Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, England

Due to unforeseen circumstances, a little while ago I found myself spending some time in Newcastle. I'm not going to go to great lengths about the history of the place - there are other sources for that. Suffice it to say that the area was an important contributor to Britain's Industrial Revolution, in particular the railways.


And it's got a lot of bridges! Above is the first thing you see of the Tyne from the railway when you arrive. They connect Newcastle to Gateshead, which is the name of the town on the other side of the river. In that sense, it's a bit like Buda+Pest, with differently-named towns/cities on either side of a river. Only the whole is of course not called 'Newcastlegateshead'...

The 'high level bridge' is one of the older ones, dating from 1850. It carries both a railway and, on the lower level, a road now restricted to a single carriageway together with a footpath (bottom picture)

The Tyne Bridge, completed in 1928 and carrying the A167, is undergoing a refurbishment over the next few years. Similar bridges exist in Sydney and New York

In the roads near the quayside, bridges form part of the streetscape. The Tyne Bridge skims over the rooftops, almost touching in places

The Millennium Bridge is recent as its name imples. It carries a footpath and cycleway to Gateshead. It tilts (both the path and its supporting arc) to allow ships through. The glass structure behind it is the Gateshead 'glasshouse' - a concert venue

Of course there is a castle, the 'new' being somewhat relative...the 'old' one having been built in Roman times and not here anymore...

The most striking view of the Cathedral (St Nicholas') built in the 15th century is the 'lantern tower' seen from the Castle steps, (top pic, with the view from the street below)

Civic pride. The Newcastle logo, found on footpaths throughout the City.

I found a spacious and walkable city with a variety of contrasting styles...

The Town Wall dates from medieval (c13/c14) times...

...some more modern styles include the 1930s art-deco 'co-op' building, now part of a hotel chain, and 'The Gate' retail and leisure complex opened in 2002

This isn't London or Paris, and that's not Nelson or Napoleon. The Earl Grey monument...

St James' Park open-air venue, where Sam Fender played recently

Finally something rather less grandiose than Earl Grey, or castles and cathedrals. Newcastle has a fair number of these alleys and side streets, and there is this little 'indie' coffee place. It's lovely but don't turn up six or eight at a time, never mind a dozen!