Search:
[Title Bar]

England Travels: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

Wednesday, April 11, 2018.

I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling generally well rested. The next step was to head to the train station (Cambridge North, a ten to fifteen minute walk), and catch a train north to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, our next destination.

It took about 3 hours to get to the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne station (I will shift to the shortened, more widely used, and less pretentious town name of merely Newcastle, but not quite yet) and then probably 30-45 minutes to find the office for Alamo car rentals.

We knew it was near the station. We walked around the area, stopped in a nice hotel a block away and asked them to look it up. Then went back to the station. Asked someone there. No one really knew about it. But eventually they pointed us to a car rental place in the outside corner of the station. I figured at the least, they would know the name of their competitior where I had a reservation. As it turns out, in England they spell some words differently than in the US. Alamo is spelled Enterprise. As is Budget. Fuckers. That explained why, when I had called Alamo to make the reservation, they didn't actually KNOW they had a location in the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne train station. The all-seeing Google had assured me such a place did exist, and apparently that was able to convince them or their computer to allow that.

Anyway, the people were actually quite nice and since they do handle rentals from all three companies, they had my reservation. It cost an extra £10/day to add Stephanie as a driver, but I figured it'd be worth it. Despite her objections, and based on the advice from several other friends, I had rented a car with an automatic transmission. I had asked for a small car, but wound up being given a Vauxhall sedan. I asked them if we could leave the car there (with our bags locked in it) for a few hours while we got lunch and explored a little of the town by the riverfront area and not have to deal with navigation and parking and such. They were completely accomodating and said it wouldn't be a problem.

So we walked around a bit, had lunch at a pub-ish place. And then walked along the water in the Quayside area. (Note: in the US, it would be pronounced kway-side; in England key-side.) We were near the area of where the remains of the new castle of Newcastle is, saw some art and sculptures and such, before we headed off. It was pretty cold, like in the mid 40sF/5-8C, overcast, with a bit of wind. I was glad I had taken my gloves with me.

2018 England trip pictures
Part 1: The Arrival
Part 2: Cambridge (Part 1)
Part 3: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
Part 4: Alnwick
Part 5: York
Part 6: Sutton Bank
Part 7: Thirsk
Part 8: Helmsley and Rievaulx
Part 9:  Backyard Blacksmith Workshop
Part 10: Bagby Airfield
Part 11: Byland Abbey
Part 12: National Railway Museum
Part 13: Cambridge (Part 2)
Part 14: Cambridge Botanical Gardens
Part 15: The Departure

Displaying all 38 pictures


The train to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

000-DSC_0834.jpg

000-DSC_0834-th.jpg

Before our train arrived, a freight train stopped at the station for a minute...(more)

001-DSC_0835.jpg

001-DSC_0835-th.jpg

I was curious about the black shock absorbers between cars. I couldn't see any...(more)

002-DSC_0836.jpg

002-DSC_0836-th.jpg

The English countryside seen from the train.

003-DSC_0837.jpg

003-DSC_0837-th.jpg

004-DSC_0838.jpg

004-DSC_0838-th.jpg

It's a foggy day, so visibility is limited.

005-DSC_0839.jpg

005-DSC_0839-th.jpg

006-DSC_0841.jpg

006-DSC_0841-th.jpg

Frank ponders the universe on the train. Not at all staged. OK, maybe a bit.


Quayside area in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

007-DSC_0843.jpg

007-DSC_0843-th.jpg

Sage Gateshead concert venue. It's on the south side of the river.

008-DSC_0844.jpg

008-DSC_0844-th.jpg

A signpost along the Tyne River.


008-river_tyne_Panor...

008-river_tyne_Panorama-th.jpg

Looking west at two bridges over the Tyne, the near one is Bridge Street and...(more)



008-tyne_bridge_Pano...

008-tyne_bridge_Panorama-th.jpg

The Tyne Bridge viewed from underneath on the north bank. It's a flat bridge...(more)


009-DSC_0854.jpg

009-DSC_0854-th.jpg

010-DSC_0855.jpg

010-DSC_0855-th.jpg

The Custom House.

011-DSC_0856.jpg

011-DSC_0856-th.jpg

Looking east at the Gateshead Millenium Bridge, a footbridge.

012-DSC_0857.jpg

012-DSC_0857-th.jpg

Another picture of the Gateshead Millenium Bridge.

013-DSC_0858.jpg

013-DSC_0858-th.jpg

The Sage Gateshead concert venue, a sort of pixelated mutant silver bean.


013-quayside_playgro...

013-quayside_playground_Panorama-th.jpg

A composite shot of the HMS Newcastle/Quayside Seaside playground (or play...(more)


014-DSC_0862.jpg

014-DSC_0862-th.jpg

A picture of the Gateshead Millenium bridge with the BALTIC Centre for...(more)

015-DSC_0863.jpg

015-DSC_0863-th.jpg

I think I was intending to link this and the previous one together, but who has...(more)

016-DSC_0864.jpg

016-DSC_0864-th.jpg

The bridge and the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

017-DSC_0865.jpg

017-DSC_0865-th.jpg

Stephanie looks to the west down the River Tyne and its bridges while trying...(more)

018-DSC_0866.jpg

018-DSC_0866-th.jpg

The Tyne Bridge (green) with 3 other bridges behind it (red/white, blue, and...(more)

019-DSC_0867.jpg

019-DSC_0867-th.jpg

Frank on the Gateshead Millenium Bridge in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

020-DSC_0868.jpg

020-DSC_0868-th.jpg

Another of Frank on a bridge over the River Tyne in Newcastle.

021-DSC_0869.jpg

021-DSC_0869-th.jpg

Quayside in Newcastle. The far left place is called "The Pitcher and...(more)

022-DSC_0870.jpg

022-DSC_0870-th.jpg

More views from the River Tyne looking east.

023-DSC_0871.jpg

023-DSC_0871-th.jpg

The quayside, north short, by the Tyne bridge. A bar in the building by the...(more)

024-DSC_0872.jpg

024-DSC_0872-th.jpg

Sandgate is an area on the north side of the Tyne just beyonghte Millenium...(more)

025-DSC_0873.jpg

025-DSC_0873-th.jpg

There was a scuplture by Sandgate.

026-DSC_0874.jpg

026-DSC_0874-th.jpg

A statue commemorating slaves (I think), as seen from Sandgate looking south to...(more)

027-DSC_0875.jpg

027-DSC_0875-th.jpg

I thought the graffiti was colorful and looked kind of cool even though the...(more)

028-DSC_0882.jpg

028-DSC_0882-th.jpg

Stephanie is looking at the ruins of the corner watchtower.


028-newcastle_watcht...

028-newcastle_watchtower_Panorama-th.jpg

A composite picture of the remains of the corner watchtowner that was along the...(more)


029-DSC_0883.jpg

029-DSC_0883-th.jpg

Information about the corner watchtower. The sign has seen better days and is...(more)

030-DSC_0884.jpg

030-DSC_0884-th.jpg

Another old area of town. Likely where the workers lived or worked or...(more)


030-newcastle_church...

030-newcastle_church_Panorama-th.jpg

A picture of the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas. It was almost 3pm. We...(more)


031-DSC_0887.jpg

031-DSC_0887-th.jpg

A monument to Queen Victoria in front of the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas.

032-DSC_0888.jpg

032-DSC_0888-th.jpg

Note that there's a free ping-pong table in the train station! That's cool!...(more)




2018 England trip pictures
Part 1: The Arrival
Part 2: Cambridge (Part 1)
Part 3: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
Part 4: Alnwick
Part 5: York
Part 6: Sutton Bank
Part 7: Thirsk
Part 8: Helmsley and Rievaulx
Part 9:  Backyard Blacksmith Workshop
Part 10: Bagby Airfield
Part 11: Byland Abbey
Part 12: National Railway Museum
Part 13: Cambridge (Part 2)
Part 14: Cambridge Botanical Gardens
Part 15: The Departure

This page last modified May 13, 2018.
Home
RSS Feed
feed