North cities ‘must sees’, says guide
READERS OF TRAVELLING WEBSITE PUT REGION’S GEMS ON ‘COOL’ LIST
NEWCASTLE and Durham have been voted among the 15 best cities in the UK.
Readers of the website Conde Nast Traveller say the cities are included in a list of the coolest places to visit.
Their annual Readers Traveller Awards puts Newcastle in eighth place and Durham in 14th.
And they say the North East has a warm welcome for visitors from all over the world.
London was top but, says the site, we know how to extend the hand of friendship too.
They are raving about our big-hearted hospitality.
Here’s what Northumberland man Harry Pearson has to say about Newcastle in Conde Nast’s insider guide. “Newcastle is a place of almost pathological good humour and friendliness,” he said.
“The reason for that is simple – every Geordie believes him or herself to be blessed to have been born here.
“Newcastle is a great city, founded on the technological and engineering innovations of men such as George Stephenson and Lord Armstrong, and if at times it seems to hide its highest achievements beneath garrulousness and laughter, that’s because nobody here is seeking veneration – they just want people to enjoy themselves as much as they do.”
He says Newcastle is heart-warming no matter how much you want to resist sentiment.
Harry also has great things to say about Durham.
He recalled how the city was once left off the tourist trail but things had now changed.
He said it has great views including the River Wear and the cathedral. Do you know South Street? It came in for high praise indeed. “The riverside city is a famously fantastical jumble of soaring towers and winding streets, the countryside around it an unsung English Eden,” he says.
“For many years I walked up South Street in the city of Durham once a week.
“The views across the River Wear to the cas-
tle and cathedral have never lost their power to thrill.
“If there’s another street in England that can match it, I’ve yet to find it.”
He said Durham had been one of England’s hidden gems but now it was no longer forgotten.
He said: “In those days, Durham was one of England’s ignored treasures.
“It somehow never featured on the tourist trail that sent visiting Americans and Japanese scurrying from Bath to York to Edinburgh.”
He added: “Latterly, that situation has changed, thanks partly to the efforts of bestselling writer Bill Bryson – a great champion of the city and a former chancellor of its university – and partly to Harry Pottermania.
“The cloisters of the Norman cathedral doubled as the Hogwarts quadrangle in the films.”