Newcastle put on a bit of a show this Bank Holiday weekend with the weather. It was sunshine, blue skies and mild temperatures all around, so we definitely made the most of being out and about all weekend sight seeing.
On Sunday morning we set out to tour Newcastle. Making our way through the city’s main shopping strip, down the curving Grey Street and past the local Deloitte office.
We found our way to Quayside where the markets, under the arching Tyne Bridge, were buzzing with people.
We browsed the stores, locally made wares and old black and white photographs of the Tyne Bridge and its construction history.
The story behind the similarities of the Tyne Bridge and Sydney Harbour Bridge can be a little confusing as the date of completion of both bridges are so close. It's difficult to understand who influenced whom, as the Tyne Bridge was completed in 1928, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge followed in 1932. But the design of the Tyne Bridge is said to have been based on the Sydney Harbour Bridge (which in turn was based on New York's Hell Gate Bridge) and the date of completion of both Bridges were a result of the time it took to approve plans for the designs.
We made our way down the river to cross the newer Millennium Bridge, stopping momentarily to take some tourist shots of the Tyne riverbanks.
Our timing had it that we got to see the Millennium Bridge open, like a big blinking eye, from the Baltic Gallery café as we enjoyed fizzy fruit drinks and caramel toffee chocolate cake.
We were whizzed up by the glass lifts to the Baltic’s viewing deck and made some executive decisions on what to do for the rest of the day. Our decisions led us across the Tyne Bridge and to Castle Keep, a rambling stone castle in the centre of the city, built between 1168-1178 by Henry II.
This would be Geoff’s first foray into the long history of England since arriving in the UK, and it was thoroughly enjoyed. Still standing since 1168, it’s amazing to comprehend just how old the building and its artifacts are. We had fun exploring the narrow hallways around the perimeter of Castle Keep.
The Castle's tower staircases led us up and around to the roof.
Lending itself to no less than 360-degree views of Newcastle.
We could sight all of Newcastle’s bridges and churches, St James stadium and the train station.
After the workout climbing all those stairs, we indulged in gourmet quiches at Café Royal before hitting the shops on Newcastle’s high street.
Monday was the Bank Holiday and another sunny day for sightseeing and shopping. We made our way over to the arts and music centre, the Sage Gateshead.
It was lovely to experience the lightness of the glassed interior with views out to the riverbanks. We promised ourselves to be back to see a performance one night soon.
The shops were open for holiday trading so we stopped by the very British TopShop and European H&M to pick up some much needed (warm) clothes for the UK climate. We stuffed ourselves for lunch at the Italian restaurant, Pani’s polishing off our pastas with gelato and coffees. The gathering rain clouds and cooling temperatures sent us home after a short trip to see the grounds of Northumbria University.
Tomorrow we are off to London together for more relaxation, food, sightseeing and shopping, no doubt!
