This is a really bad photo of perhaps Durham’s most famous statue: that of the Marquess of Londonderry, Charles William Vane Tempest Stewart. He was an Irishman, born in 1778 in Dublin. He became a politician, soldier, and owner and developer of a lot of land.

If you’ve an astounding memory, you’ll recall that I’ve mentioned this family before: they owned both Wynyard Hall in County Durham and Mount Stewart over in Northern Ireland.

But here’s another connection between County Durham and County Down: Charles William Vane Tempest Stewart’s other memorial is Scrabo Tower. Wendy often says we should go for a walk near Scrabo Tower when we’re visiting her family, but she’s never taken me yet!

When we were first going out, Wendy once spent most of day in here painting a plate for me. She apparently had quite a crowd watching by the end of the day! She returned a year later to paint a plate of herself, and both now sit together on the bookshelf in our study (the plates, that is… we sit on chairs!)

This is the lighthouse at Donaghadee. It’s 16m tall, was first lit in 1836, and is very picturesque on a sunny day like today!

I think Newcastle Airport is brilliant – I’ve always found the staff very friendly, and on a good day I can go door to departures in about 3 minutes.

Today, though, wasn’t a good day: a very early start and hoards of holidaymakers conspired to leave me less than delighted. It’s still my favourite airport, though!

I’ve featured Old Eldon Square before, but perhaps this shot from above gives a better sense of the space as it currently stands. I wrote more about the bronze statue of St George last time round.

About nine years ago, I was living in these halls of residence and watched through my window as these trees were planted. This is a curse. I feel as if my first year at uni wasn’t very long ago, but every time I drive past these trees I’m reminded that it was longer ago than I imagine! At least they still look fairly young!

This is Little Waitrose in Jesmond. I’ve chosen it only because I really like the name! I know it’s far from unique – there’s 30 or so around the country – but I think it’s great!

The Metrocentre has an intriguing strategy for dealing with empty shop units: they’re spun as evidence of the centre’s constant refreshing, revising, and revitalising of its brand portfolio. To my mind, it’s an approach that beats the near ubiquitous Shopjacket and its clones, which seem a little tacky. I suppose, though, this approach can only work in places where units tend not to stay empty for long – and where the empty shops are relatively few and far between.

This is the Hownsgill Viaduct. It’s 55m high, and a little over 200m long. It used to carry the Stanhope & Tyne Railway, but these days carries only the C2C cycle route. Construction was completed in 1858 to Sir Thomas Bouch’s design.

Bouch would later go on to design the Tay Bridge, which collapsed in use. Seventy-five people were killed, and Bouch’s reputation and career were left in tatters. Whilst the Hownsgill Viaduct is still standing, its fate has become almost as grim: it’s one of the UK’s suicide hotspots. In 2011, there was a death every two weeks. In response, Durham County Council is arranging the construction of a 3m high steel tube and cable fence.

Suicide barriers are a knotty public health issue: whilst they seem logically sound, it’s difficult to come up with strong evidence of their effectiveness. The most famous study in this area (and one which came up in my Part A MFPH, as it happens) is of the Bloor Street Viaduct in Toronto – where, actually, fewer suicides occurred each year than at Hownsgill. The study suggests that whilst the Luminous Veil barrier prevented suicides from the viaduct itself, it had no impact on the suicide rate as a whole. Of course, study design is a huge problem in this field, but it remains the case that no published study has shown a reduction in the overall suicide rate as a result of the erection of a barrier.

I guess the only thing we know for certain is that suicide is better tackled through comprehensive and wide-ranging suicide prevention programmes rather than through barriers alone. Psychiatry services often suffer when healthcare resources are tight; yet the biggest cause of death in British men under the age of 35 is suicide. Let’s hope that the vital work of mental health teams isn’t dismissed by anyone as “easy pickings” in the ongoing recession.

Over the course of this photographic year, I’ve featured lots of bits of the Ouseburn, a local river that runs from its source, near Newcastle airport, to the Tyne, near the famous Quayside. It also passes fairly near my house.

I’ve featured it so many times now that I know it’s become a groan-worthy subject for some: Wendy included! But today, I wanted to show you the Ouseburn at Ouseburn: the point at which the river flows through its namesake part of Newcastle, in the Ouseburn Valley. This is it flowing under the huge Byker Bridge:

The Byker Bridge was opened in 1878, and, in something resembling current Government policy, its construction was funded by a toll charged for use until 1895. It was designed by Robert Hodgson, who was better known for his rail bridges. It is built entirely of brick, and is almost 100ft tall and over 1000 feet long. This picture gives a better sense of scale:

Perhaps the more interesting construction which lies almost alongside Byker Bridge is the Ouseburn Viaduct, which carries the East Coast Mainline. It was – remarkably – originally a timber construction built in 1839. Thirty years later, the timber was switched to iron. Unfortunately, the viaduct is currently undergoing a £10m restoration, and so all that can be seen today is a web of scaffolding:

I’ll have to visit again when the work is complete… Ouseburn will be back!