Long queues formed outside the North East's top fish and chip shops as hungry bank holidaymakers got their fill of a Good Friday tradition.
Many chippies opened their doors early for what is usually their busiest trading day of the year - among them Longsands Fish Kitchen in Tynemouth. Customers undeterred by the cooler temperatures on the coast were already queuing outside the award-winning fish and chip takeaway and restaurant on the corner of Front Street and Hotspur Street when it opened at 11am - 30 minutes earlier than normal.
It was the same story at Marshall's a few doors along Front Street. Famous as being where the legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix ate fish and chips after playing a gig in Newcastle in March 1967, the pavement tables were soon taken and a long line of punters snaked its way up the pavement.
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Riley's Fish Shack on Tynemouth's King Edward's Bay was also doing brisk business with hardy diners wrapped up warm against the elements sitting at beach tables sheltered from the wind under big umbrellas, while on North Shields Fish Quay staff at The Waterfront had decided to get into the Easter spirit by donning bunny ears.
It was a similar story South of the river, with huge queues snaking along Ocean Road in South Shields from early on. Meanwhile, in Seaton Sluice, Northumberland, the wait was long enough that managers even laid on entertainment in the form of live music.
Kev Henderson, the owner of Longsands Fish Kitchen, estimated they'd have served around 3,000 customers by closing time with Good Friday fish and chips, with cod and chips the most popular takeout of choice.
Amongst those queuing for an early lunch were Stephen Pattison, his wife Sato, and their two sons Kai, 11, and Sami, nine. The family live in Nyon, Switzerland, but Stephen is originally from Cullercoats where his father was the curate at St George's Church.
Fish is not an Easter tradition for the family, but getting their fill of what Sato described as a "quintessentially" English dish is when they return to the area on holiday. Stephen said: "I think it's something you've got to do when you're in the UK, like going to the pub and having tea. I lived in London for 10 years and there is no doubt that North East fish and chips are the best.
"We've been to Longsands before and liked it so we thought it would be a good time to pop along. We'll be getting haddock and chips and finding a nice spot to eat them in the fresh air."
Down on the Fish Quay, Stuart Heppell, his wife Catherine, and children Josh, seven, and Jessica, three, from Cramlington, Northumberland, were waiting to order takeout cod and chips from The Waterfront. Stephen said: "It's the traditional thing to do on a Good Friday." Catherine added: "We always had fish on Good Friday as children and it's nice to carry the tradition on with our kids."
George Blackwell and his wife Sheila from Westerhope, Newcastle, were heading back to their car laden down with boxes of haddock and chips, curry sauce and mushy peas for them and their two children, Georgia, 11 and Sophie, nine, having queued for around 20 minutes for their Good Friday lunch. Sheila said: "We always make an effort to go out every year for takeout fish and chips on Good Friday. It's what you do, isn't it? It's part of the Easter tradition.
"We like to come down the Fish Quay and The Waterfront if we can. They're the best fish and chips around."
For those who work in chip shops, the Bank Holiday is far from a day off, usually counting as one of their busiest in the entire year. At Colmans Seafood Temple, in South Shields, it means all hands on deck for staff who expect to serve "thousands" of portions of fish and chips in one day.
"There's nothing that can prepare you for it," said one staff member, as he and his team took up their positions to wait for the expected hordes of hungry customers.
Colmans' director Richard Ord said Good Friday, along with Great North Run day and the August Bank Holiday, was among the two or three busiest days of the year for the business. His brother Dominic added that the queues seem to get bigger each year, with the tradition showing no sign of dying off in the North East.
With crowds expected throughout the long Easter weekend, each year the Colman's team in "as much stock as we can", storing some food for the Seafood Temple at the larger premises in Ocean Road, which saw queues of hundreds of people throughout most of the day this year.
Richard said: "It's the busiest weekend of the year really. We've got the full kitchen team in, the full front-of-house team.
"The restaurant has been fully booked today for two months. We've got limited 'click and collect' slots at the takeaway and those sold out within two minutes.
"We'll serve thousands of people: we've already got 500 booked in the restaurant but on top of that you've got the takeaway, where we could serve 200 people an hour.
"I love Good Friday, everybody loves it because we've got a full team and everybody is helping each other. Everybody gets excited for days like this."
