NEWCASTLE on TYNE

Tyne, High Level and Swing Bridges

Newcastle on Tyne.... the Tyne River.... is the start or end of the Wall depending on who you talk to. There's an area called Walls End. which implies the Wall's END but it could just be one end of the Wall, there are 2 ends to every wall, but only one Wall End, so which end of the Wall is it? Couldn't it be the beginning? I can't think of this stuff with jet lag so because it was easiest logistically we're starting in Newcastle in the east, a hour long flight from London.

You Are Here

As I write this it's 9.45PM and I'm waiting for the sun to set. The streets are rowdy with tarted up women in huge shoes, short skirts and carousing Rugby fans here for the Super Rugby 2016 Championships. At home these women would be arrested for prostitution. Alcohol flows freely in the streets, with bottles and pub glasses left on walls and benches.

 I am acclimating in my very nice room at the Indigo Hotel. Queen bed, balcony, free WiFi, 42" TV, free mini bar goodies, sleek bathroom. The view isnt very nice, and you have to put your key card in the slot to keep the lights on (I already lost one of them) , but its homey and I can't wait to crash later. 

Room 406

View

David Wilde, with his endless  energy and impenetrable dialect , is our guide. David is my daughter, Rachel's, friend who lives nearby and has offered to show us around. I'm relieved to not have to think too much in this unknown city. Last night he took us to PICCOLINO'S , an Italian restaurant where his brother is chef. I had the best fish and we got a free small pizza as an appetizer. 


 Originally known as Pons Aelius ( Pons meaning "bridge" and Aelius was Hadrian's family name) when it was controlled by the Romans, Newcastle was then taken over by the Danes and the Saxons. It has 7 bridges crossing the Tyne, the smallest  is on the site of the original Roman bridge crossing. 
It has a mix of  tired Victorian and post-war architecture, throw in some industrial grit, beggers, druggies, homeless, University students, a medieval castle, gentrification , stir well and  Newcastle has a foot in all worlds. It's down and dirty, without the grace of York. Still, it's trying and not without its beauty.

Quayside revitalization & The Winking Eye

Outline of the Roman Fort at the Foot of the Castle

Nugget of info: Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, born in WallsEnd, 1951. His song "All This Time" was written about his childhood and fathers death in Newcastle:

Teachers told us
The Romans built this place
They built a wall and a temple on the edge of the 
Empire garrison town
They lived and they died
They prayed to their gods
But the stone gods did not make a sound
And their empire crumbled
Till all that was left
Were the stones the workmen found

Maybe you know these ships built in WallsEnd: 

1902 Carpathia C S Swan and Hunter, Wallsend

1906 Mauretania Swan and Hunter, Wigham Richardson, Wallsend

The Tyne used to produce 25% of the worlds ships. Shipbuilding and the Swan Hunter Company ended in 2007, leaving joblessness and an abandoned shipyard, adding more to the already stressed economy here.  

Phil has brought some San Diego sun with him if not the warmth.