AT the very heart of urban Tyneside it is exhilarating to be reminded of the countryside and wildlife a short distance away – and also of the landscapes which make the North East unique.

A photography exhibition at the Biscuit Factory in Newcastle’s Shieldfield has been a popular attraction since it opened, and it is easy to see why.

It includes 80 framed photographs by four of the region’s best and most dedicated landscape and wildlife photographers – Roger Clegg, Simon Fraser, Allan Potts and Andrew Whitaker.

All but Andrew also participated in last year’s exhibition, called sceNE, mounted by the Biscuit Factory together with Northumberland National Park.

It proved hugely popular, making this repeat sceNE – sponsored by Hadrian’s Wall Heritage and property firm Strutt and Parker – a welcome inevitability.

Roger Clegg, who taught photography at Newcastle College, lives in Hexham and is a dedicated observer of Hadrian’s Wall.

You might wonder what’s so trick y about photographing a structure which has been in situ for the best part of two millennia and is hardly likely to bolt at the sound of boot on twig or the flash of sun on lens.

See Roger’s photos and you will appreciate the hours he has spent finding the right spot and waiting patiently for the optimum conditions to materialise. The Wall itself is the constant against an ever-changing background of light and dark.

In the most dramatic photographs, the sun appears to burst over the Wall, throwing black shadows over the hardy vegetation all around.

The effect is reminiscent of the paintings by John Martin in the Laing Art Gallery, mighty architecture shown against lightning or hellfire.

The sun also features in Roger’s photograph of Kielder Water on this page, appearing limpidly through the haze and reducing the trees to pale silhouettes.