England: Newcastle Upon Tyne

We based ourselves in Newcastle for a visit to Hadrian's Wall. The city is another of those urban areas that surged ahead during the Industrial Revolution. There were abundant local coal reserves, and Newcastle became the region's preeminent export port. Today, Newcastle feels incredibly vibrant, welcoming tourists and locals, though perhaps we just happened to catch it on a day with exceptionally nice weather.

After taking a "replacement bus" from York to Darlington Station, we hopped on the train to Newcastle along with a group of women headed to the Road to Nashville Festival.




A busy Sunday as we disembark at Newcastle Station.


We stayed at the Historic Masterpiece Art Deco Newcastle Co-Operative Building (1932), now a Premier Inn. Check out the two clock towers.


After dropping off our bags with reception, we walked past the Chinatown Gate, with St. James' Park Football Stadium behind it, to the Quayside Sunday Market under the Art Deco Tyne Bridge with 4 massive towers.








We could not resist a tasty vegan doner kabab at the friendly Vegano food stall; then we walked across the Tyne Bridge and along the river to The BALTIC (Centre for Contemporary Art), a former Flour Mill.








There are amazing views from the rooftop terrace of the BALTIC of The Glasshouse (left), Tyne Bridge (far center), and Gateshead Millennium Bridge (right)


The views from the Millennium Bridge are amazing as well.


On the way back to the Premier Inn we popped into Newcastle Cathedral. Adjacent to the cathedral is a bronze and pink granite statue of Queen Victoria.






The Tyne Bridge again!


And the BALTIC!

England: York

York is said to be the second tourist destination in England after London. The medieval center of York is well preserved, as well as most of the city wall. For some reason I was just not charmed. Maybe we happened to be there on a long weekend. There were a lot of people.

We made a day trip to Studley Royal Park, UNESCO 1986, which embodies a number of events in British history. The magnificent water gardens were originally conceived by John Aislabie, one of the masterminds of the infamous 1720 South Sea Bubble (the vertiginous rise and subsequent fall of the stocks of the South Sea Company that assumed government debt in exchange for monopoly in slave trade to the Americas). His son purchased the neighboring Fountains Abbey, started in the 12 century as a Cistercian Monastery until closed after Henry VIII's break with the Catholic Church.

It's a vast complex. At its heyday the Abbey commanded over 60,000 acres of land. One descendant the estate passed through was a Viceroy of India, who added St Mary's Church.

Our arrival at York Railway Station.


We stayed in a room above the Bootham Tavern, which was right above the small stage that had live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Yikes! However the Friday band The 5:15's played mostly rhythm and blues, a plus, and was named after a song by The Who, another plus, and the Saturday night band Mithril was acoustic, so it was a positive experience. Not to mention, the bands started at 9pm and finished at 11pm on-the-dot.


There is an area of the medieval city center called "The Shambles". Here one finds narrow streets, the Shambles Market, This Shop is so Gay, and the 14th century Monk Bar Gate.








Folks waiting to attend Evensong at York Minster.


On the bus to Fountains Abbey we crossed the River Ouse (1st below) and later passed a horse-drawn Romany Bow-Top Wagon (2nd below).




Fountains Hall (1st below) and Fountains Abbey














The Water Garden at Fountains Abbey








While Fountains Abbey dates from the 1100s, the nearby St Mary's Church is Victorian (1870s).








We walked by the Eboracum Roman Festival more than once.




Walking on the city walls was cool. At one point there was a great view to York Minster behind the grounds of the Grays Court Hotel.






Aldi Price Match!


Former Electric Cinema (1911)