Testing New Transport

I was appalled to see that milk had gone up at our local supermarket - Morrisons - from 49 to 52 pence a litre for UHT skimmed milk, so I started looking at other supermarket prices in the area via the internet.  I thought I saw that Asda (owned by Wal-Mart) had milk for 44p a litre, but whilst Bill could travel for free on the Metro up to the Asda at what used to be called the Benton Hypermarket, but I don't really want to be entirely left out of the food shopping process.  He mentioned that there was another Asda just the other side of the river near the ferry landing.  

So, we got on our bikes - my first ride for over a year - and headed down to the ferry.  I nearly chickened out, the wind was so strong, but I gave it a go and I'm glad I did.  

 

The fare on the ferry has risen from £1 to £2.30 since my last trip over; I might have known if milk has gone up, so will everything else.  It was an easy trip out, downhill most of the way and the Asda was just over the road from the South Shields landing.  

I was amazed by the moving walk ways that took us up to the store - and back down; the ground floor is taken up by their parking garage.  

 

Many stores over here will 'escalate' you up to the next floor but you'll have to make your way on the stairs to leave, something that's always struck me as mean-spirited.  It was a much smaller Asda than the Hypermarket and I couldn't find 44p milk for anything.  Bill spotted my error:  it was 44p a pint, not a bargain at all.  We picked up a few other things that were on our list and more or less the same price as at Morrisons, but the selection was poor and there wasn't anything about the Asda that impressed me.

Having over the years checked prices at the various chain stores - Tesco, Safeway, Morrisons, Sainsburys and Asda, not to mention the smaller ones like Lidl, Aldis and Nettos, the best of the big chains is Morrisons for price.  Tesco has slightly more choice and Sainsburys or Marks and Spencers probably have the best quality, but you pay dearly for that.  So, our closest supermarket being a Morrisons, we do most of our non-produce, non-poultry-or-meat shopping there.  But this isn't really about where to shop for food.  

High Light and Low Light  *see link below

It's more just to show you a bit around the ferry landing, a place I've always enjoyed.  

 

I love travelling by boat, even if it's only a 10 minute journey!  

 

We've looked at a few of the houses here on the river front, but though they are very interesting, they're not as large as where we are, so we've not pursued it further.  

Collingwood Mansion

It always made me a bit nervous, too, the idea that the foundations of one's house were under water and the river's edge just under one's window...

The return journey was a little tougher being uphill, but I managed it all except for about 100 yards and was well pleased with myself.   Whilst waiting for the ferry to take us back to North Shields, I did wonder about the grey sky, but the weather held for us at least until we got home.

Customs House Theatre

I could keep up with Bill because, bless him, all the groceries were in his paniers.  

Unfortunately I managed to pull a muscle in my back that's niggled ever since, but never mind, it was still a good day out.



*High Light, Low Light in North Shields