Day 7 Sunday 14/6/2026 Stockton, 13 – 23 grey, muggy
We both went walking today, in different directions and modes. There are some houses that are worthy of a sketch, so I’m off. The local women’s rugby is on at the footy ground and cars circle the field, as always supporters are making a picnic of it. The same park has a pair of weathered gate posts honouring the men who lost their lives in the Stockton colliery in 1896. In all eleven lives were lost, both miners and rescuers.
I wander through the streets looking for chimneys and turrets, anything that denotes something sketchable and find myself on the Pitt Street Reserve. A large coal ship, the Sarah, glides out of the river, Newcastle city is the backdrop. Eventually finding a vacant seat I discover that I’m on the site of a World War 2 Anti-Aircraft Battery. In June of 1942 Newcastle came under fire from a Japanese submarine. The target was the steelworks and shipyards. Thankfully the damage was minimal, the submarine slipped away and nobody was killed.
After lunch I take a short walk along the beach and breakwater while Woody hitches the van up ready for a quick getaway tomorrow. Rain threatens and we have soup and soldiers (toast cut into strips) for dinner.
Accom: $38.00
itchingforhitching 
I like the photo showing the locals showing no interest in what might appeal to others. Well spotted.
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I’ll always gaze in awe at the size of passing ships. I guess there are just too many in Newcastle.
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Will we see any sketches?
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Yes, I promise.
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Soldiers are a mainstay of our diet!
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🤣🤣
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I used to live in Stockton … Well, Stockton California, so not the same place, guess they’re a few thousand miles apart … 😉
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Many thousand I’d say. 🚣
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A Sunday sketch-walk that turns up an 1896 colliery memorial and a WW2 anti-aircraft battery site within a few streets is exactly the accidental history that makes slow travel worth it. The coal ship Sarah sliding out with Newcastle behind it sounds very sketchable indeed — and soup and soldiers as the rain threatens is the perfect end to a day like that. We’ve found the days we split up and wander solo often turn up the best small finds.
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And such fun just to amble about.
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Looking forward to seeing your sketch. 🙂
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