Visiting South Shields…
Today I visited my home town of South Shields, the town centre is going through an exciting process of regeneration. The next phase of the redevelopment has just been completed, the opening of The Word.
Travelling Ava was really excited for this adventure, apparently she is a big fan of Sir Ridley Scott and wanted to see the new exhibition.
So our adventure today started at the riverside at Harton Quays, even though it is almost November it was a pleasant walk along the river.
Ava really loves any kind of art so we stopped to get a picture with the statue.
It is a short walk from the Customs House to The Word.
The Word in South Shields is the new National Centre for the written word. It currently has a Sir Ridley Scott exhibition, a lost dialect exhibition, along with a cafe, shop, FabLab and a rooftop terrace.
The first stop on the tour was the main exhibition, this is a free exhibition that celebrates his career featuring a timeline of his life and movies. This is the only picture I took at the exhibition, I didn’t want any spoilers for you. The Word is a great space to visit, I discovered today that Ava is a fan of The Martian and has never seen Blade Runner.
Having fun messing around at The Word.
There is so much light and space in this building, it is so different from the old central library. The views all around the building are really interesting, especially as the town is undergoing such a huge transformation.
The light installation is beautiful, it is a really interesting space, with lots of places to sit and read, lots of things to see and do and a beautiful floating staircase in the atrium.
There was a lot to take in today, wandering around the space and I didn’t have much time to make the most of what The Word has to offer so I’m looking forward to going back to discover more.
One of the things I missed is the trail of wooden pages. They are part of a collection of stories known as Tyne Voyages by Michael Chaplin. I will make sure to look out for these on my next visit.
If you get the opportunity to visit The Word I would love to know what you think so don’t forget to comment.
If you want to see ore of Travelling Ava’s adventures she has her own Facebook page so go give it a like – https://www.facebook.com/travellingava/
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post and I hope you have a great day whatever you are doing.
Travelling Ava and Co. 