"Newcastle" a Newcastle upon Tyne Travel Page by barryg23

Amongst my New Year's Resolutions for 2007 were to travel less by plane in an attempt to reduce my carbon footprint and to travel more in the UK, allowing us to see as much of the country as possible before we leave for South America. Hence, our first trip of the year was a long weekend break to Newcastle and we travelled there on the fast train from London.

Train travel certainly beats flying for a weekend break. Rather than having to wake at 3am for a 6am flight from Stansted we left King's Cross at the much more civilized hour of 8.30 am on a Saturday and were in Newcastle by 11.45.

Newcastle is a great city for a weekend trip. It's well known for its nightlife, but equally good were the museums and the castle. The Laing Gallery and the Baltic Museum, on Quayside, are probably the most interesting museums in the north east. Newcastle is also a good base for day-trips to the surrounding region. We went to the Beamish Museum and to the historic city of Durham and had we had a couple of days longer we would also have gone to Hadrian's Wall.

The only negative was the timing of our trip. Newcastle is, I imagine, much more enjoyable in late spring or summer than in February. Also, perhaps more regrettably our visit didn't coincide with a Newcastle United home game. I've heard the atmosphere is great here on match days as the Newcastle supporters are probably the most fanatical in the country.