Quayside, Newcastle

From the old part of the city, we walked along the banks of the Tyne. We were in Newcastle on the north bank and then crossed over to Gateshead on the south bank. Quayside is famed for its series of dramatic bridges, including the Tyne Bridge of 1928 which was built by Dorman Long of Middlesbrough, Robert Stephenson's High Level Bridge of 1849, the first road/rail bridge in the world, and the Swing Bridge of 1876.

Large-scale regeneration efforts have led to the replacement of former shipping premises with modern new office developments and an innovative tilting bridge - the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. We crossed here to visit the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (the venue for the Turner Prize 2011) and have a closer look at the Norman Foster-designed Sage Gateshead music centre.

The Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides are now a thriving, cosmopolitan area with bars, restaurants, hotels and public spaces. We ate in a lovely Italian restaurant, and then finished our day in the city with a drink in Spoons 😊Read more