Flock on the Tyne
Fiona Whitty floats her way through Newcastle and finds its calm beauty
Once upon a time the River Tyne was one of the busiest industrial rivers in the country as it exported mountains of coal to London and beyond. Today, Newcastle’s famous waterway is all but free of traffic – and its visitors come for pleasure rather than work.
It’s part of an incredible regeneration that has transformed industrial quayside relics into a stunning and vibrant new district.
The perfect way to experience it is from the water itself so we hopped into kayaks for a paddle along the Tyne with CBK
Adventure (£49.50pp, cbkadventure.co.uk).
This is no ordinary river; spanning the Tyne to link Newcastle with its little sister Gateshead are seven bridges within a mile of each other, each with its own character. It’s quite a spectacle – the Magnificent Seven, if you like.
Our guides, Simon Laing and Simon Spencer, took us first to the newest, the curved Gateshead Millennium Bridge.
Opened in 2001 to cyclists and pedestrians, it is the world’s first tilting bridge – meaning that it actually turns over to allow tall vessels to pass.
Being able to see it from below was a real novelty.
We then paddled west to glide under the iconic Tyne Bridge, the symbol of Newcastle and now
Grade II-listed.
Others include the red-and-white Swing Bridge, which opens on a pivot and was the largest of its kind when it was completed in 1876, and the High Level Bridge, built on two tiers to take both vehicles and trains. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to paddle along the Tyne – boss Simon L made sure we were going with the tide – and how quiet.
The only other vessel I spotted was a police boat. It provided a taste of serenity amid all the hustle and bustle.
Simon told stories about how, when he was growing up, young people only came down to the river “to push unwanted cars in”.
Now the water has been cleaned up and its banks are lined with cool hotels, lively bars and innovative zones, like an area with 3D art and giant see-saws that light up.
We were lucky enough to be staying in one such cool hotel. In a sign of post-Covid optimism, the swanky INNSiDE Newcastle only opened its doors in mid-May.
The amazing waterfront townhouse that I shared with Rosie, 16, and
Freddie, 13, had a balcony, floor-to-ceiling windows and views stretching right down the Tyne. I loved how they blended vintage touches like a pale blue dial telephone alongside a trendy yoga mat, slick grey bathrobes and walk-in shower. Fred became instant friends with the Super Nintendo games console.
Breakfast in the Gino D’Acampo restaurant was a feast. By the evening, statement lighting helped transform it into a sassy Italian serving some of Gino’s best dishes, like our delicious king prawn bruschetta with chilli mayo starter.
The kids then ploughed into spicy salami pizzas while I tackled some seriously tasty sauteed king prawns in garlic, chilli and prosecco.
Afterwards the choose-your-own sundaes were too good to miss; Rosie added jelly tots and toffee popcorn to her vanilla ice cream while Freddie went the whole choc hog with Nutella ice cream and sauce, a flake and chocolate buttons. He reckoned it was the best sundae he’d ever tasted.
Next morning we were ready to explore a different side of Newcastle on a Posh Parks Cycling Tour, a three-hour ride showcasing the city’s beautiful green spaces.
A quarter of Newcastle is parkland – there are 33 parks in total – and the guide tasked with giving us a taster was Anna, a German who’s lived in the North East for 15 years and has picked up a strong and very endearing
Geordie accent.
She took us through Ouseburn – once the heart of the city’s glass and pottery industries, now a cool community and creative zone – then on to Jesmond Dene, a
We paddled west to glide under the Tyne Bridge, the symbol of Newcastle
beautiful wooded valley along the River Ouseburn. Once owned by wealthy businessman, engineer and inventor Lord Armstrong, it was gifted to the people of Newcastle nearly 140 years ago and still retains many stunning water features such as rapids, ponds and waterfalls that Armstrong created. It was hard to believe that this rural utopia was so close to the city centre.
We also rode through Town Moor, where ancient grazing rights mean that up to 800 cows belonging to the Freemen of the City ( footballerturned-TV-pundit Alan Shearer is one) are free to roam
( from £45pp, newcastletourcompany.com).
We’d arrived in Newcastle by rail – quick and hassle-free.
If you’re coming from the South then it’s the perfect way as you saunter in over the Tyne, giving you your first impressive glimpse of its bridges.
And LNER’s new Let’s Eat At My Seat scheme means that you can order food and drink from where you’re sitting and have it delivered – perfect if you have kids in tow.
With the weather doubtful we’d held off exploring and headed straight to play adventure golf at Mr Mulligan’s.
There are three nine-hole courses, all space themed, with hills, bumps, tunnels and corners to navigate. Lots of fun was had by all (adult from £9.50, child from £8.25, mrmulligan.com).
For dinner we opted for the popular Umai Mi, a modern pan-Asian restaurant in the Eldon Square shopping centre.
Manager Keith encouraged us to order several dishes to share so we started off with crispy beef and Korean fried chicken – both lovely and spicy in wonderfully sticky marinades.
We then moved on to ramen with crisp prawn tempura, a delicious king prawn and chicken fried rice and an eggplant and tofu sizzling hotplate, a combo of rice, sauce and topping that you mix together at the table. The food, which was topped off with fruity alcohol-free “softails”, was beautifully presented and tasted amazing (umaimi.co.uk).
We rounded off our visit with a city highlights walking tour with newly qualified guide Amanda, who showed us grand landmarks such as the Sage, a striking Norman Foster-designed music venue, which is on the Gateshead riverbank.
Apparently when world-famous opera singer Jose Carreras heard about the venue’s incredible acoustics he called and asked if he could perform there – but no one believed that it was him (adult £5, child free, newcastlegateshead.com/ newcastle-city-guides).
Amanda also told us about plans for an observation wheel bigger than the London Eye.
Its name? The
Whey Aye, of course.
There are plans for a wheel bigger than the London Eye – the Whey Aye