Newcastle

I only had the one full day in Newcastle, which was a bit of a shame. It was quite an interesting place, and with lots to do there. But I'd booked cheap train tickets home, and there's no reason why I couldn't return in the future. Maybe by then people here would have an accent easier to understand!

There was this gorgeous tree standing right in the centre of the hotel, and I think it was lit up at night which must have been beautiful to see! 

Also, there was this fun mosaic at Regent Centre, with this fun train/tram design on it. The colours made it look very 70's, but then again, it was probably made then! 

Newcastle is an industrial city, and it's in the very fabric of the place. Everywhere you go there's signs of it, like this enormous railway viaduct running through the city centre, that needed to be doubled up at one stage.

You can see it here with the Legendary Tyne bridge going across the river, as well as the cathedral just a few streets up. I knew I was headed for the direction, as I was looking for Newcastle's castle. Now that is a tongue twister!

The site is actually spread across two. The castle keep, and then here, the Black Gate. They are combined together, and your ticket gets you entrance to both. Entry is £13.50, and the tickets last for an entire year. That's fine if you're a local, not so helpful if you live the other end of the country! 

Inside the Black Gate, there's a small exhibition on about life in the Middle Ages & Victorian Era for the people who lived and worked in the building, including this unfortunate soul being given a tobacco enema. Quite what on earth that would do to someone, but apparently it was very useful for treating Cholera. Think I'll stick to the antibiotics if I'm honest!

The gate has a nice little open space just behind it where you can admire the building from all angles. The gatehouse during the Victorian period was infamous for it's slum like & unhealthy conditions, with as many as 60 people crammed inside the tower itself. It's not until the 1880's that a programme of restoration took place, removing all modern traces and restoring the tower to its former glory

A view through the entrance tunnel, which would have originally housed the portcullis. It's just a short walk from the Gatehouse under the railway viaduct arches to the castle keep.

The castle keep is lovely and cool inside, and a great place to escape from the summer heat which seemed to have appeared today. The Norman keep which you see today replaced the original Motte & Bailey castle and was built in 1177. While the keep has been damaged and repaired several times, you can still see some of the Norman Romanesque details, like this stonework above the archway.

There's some beautifully delicate stonework on the ribs of the vaulting also, particularly in the lower areas of the keep.

Here you can see where one of the watchmen would have sat and worked, keeping an eye on who came in and out the castle, while you get a great view of how the inside is by heading up the steps to the top and looking down. I imagine years ago there would have been additional floors, no doubt sumptuously furnished for when special visitors arrived.

It gets progressively narrower and the ceilings lower the further up you go, until I was having to stoop to get through. The Middle Ages was not a time for people above six foot! 

The top of the keep gives you some fantastic views across Newcastle, and the River Tyne.

This fellow was demonstrating good archery techniques, but I think me practicing archery would be a public health hazard! Maybe from the Middle Ages point of view, that's not a bad thing! Outside you can also see some of the old town walls that would have provided defence against attacking forces. 

Both sites of the castle are open every day, if you'd like to know a bit more about it, follow the link here @newcastlecastle.co.uk

To be fair, I thought I was going to do a bit more than that, my ankle was still a little uneasy, so I ended up just having a bit of a wander through the city centre, visiting sights like Grainger Market & the high street. I even found a fun little wool shop where I picked some fun coloured wool up for my Nan, who was probably working hard on another fantastic knitted creation!

I got back on the Metro to head back to the hotel, and while I was waiting for the metro train (I waited nearly ten minutes. I couldn't believe it. I think London spoils us with a train every 2 minutes!)  I couldn't notice how dated the station was. The tiles in particular. Talk about carbon dating to a specific decade!

I had dinner at the restaurant adjoining the hotel, enjoying a nice cold cider with my dinner, before going upstairs to pack. I'd sort of tossed everything out the rucksack when arrived, and the room was in quite a bit of disorder! I packed everything back up, crammed it all in again, and got everything ready for the morning. Why is it so difficult to get everything back in, I don't think I'd brought that much stuff, just a few odd bits here and there! 

I'd booked an early train to Sheffield, where I would spend the afternoon and night, then the train to London. It just seemed like a nicer way to do it, and I really didn't fancy six hours on a train. I think that would have been worse than walking home!