Old Transformers

If you're into steelworks and robots in disguise, then you have just hit the jackpot. These are the Old Transformers overlooking the Durham Moors and the site of Consett Steelworks.

The sculptures, which celebrate the industrial prowess of the region, are built from obsolete components that once powered the heavy industries of the local area, mainly steelmaking, shipbuilding and coal mining.

The sculptures were commissioned by Northern Arts And Sustrans in 1990 and created by David Kemp and Tom Leaper in the old N.E.E.B. yard at Wallsend.

Standing around 6m tall they are named Ironmaster (left) and Coal Miner (right) who would have once been the cornerstones of the local economy.

A nearby plaque reads “The men who lived here dug 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 was transformed again into locos, ships and machines which transformed the world.”.

These are all that are left behind of the Consett Steel Works which was once one of the biggest producers of steel in the whole of Europe.

Read more the Old Transformers straight from the horse's mouth on David Kemp's website.

If you have time for a quick 13km bike ride then there is more artwork futher along the path including Old King Coal and Terris Novalis (which is 5km in the other direction). Or just drive, whatever.