An amateur promotional film produced by Ronald Lax Miller of two excursions undertaken by pupils from Gateshead schools attending the Dukeshouse Wood Camp School near Hexham. In the first a journey along the River Tyne onboard the Mid Tyne Ferry ‘Tyne Duchess’ from the Newcastle Quayside to North Shields showcasing the shipbuilding and heavy industry the Tyne was renowned for. In the second a visit to the Farne Islands to see the many varieties of birds nesting there during breeding season....

An amateur promotional film produced by Ronald Lax Miller of two excursions undertaken by pupils from Gateshead schools attending the Dukeshouse Wood Camp School near Hexham. In the first a journey along the River Tyne onboard the Mid Tyne Ferry ‘Tyne Duchess’ from the Newcastle Quayside to North Shields showcasing the shipbuilding and heavy industry the Tyne was renowned for. In the second a visit to the Farne Islands to see the many varieties of birds nesting there during breeding season. On their return journey to Seahouses, they pass a replica Tudor boat which is believed to have been made for the production of ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’ staring Vanessa Redgrave being filmed at that time along the Northumberland coast. A group of older school children cross the Swing Bridge from Gateshead into Newcastle, a Mid Tyne Ferry is moored along the Newcastle Quayside. Gulls gather around an outlet pipe into the River Tyne, the name on the rear of the ferry is ‘Tyne Duchess. Newcastle’. The group walk down a set of stone steps from the quayside on to the ‘Tyne Duchess’, they gather on the top deck with both the Tyne and High-Level bridges visible in the background. A member of the crew stands at the wheel of the ship as it pulls away, the Baltic Flour Mill in the background. The ferry begins its journey downstream along the Tyne passing ships moored nearby including the cargo ship ‘Warkworth’. A man sits at the controls of quayside crane. The ferry passes a large factory building, lettering along the side of it read ‘Hawthorne Leslie (Engineers) Ltd’. Large cranes dominate the skyline of a shipyard where several ships are under construction on slipways. A large tanker is moored nearby for fitted out. A tugboat passes in the opposite direction as the ferry passes another quayside where cargo ships are moored ready to be loaded or unloaded. Nearby a war ship is moored along a quayside being fitted out. Another Tyne ferry passes in the other direction heading back towards Newcastle, they pass an Esso super tanker being built at another shipyard. As the ferry approaches North Shields a vessel is in dry dock at Smith’s Dock ship repair yard. A conveyor has been constructed on a platform possibly working to dredge the river, the Titan II floating crane passes the ferry. Another tugboat speeds past as they pass a platform on which stand four stilts, possibly for use on an oil rig or platform. The ferry passes a larger ferry or cruise ship docked at the North Shields terminal, beyond a number of cargo ships moored in the Tyne. On the cliffs overlooking the river the Sir James Knott Memorial Flats. The film changes to a sign reminding the public of a 20p charge for landing on Inner Farne and Staple Island. A small fishing boat is moored in the sea, the village of Seahouses in the near distance. A group of older school children walk down a set of stone steps from Seahouses harbour onto a waiting boat. The group look out onto the water as it departs heading out to sea. From a cliff edge a group of boys look down on various sea birds nesting in the outcrops below. On a rocky promontory a colony of Puffins. The stained-glass window inside St Cuthbert’s Chapel, outside various seabirds nesting in the grass. From a boat more seabirds nesting in the cliffs as well as eggs in a nest. A group of boys look out from a cliff edge, back on the boat they pass near to the Longstone Lighthouse in the distance. Sitting on a rocky outcrop near the lighthouse a colony of seals. The film ends on the boat returning to Seahouses passing a replica Tudor ship moored just outside the harbour.