W

hether you’re arty or not, the Angel of the North is pretty impressive.

Perched on a hill near the north-east town of Gateshead, it stands a whopping 20 metres high – that’s equivalent to four double-decker buses stacked on top of each other.

However, it’s not just its height that makes the Angel stand out – it’s those enormous outstretched ‘wings’, which are nearly as wide as a jumbo jet.

It was created by the artist Antony Gormley, back in 1998, partly as a reminder of the miners who spent their lives toiling away for 200 years inside the ground that it sits on. And when you consider the fact that 90,000 people drive by it every day, that’s quite some tribute. However, if you think it looks cool from a long distance away, wait ‘til you get up-close and personal.

Put simply, it’s enormous. And that’s not all of it. The Angel is sat in 600 tons of concrete, which extends 20 metres below ground, ensuring that it’ll stay upright in 100mph winds.

If you haven’t had a chance to take a look yet, we highly recommend it – although there’s no immediate rush; apparently it’s going to be up here for at least 100 years…