Queen due to make five stops during visit to the region (From Durham Times)
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Queen due to make five stops during visit to the region
8:40am Saturday 7th July 2012 in News
By Mark Tallentire, Reporter (Durham)
FEATHERED FRIEND: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during their visit to Scone Palace, near Perth, in Scotland, yesterday, where she planted a tree.
THE Queen will witness a flypast by a Vulcan bomber, see the expanded Tyne Tunnel and open a white water course during a visit to the region later this month.
Her Majesty will make a whistle-stop tour of the North-East on Wednesday, July 18, as part of her diamond jubilee tour of the UK.
Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, she will make five visits before continuing her tour in Leeds the following day.
The day will begin at Corporation Quay, in Sunderland, where the Queen and Prince Philip will view the Vulcan bomber flypast and tour a diamond jubilee exhibition celebrating her 60-year reign.
The royal party will then proceed to the south side of Tyne Tunnel Two, where the Queen will start a wheelchair race and plant a tree.
She will meet tunnel staff on the north side of the Tyne, before giving a speech and unveiling a plaque to mark its opening.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will then travel to Saltwell Park, in Gateshead, to attend a diamond jubilee celebration and plant a tree.
The royal couple will attend a lunch at Durham Castle, before departing for Tees Barrage, where the Queen will officially open The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee White Water Course.
Councillor Paul Watson, chairman of the Port of Sunderland, said: “We’re delighted that Her Majesty the Queen has chosen to begin her diamond jubilee tour of the North-East in Sunderland.
“I’m thrilled that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are going to be the very first visitors to the Sunderland Diamond Jubilee Exhibition.”
Mayor of Stockton, Councillor Lynne Apedaile, said: “We are extremely honoured to welcome the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to the outstanding white water course.
“We are very proud of the world-class facility which showcases our borough’s best natural asset – the River Tees.
“I’m sure they will thoroughly enjoy their time in Stockton, which will be full of water-based and riverside activities, and it is fantastic that our residents will have a chance to share this unforgettable experience.”
The new Tyne Tunnel cost £260m and the route has been fully open since November. The Tees Barrage reopened following a £4.6m revamp, also last November.
The Queen’s diamond jubilee tour has already taken in London, Wales, the South-West, the North-West, the Central and East Midlands, East Anglia and Scotland.
She will visit the West Midlands next week and the tour is due to end in the South-East later this month.
