Newcastle; across the city to Quayside

Newcastle is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear and located on the River Tyne's northern bank.  Originally dependent on its port and, in particular, its status as one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres, the city today is much more diverse. 

The first recorded settlement was Pons Aelius ("Hadrian's bridge"), a Roman fort and bridge across the River Tyne; it then became part of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria.  Newcastel is named after its castle; originally a wooden castle in the Norman times, it was replaced by a stone castle and then rebuilt again in 1172 during the reign of Henry II.

We start the walk across the city at the West Walls section of the Newcastle town wall, which was built during the 13th and 14th centuries to help protect the town from attack and occupation during times of conflict.  We then walk up towards St James' Park, the home of Newcastle United FC; this is close to Chinatown, one of five in the UK, and we walk through this and pass the Catholic Cathedral Church of St Mary.  We reach Newcastle Central Railway Station; outside of this is the Stephenson Monument, a memorial to George Stephenson who developed the 'Rocket', an early locomotive, with his son Robert and pioneered rail transport and the development of the first passenger railways.  There is a good view of the Newcastle Castle Keep from the station car park.

As we carry on east we pass the Rutherford Memorial Fountain - a distinctive red sandstone drinking fountain is located at the top of the Bigg Market - and enjoy another view of the Castle from the road here before reaching Newcastle Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas.  We pass the historic Black Gate, originally the castle’s fortified gatehouse or barbican; this is close to the Moot Hall which was commissioned as a courthouse to replace the facilities at the Castle. 

We now descend to walk along Quayside and see the magnificent and iconic bridges that cross the River Tyne from Newcastle to Gateshead on the other side (see photo captions); these are beautiful both by day and night.

A brief visit to Newcastle, but "I'll be back".Read more