North England Thinking of going to Newcastle. Is it worth the effort?

Progress! @gad-westy likes my post. How are you fixed for Tuesday 6 November?
Train tickets are about to be ordered.
I'll still come even if I'm Billy No mates.
 
mickledore said:
Progress! @gad-westy likes my post. How are you fixed for Tuesday 6 November?
Train tickets are about to be ordered.
I'll still come even if I'm Billy No mates.
Click to expand...

Evening, definitely fine. Daytime probably but will need to make sure I have nothing major on work wise.
 
Evening will do nicely. I'm not due to arrive till 13.26 so I'll be able to fill the afternoon.
Booked in the Premier Inn on the quayside.
 
zorbo said:
Newcastle upon tyne follow the river to the sea aprox 8 miles and your at tynemouth ,whitley bay just a cpl more miles and just a bit further round the coast you have st marys lighthouse. Beautifull.
Click to expand...

mickledore said:
8 miles each way with no car is probably not on, sorry!
Durham sounds promising. It must be 30 years since we've been there. I heard the cathedral doesn't allow cameras. Is this right?
Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

Whitley Bay and St Mary’s can be accessed on the GoNorthEast bus no. 1 (in fact it terminates on the main road where the access road to St Mary’s starts).

https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/timesfares/1

Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay are also all on the Metro line.

mickledore said:
Not sure the metro will work either. Looks like the only way to pay is with a POP card that costs a minimum of £10. No refunds for unused cards and no info on fares. Think Rich is right about not welcoming visitors:(
Click to expand...

Metro all day, unlimited travel ticket is £5.10. Covers the Metro, Tyne ferry and Newcastle to Sunderland rail line.

https://nexus.org.uk/metro-day-ticket

tijuana taxi said:
How about Beamish if you haven't been, guessing you can get there by public transport from Newcastle.
Enjoyed it there and was a good days worth, probably even more developed since we went a fair few years ago
Click to expand...

Beamish has the GoNorthEast service 28 terminating at its front door (there’s even a 25% discount on the entry fee if you produce a bus ticket)

Getting there from Newcastle and Gateshead
Waggonway 28/28A buses run up to every 30 minutes from Newcastle City Centre and Gateshead throughout the week, serving Saltwell Road (28A), Kibblesworth (28A), Old Durham Road (28) Wrekenton (28), Birtley, Ouston and Pelton, as well as running from Chester-le-Street and Pelton Fell in the opposite direction.
Click to expand...

https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/beamish/

https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/timesfares/28
 
Last edited:
I've never been to Newcastle as a tourist but I've worked light haulage and delivering medical supplies to patients all over the UK , friendliest people were North East and Yorkshire, always got offered a cup of tea , I was in the houses for about 15 minutes checking dates , I got to one house in Prudhoe , when the owner found out it was 3 hours home she made me sandwiches.

Durham is a beautiful city , we had a weekend in Beverley a few weeks ago, very nice town , would recommend
 
Maybe a day in Newcastle, and a day up at Alnwick Castle and on to Bamburgh on the coast? Both on my bucket list and ou'd your wife is into gardens she'll love Alnwick.
 
ihasa said:
Maybe a day in Newcastle, and a day up at Alnwick Castle and on to Bamburgh on the coast? Both on my bucket list and ou'd your wife is into gardens she'll love Alnwick.
Click to expand...

Without a car it would be difficult to squeeze Alnwick and Bamburgh into one day, even with a car, I think you'd be rushed. I would say Alnwick is worth putting a full day aside for (castle, garden, treehouse for a meal, Barter Books (must see IMO) and maybe the town centre. Bamburgh can just about be incorporated into a long day to include Dunstanburgh and Lindisfarne (if the tide times suit) though it depends whether you want to do tours, long lunch etc. Good bucket list venues though. Personally, I'd give yourself a few days, base yourself in Northumberland and make a day trip down to Newcastle and/or Hadrian's wall, spend the rest of the time around the North part and coast and castles.
 
The die is cast for this trip, as above^^^^^
Agree about Alnwick and Bamburgh but that is pencilled in for next year.
 
Just to add . There’s lots of old hostorIf parts of newcastle - old walls / steps / monasteries and the like from the original castle days . A walking tour should I expect take u to a lot of them . Also the metro (tube equivalent) will get you to tynemoth in about 30 mins and that’s a nice compact place by the sea worth a visit - nice places to eat there too. Sunday good as market on in the station which itself is of interest.

Shame you don’t want to hire a car when up here for a day as loads of castles by the Northumberland coast which itself is a well kept secret .

Hope that helps

David
 
China town (Stowell st) is good for food, and within spitting distance of the Discovery Museum which is well worth a visit, and the old city walls.
 
lugworm said:
China town (Stowell st) is good for food, and within spitting distance of the Discovery Museum which is well worth a visit, and the old city walls.
Click to expand...
Excellent. Thank you.
Any other suggestions more than welcome.
 
ChrisJ_SLH said:
Ok @mickledore, we need an update. How was the trip?
Click to expand...
@ChrisJ_SLH
Trip was good. Knackering but good. Excellent train journeys both ways. @gad-westy came along on Tuesday afternoon and stayed till well after the first pint. He showed me round the town and river area. Went to Free Trade pub near Byker. Excellent. Can't thank Graham enough.

Wednesday I was on my own in town and got "picked up" by a local tog who also took me on a walk about. Finished up in an interesting gallery which I think was called Side. Then I came home for a rest.

Glad I've been. Never knew it was so steep up and down to the river. There's a few shots on my Flickr stream
https://www.flickr.com/photos/49561411@N02/45084412454/in/datetaken-public/
Nothing out of the ordinary but new to me.
 
mickledore said:
@ChrisJ_SLH
Trip was good. Knackering but good. Excellent train journeys both ways. @gad-westy came along on Tuesday afternoon and stayed till well after the first pint. He showed me round the town and river area. Went to Free Trade pub near Byker. Excellent. Can't thank Graham enough.

Wednesday I was on my own in town and got "picked up" by a local tog who also took me on a walk about. Finished up in an interesting gallery which I think was called Side. Then I came home for a rest.

Glad I've been. Never knew it was so steep up and down to the river. There's a few shots on my Flickr stream
https://www.flickr.com/photos/49561411@N02/45084412454/in/datetaken-public/
Nothing out of the ordinary but new to me.
Click to expand...

Nice shots.

Glad you enjoyed it. I love the Free Trade Inn and Ouseburn generally. It's definitely good exercise up and down to the river, good for working up a thirst!
 
Kevin Allan said:
Tynemouth Market is worth a visit - https://tynemouthmarkets.com/#welcome . It is literally in a metro station so you can travel there by metro and after seeing the market, walk on to the coast which is about 10 minutes walk.
Click to expand...
Hi there @Kevin Allan
Just seen you've been on my Flickr:hug:

As you can tell I went, and now I'm back home.
Not sure when/If I'll go again, but others may find the info useful:ty:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top