October 22 - 25
For the uninitiated – like myself at the start of the week - Newcastle seems all about coal and industry, the lifeblood of modern civilisation but not all that interesting for tourists. But in actual fact it has been raised and subsequently abandoned by such industries; there is no trace of coal dust anywhere in the city and industry has been confined to a few distant suburbs.
In large parts, Newcastle still retains a medieval street layout. Narrow alleys, most of which can only be traversed by foot, still exist in abundance, particularly around the riverside. The city’s most famous landmark are the Tyne Bridges – an eclectic, cluttered array of bridges crossing the river Tyne. The most well known of these is the Tyne Bridge, completed in 1932 I do believe – the same year as the Sydney Harbour bridge, which perhaps explains the similarities…
These days Newcastle is a stylish urban centre and is defined by its greatest strength: the locals. Geordies, as they are affectionately called, are a fiercly independent bunch with an inpenetrable dialect, the closest modern tongue to 1500-year-old Anglo-Saxon. A night out on the town is the alpha and omega of Newcastle, understandably one you experience the engery. It’s so irrepressible that it borders on the irresponsible – how can they wear so little when it’s so bloody cold?
