The South Gare in an area of reclaimed land and breakwater on the southern side of the mouth of the River Tees near the seaside town of Redcar in the Tees Valley. Built originally to help improve the movement of ships in and out of the Tees, it is not a natural oasis popular for its varied bird life and for water sports. This documentary by Ian Paine and Graham Williamson speaks with many of those visit the Gare on regular basis, many since childhood, to find out what makes this place so...

The South Gare in an area of reclaimed land and breakwater on the southern side of the mouth of the River Tees near the seaside town of Redcar in the Tees Valley. Built originally to help improve the movement of ships in and out of the Tees, it is not a natural oasis popular for its varied bird life and for water sports. This documentary by Ian Paine and Graham Williamson speaks with many of those visit the Gare on regular basis, many since childhood, to find out what makes this place so special. Title: Where the Stone Dropped Credit: Directed by Ian Paine and Graham Williamson Title: 54.6397oN, 1.1369oW South Gare Stretching 4km into the cold North Sea, South Gare is a man-made outcrop built to serve Victorian industry Today the industry is gone, but new communities are finding uses for the Gare its makers could never have foreseen A montage of South Gare featuring the wind turbines of the offshore Teesside Wind Farm and the Redcar Steelworks intercut with people walking along or near the beach including a man who appears to be picking Common periwinkles out of the water. With the sun setting over it the Tees Estuary both the Redcar Bulk Terminal and Hartlepool Power Station in the distance. A phantom car ride along the single-track road leading to the South Gare passing a fence behind which is the now closed Redcar Steelworks. A ‘No Fly Tipping’ sign erected by the road near the Gare and a car driving away back towards Redcar. On the River Tees a tugboat pulls the bulk-carrier Bridgegate towards its berth at the Redcar Bulk Terminal, on the water in front of it someone windsurfing and a small fishing boat. Parked near the South Gate sand dunes a campervan, nearby two women stand beside their car preparing to take a dog for a walk. On the nearby beach the waves splash gently onto the sand as a couple walk their dogs in the distance with the skyline dominated by the blast-furnaces of the Redcar Steelworks. On the water a smaller tanker makes its way out of the Tees into the North Sea. A mist over the Tees Estuary, in the distance through it the Hartlepool Power Station and next to it Graythorp shipyard and the oil platform Brent Bravo part way through decommissioning. A ‘sea-breeze’ gently blowing a layer of sand across the beach, behind it a brick building. Through a window a marina in the foreground with boats moored in it, behind the breakwater a larger tanker being towed into the Tees Estuary. Three boys play together on the beach changes to cars and a campervan parked along the nearby road. A hand adjusts the knob on a radio before picking it up and walking away with it along the road beside the dunes. Title: Walk on Water Waves crash onto a rocky beach near the Teesmouth Lifeboat Station built on stilts. Historian Stewart Ramsdale explains that his great-grandfather came to the area in the 1860s and helped to build the breakwater at South Gare. Russell McCallion from PD Ports explains that the Gare belongs to the company and was built simply to allow bigger vessels up the Tees. As he talks another cargo vessel coming into the Tees Estuary passing the marina seen previously. Birder Graham Megson provides further details on the Gare’s construction which used slag from the local blast furnaces and has now has become popular with the local bird population. As he talks about the work he does as part of a monthly wetland bird survey several terns roost around a section of slag-built breakwater known as German Charlie and waders such as Oystercatchers feeding on the beach. In the distance Cormorants drying their wings from a rocky outcrop. In a surf shop kite surfer Mike Birt explain with amazement that while the rest of the North-East coastline is being ‘nibbled away bit-by-bit’ by the sea, the land around the South Gare has actually extended by 4kms. As he talks a rocky beach with heavy industry in the distance. As a woman in a wetsuit stands in the waters of the South Gare looking across at the north banks of the Tees, Stewart Ramsdale explains that once his grandmother could walk across the estuary to Hartlepool. On the water a windsurfer sails past. Waves gently crashing onto a rocky beach change to the nearby fisherman’s cottages and the man seen earlier with the radio still walking along the road. Title: Childhood Sitting with his dog Ian Turner from Middlesbrough reminisces about his childhood growing up around the South Gare. As he talks about the various means of transport he used to get to the Gare from his childhood home at South Bank, a family makes their way onto the beach and two older men sit in a bench smoking cigarettes. Sitting at a table at the South Gare Marine Club Café, Eric Welsh also reminisces about his time as a youth at the South Gare. As he talks about the things he and his friends got up to the exterior of the café and of the nearby fisherman’s cottages. As he remembers jumping into the water from a jetty the remains of said jetty with large cargo container ship passing by it heading into the Tees Estuary. Sitting along a rocky shoreline Julian Gaskin talks about his first introduction to the South Gare with his father being the first lighthouse keeper. Over views of the lighthouse and nearby beach Julian talks about the things he would do when he visited as a child, many of which he does with his own children now. As he talks about the mixture of industrial and wilderness that makes up the Gare ore is unloaded from a ship at the Redcar Bulk Terminal followed by an overgrown World War Two concrete bunkers. The sequence ends at low tide on a wide sandy beach and a gull flying along a water channel past other gulls sitting on the water. In the distance the large cranes at the Redcar Bulk Terminal, in the foreground the remains of a wooden fence or jetty. The man with the radio walks past and jumps over a concrete block in front of him. Title: Playground A man kite surfing passes an industrial landscape in the background featuring the Redcar Bulk Terminal and Hartlepool Power Station in the distance. Over a montage of others enjoying both kit and windsurfing, Mike Birt explains how he got into the sport and why he likes it so much. As he continues to talk the woman in the wetsuit seen previously comes up from the beach to the road carrying a large bag. At the Teesside – British Sub-Aqua Club a group of men in wetsuits prepare for a diving expedition with scuba diver Alex Bousfield talk a little about the history of this local diving club. As he talks about some of the club’s activities, he and his colleagues stand at the bar in their club house chatting changing to them back outside continuing making ready a boat currently atop a trailer. They all laugh and chat as they check each other’s wetsuits and head out to the boat now on the water. As Alex talks about the types of people who are members two of them underwater diving around a large anchor. As rainwater gathers in a cover of a boat nearby a row of whitewashed brick sheds or cottages. Beside a stove Steve Cook talks about his cabin which he sees as is like a garden shed, a place to escape to. The exterior of the South Gare Marine Club Café with an arrow on the whitewashed wall pointing inside where friends David Williams and Dennis Bailey are sitting. David talking about their relationship and what they like (and don’t like) to talk about. As Dennis talks about fishing on his own boat, he expresses an interest in visiting a local wreck site called ‘Ships Graveyard’. On the water a small fishing boat sailing past one the towers of a wind turbine. Standing in the sand dunes a bird watcher uses a pair of binoculars to watch the local bird life, beside him on a tripod a telescope. Birder Bert Mitchell talks about the types of birds that live and migrate to the South Gare. As two birders make their way towards the beach, Graham Megson talks about the local birding community and the work done by the Teesmouth Bird Club. As he talks about the importance of communication a montage featuring groups of birders intercut with various bird’s they have come to watch including Oystercatchers and Sandpipes feeding in the sand on the beach. At dusk or dawn the blades of the offshore wind turbines turning changes to photographer Ian Forsyth staring intently at the camera. As he talks about the types of images he is trying to capture, sometimes in extremes of weather, another photographer setting up his camera to take a shot. As he talks about the different and unusual images he can capture, a kite surfer speeds past the industrial landscape featuring both Hartlepool Power Station and the Graythorp shipyard. A man walks along a coastal path, in the background the cliffs along the North Yorkshire coastline. With the Redcar Steelworks in the background the radio sitting on a bench or table. Title: Putting Out the Light At low-tide small fishing boats marooned along the shoreline changes to three boys on bicycles riding along the road around South Gare. In voiceover Paul Jackson explains that the reason he likes the area so much is because of the family memories the place has to him. Archive boxes lines the shelves of a storeroom at Teesside Archives in Middlesbrough with Archivist Ruth Hobbins talks about an oral history project from the 1980s in which people were sent out to record the memories of those born at the end of the 19th century. Over more views of records stored at the archive, the voices from several individuals recorded during the project talking about their memories of the South Gare. Over views of the Gare at night two female participant tells the story of seeing light out at sea, possibly linked to German espionage during World War Two. Outside the South Gare Marine Club Café the small fishing boat Freedom, inside a general view of the café itself with Steve Cook talking about the club history and it’s link to the working-class area. In the window of the café a model of a sailing boat. Back at Teesside Archives more shelves full of records and another woman’s voice recorded during the oral history project talking about the relevance of working-class culture. Cars travel along the road leading to South Gare while a horse nearby feeds on the grass. The man with the radio continues to walk along the road. Title: Visitors Ian Turner says that he speaks with people from all over the world who visit the South Gare. A couple sit on a bench, the husband sits beside a telescope on a tripod changing to cars atop a steep bank about two of the fishermen’s cottages. Ian Forsyth talks about the many reasons why people visit the Gare, often to escape the bigger crowds at Redcar and Saltburn. As he looks out at the turbines at Teesside Wind Farm, Ian talks about moving to the area, his first experiencing of the Gare and why it is good for him as a photographer. Two people on horseback making their way slowly along the beach leaving tracks in the sand. Standing beside his campervan ‘Simon’ talks about why he like the Gare. Filmed at night the turbines at Teesside Wind Farm turning and the industrial skyline of the nearby chemical works with Simon explaining what that experience of seeing the Gare at night is like for him. Still standing beside his van Simon talks about the loss of his wife, sitting nearby a dog tied to another camper parked nearby. Standing beside his campervan Alan Walker talks about his first visit to South Gare when Redcar Steelworks was still open, he goes onto explain why he likes it especially at night. The chemical works seen previous changes to a boat coming into the Tees at night its lights lit and flashing. Sitting on a bench outside South Gare Marine Club Café, Bert Mitchell recounts an occasion when several rare birds visited the Gare, as he speaks birds flying over the sea near the wind turbines. Sitting on a bench a birder looks out to sea through a telescope, Graham Megson recounts a visit by the rare Sandhill Crane which flew over the South Gare, a one-off opportunity he explains. The older couple seen previous sitting on a bench both looking through binoculars and a telescope out across the Gare. As a ship comes into the Tees a pair of hands looking through a birding book featuring a picture of the Sandhill Crane. With the radio sitting on a wooden post the man looks out to sea towards the Teesside Wind Farm. Title: Stay Safe Cars parked along the road outside the gate leading to the South Gare Lighthouse changes to a cargo ship coming into the Tees Estuary. As Russell McCallion talks about his and PD Ports safety concerns about people who use the Gare for recreation, a man on the kit surfing. Bunches of flowers attached to a metal fence overlooking the South Gare road below with Russell McCallion explaining that since 1998 seven people have lost their lives here and asks those who do visit to be super conscious of the risks. Close to the lighthouse a recently install concrete wall, part of the Gare’s breakwater. Sitting near to the breakwater itself Russell explains its importance for protecting the mouth of the Tees. In the water around it bases some of the 50-60 twelve-ton blocks of concrete PD Ports install each year to as part of the structure. A pathway heads out across the breakwater itself, but a nearby sign warns visitors of the hazards. Russell provides details of why area is dangerous and the public are prohibited from walking on it. The South Gare Lighthouse at night changes to the radio now sitting on rocks while the man paddles into a nearby stream with his trousers rolled up. On the radio then Prime Minister Boris Johnson talking about the COVID-19 virus. A deserted beach changes to Russell McCallion talking about what the South Gare was like during the COVID pandemic with no one about. He goes on to say that there are as many people visiting now as before COVID, he believes it is because it gives people a personal feeling on wellbeing. As a dog sniffs along a dune as Russell reiterates his message from earlier, enjoy your visit but do it safely. Telegraph wires with the moon rising in the background and the radio sitting near the base. Title: Brave Defenders Lobster pots sitting beside a concrete wall with a small hole through it, possibly a former World War Two pillbox. Julian Gaskin talks about Operation Brave Defender which was the last major military exercise that took place around the South Gare in 1985. As he talks a series of small green toy soldiers feature being placed around the area, the final once sitting beside the radio. As Ian Forsyth talks about a gun battery installed on the Gare during World War Two the exterior of a neglected concrete bunker and a railway line near the marina which was believed used to transport munitions to the battery. The road passing through the Gare with Ian explaining that it is believed beneath it a tunnel. The concrete boundary wall behind South Gare Marine Club Café which, according to Steve Cook, is believed to be the only complete bomb-blast wall in existence. He talks about the Gare being an anti-submarine base during World War Two and what still exists from that time includes the railway line seen previously that were used to transport sea-mines. With Steve explaining how the mines were armed and placed in the sea and around the Tees Estuary, on the water itself the Tees Pilot boat heading out to sea past a bunker and German Charlies where the gun emplacement once sat. The older couple seen previous birdwatching continue to scan the horizon for wildlife, in the foreground a Blackhead gull feeding. Title: Principalities Both Julian Gaskin and Ian Forsyth talk about the unique identity the South Gare has which they see as being ‘other worldly’. As they talk images of the area including a woman picking up litter and the man seen at the start of the film standing in the surf possibly picking Common periwinkles. Ian talks about the people he’s met while at the Gare while on the beach two people on horseback. The man with the radio walk along the road passing a line of telegraph poles, nearby a marine radar antenna. Title: Where the Stone Dropped Ian Turner talks about the changes that have taken place in his lifetime and the new people who have come and become part of the community. As he speaks a group of men looking over a boat near a jetty at low tide. A man and two women sit in the South Gare Marine Club Café eating a meal, outside car pass along the road. Ian Forsyth explains the need to embrace change and moving on but remember those things that have happened such as the closure of Redcar Steelworks and expansion of PD Ports. On the Tees the pilot boat again speeds past. In slow-motion a kite surfer leaping in the air with Mike Birt hoping that his children will come to love the Gare as much as him as it’s a fantastic way to live your life. At dusk a large bulk carrier docked at the Redcar Bulk Terminal changes to Alex Bousfield who says that this year has seen the coming together on the fishermen’s huts and the Marine Club over a sense of a potential threat from the activities taking part in the area by the South Tees Development Corporation. Out on the estuary the container ship BG Ireland makes its way to its berth at Teesport, owned and run by PD Ports. Through a window another large bulk carrier arrives in the Tees, over general views of the Gare voices of some of those featured in this production talk about their fears for the Gare as the older generation begin to either leave or die off. A pigeon flies over the remains of the Redcar Steelworks where many of those who used the Gare once worked. David Williams also talks about these changes and seeing more people he doesn’t recognise visiting. Steve Cook talks about encouraging new members to the club, but how do you get them? As a kit surfer surfs out on the Tees the cranes at the Redcar Bulk Terminal dominate the skyline, Ian Forsyth talks about continuing to photograph the area as he sees it and hopes it will serve a purpose down the line. Over a final montage of visitors to the South Gare and several large ships coming and going through the Tees Estuary, some of those featured in the film talk about their hopes for the future including Julian Gaskin who explains the meaning behind the film's title linking it to the industrial revolution and the area now being post-industrial. The film ends on the man with the radio stands with it on a rocky beach throws stones out into the water. Credit: Photographed and Edited by Ian Payne Researched and written by Graham Williamson Radio/News Reader – Sarah Hayton Camera Assistant Pete Allinson Archive voices Margaret Bilton Cralsford, Miss Ward, Hetty Petch Scuba diving footage courtesy of the Teesside – British Sub-Aqua Club Clip of Sgt. E. Dwyer VSC from firstworldwar.com Music A New Sunrise – Ricky Valadez Other music Let’s Trim Title: Thanks to Stewart Ramsdale, Graham Megson, Mike Birt, Ian Turner, Eric Welsh, Julian Gaskin, Alex Bousfield, Steve Cook, David Williams, Dennis Bailey, Bert Mitchell, Ian Forsyth, Paul Jackson, Ruth Hobbins, Russell McCallion, Simon, Alan Walker Thanks to Teesside Archives, Teesside – British Sub-Aqua Club, South Gare Marine Club, PD Ports, Sunstore, Groundworks, ARC, River Tees Re-Discovered, Christine Corbett, Lucy Chapman All the people who visit and work at the South Gare End title: This film has been supported by the River Tees Rediscovered Landscape Partnership, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players and awarded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund