My parents were great believers in the Sunday family trip out. They both had connections to towns on the River Tyne in the northeast of England, so imagine my delight when my dad announced we were going to go through the Time Tunnel.

That had been my favourite show on TV for a while. At my young age it was exciting yet sometimes scary, but for a few months beat Dr Who as far as I was concerned.

So in the back our family’s Austin Maxi, I prepared myself for time travel and to embark on an adventure.

Of course we did no such thing.

In fact what my dad had told us is we were going to go through the Tyne Tunnel. The video below gives a fascinating history of how this route under the River Tyne came about and what has happened in the years between.

I never did get that trip through time, but maybe there’s a chance before I go.