The C2C Guide - the definitive resource centre for the Sea to Sea cycle route

artworks - consett to sunderland section The Consett to Sunderland cycle track The Stanhope and Tyne Railroad was built in 1834 and survived (in part) up until the closure of the Consett steelworks in 1985. Durham County Council had already made part of the track into a cycle route and Sustrans have completed the track after purchasing sections from British Rail. Use the links below to view the other artwoks pages Whitehaven to Sheriffs Gate \| Consett to Sunderland \| Gateshead to Tynemouth
Beamish Shorthorns by Sally Matthews mile marker 120 First seen from a distance it is hard to tell whether these are real cows or not and it is only as you near the sculptures that you see exactly what they are. Built using scrap steel from Consett which as the artist says 'is relevant to the placement on the old railway as well also rusting to a red shorthorn colour'.
The Old Transformers by David Kemp mile marker 113 Two sculptures - The Ironmaster and The Miner - set side by side overlooking the cycle track and facing towards Durham. The artworks reflect the iron making heritage of the area and an inscription reads ' The men who lived here dug into the black stone. In giant huts they burned earth turning it into iron. They turned the sky red. A river of steel ran down to the sea and transformed into locos, ships and machines which transformed the world'
King Coal by David Kemp mile marker 122 Set on an exposed hilltop site and built entirely with material from dismantled local industries and is intended to reflect the regions mining heritage. King Coal is crafted into a giant chess piece and is ' the head of an industrial giant emerging from the embankment, the body lies deep underground. King Coal was well known in these parts'
Terris Novalis by Tony Cragg mile marker 110 Two stainless steel artworks, one a theodolite and the other an engineers level situated on the site of the old Consett steelworks. The design is inspired by the regions industrial past but the sculptures boast feet of various animal designs which may suggest a site returning to nature in the way that the site of the steelworks is now restored to gently rolling pasture and woodland.
The Lambton Earthwork by Andy Goldsworthy mile marker 124 (ish) Built using materials on site and designed to represent the downward rush of the old railway towards the sea. It might also be construed to tie in with the local myth of the 'Lambton Worm' although the artist says that at the conception of the idea that had no bearing.
Steel Men location mile 132.5 Stadium of Light Some very peculiar steel men rolling steel lumps of coal (or footballs?) up the bank towards the Stadium of Light. This photo is taken from below the stadium on the new riverside route.