place of worship known as the Saxon ‘White Church’.  The present-day building, which makes for a picturesque sight overlooking the River Wear, was built between 1093 and 1133, with further additions thereafter.

Durham Cathedral Nave. Photo by Michael D Beckwith, via Wikimedia  Commons.

In Elizabeth: The Golden Age we are taken further south, with Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire playing an important role as the Palace of Whitehall, which in those days was the main residence of the monarchs of the day.  It is seen in a number of scenes, such as the one where Elizabeth confronts the Spanish Ambassador, and when Sir Walter Raleigh arrives bearing gifts from the New World.  Ely Cathedral is unusual in that, unlike most cathedral cities, Ely is the size of a small town.  In fact, the cathedral came before the town, which grew up around it.  There is a slate in the cathedral marking the location of a former shrine to Ethelreda, daughter of the King of East Anglia, who founded an abbey at the location of what is now the cathedral.  The building dates from 1083, and was granted cathedral status in 1109.

Ely Cathedral Choir East View. Photo by Michael D Beckwith, via Wikimedia Commons.

The sequel covers the period leading up to, and including the country’s spat with Spain, and Westminster Cathedral transports us over the water to the court of King Philip II, as it was where the scenes were filmed featuring the ranting king, plotting his invasion of England following the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.  As a Roman Catholic cathedral, Westminster Cathedral was a good choice.  The cathedral is much younger than the others used in the two films, with construction completed in 1903.  Its main distinguishing feature is the striped appearance of its exterior, fashioned from layers of brick and stone.

Westminster.cathedral.frontview.london.arp. Photo by Arpingstone, via Wikimedia Commons.

One of the most dramatic scenes in the sequel is the attempt on Queen Elizabeth’s life by Thomas Babington (Eddie Redmayne), an event which is pure fiction, since in reality this particular individual did not get anywhere near the Queen, although it is true that there was a plot to assassinate her.  The scene in question was filmed in Winchester Cathedral.  Originally founded in 642 and known as Old Minster, the present-day cathedral was started in 1079 at a site nearby, and the Old Minster was demolished in 1093.  The cathedral has the distinction of being one of the largest in Europe, and includes many notable features, such as the 17^th century choir screen designed by Inigo Jones.

Winchester Cathedral Nave 1, Hampshire, UK - Diliff. Photo by DAVID ILIFF, via  Wikimedia Commons.

Finally, for the main entrance to Whitehall Palace as seen in the sequel, the producers made use of Wells Cathedral, specifically the staircase linking the North Transept to Chapter House.  Like Ely, Wells is another unusually small cathedral city, nestling among the green fields of the Somerset countryside.  The cathedral was built to replace an earlier church which had occupied the site since 705, and construction spanned the period from 1176 to 1450.  One of the cathedral’s best known features is its astronomical clock dating from around 1325.

Wells cathedral chapter house brighter. Photo by Lamiai, via Wikimedia Commons.