A surprisising tale of two cities (From Swindon Advertiser)

A surprisising tale of two cities

1:25pm Thursday 15th December 2011 in Holiday Reviews By Stephen Webb

EXPECT the unexpected when you go to Newcastle.

The north east of England may have the reputation of being cold and forbidding in winter to us southern softies – but don’t you believe it.

The people we met there were warm, welcoming and friendly – if ever they make a UK version of the hit US sitcom Friends, they should move it from New York to Newcastle.

But that bit is not unexpected – Geordies are known for being a friendly bunch, exemplified by the taxi driver who took us from the airport to our riverside hotel. After a brief diatribe about a pending World War Three, he proceeded to give us a potted history of his home city. We are now experts after that 20 minute journey, from Newcastle’s glorious industrial heritage to the dodgy shenanigans of corrupt politician T Dan Smith.

No, what might surprise you about this fascinating city is its wealth of culture, its diverse but harmonious architecture, some truly wonderful places to eat, and views to rival any city in the UK.

And you may also be unprepared for the fact that Newcastle is very much promoted as two cities these days – NewcastleGateshead they’re calling it, with the southern bank of the River Tyne linked to the generally better known north by all sorts of iconic bridges. “Think Budapest” is one catchphrase, and that sums it up neatly.

So let’s start at Gateshead – two huge and imposing buildings dominate the riverside: the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Sage Gateshead.

The BALTIC is a converted flourmill and is now one of the country’s best known art galleries, hence it hosting, until January 8, the prestigious 2011 Turner Prize exhibition, with work by the four contenders on show.

The Sage is a Norman Foster designed music centre, with concert halls that can host performances from the largest orchestra to solo folk singers. The Sage is also a music education centre. From a distance the building looks like a huge shiny armadillo, but it really comes into its own at night when, all lit up, it dominates the south bank and is reflected grandly in the river.

As for Newcastle, well we got the perfect introduction to almost all the city has to offer during a two-hour trek with Blue Badge guide Tom Keating. What Tom doesn’t know about this part of the world you could fit on the toe-cap of Alan Shearer’s football boot.

The walk started beside the fabulous Millennium Bridge – which is Gateshead’s, not Newcastle’s; Gateshead built it to link with Newcastle rather than the other way round – which is a marvel of modern engineering, and again is beautifully illuminated at night.

There are seven bridges that span the Tyne at NewcastleGateshead and the Millennium one is only just superceded in scale and reputation by the Tyne Bridge, a true symbol of the North East, opened in 1928 and designed and built by the same people responsible for the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Tom’s tour took us uphill from the Tyne, taking in the castle that gave Newcastle its name, some of the narrow cobbled streets that have been around for centuries, and the glorious Grainger Town, the historic heart of the city which leads to the busy shopping centre, where Tom left us to browse at our leisure, after pointing down one thoroughfare where an imposing structure could be viewed. “That’s St James’s Park,” the proud Newcastle United supporter said.

“No it’s not,” I said, mischievously. Tom looked at me and frowned, then smiled when he realised what I meant. The owners of one of the most famous football clubs in the country recently decided to change the name of the stadium to the SportsDirect Arena, a controversial move that has not gone down well with “The Toon’s” fiercely loyal and passionate supporters – Tom included.

The tour only gave us a taster of what to see and do in Newcastle and the rich and colourful history of the city is perhaps another of its surprises. The main streets comprise some wonderful old buildings, including the grand Theatre Royal, one of several theatres in the city, which is 170 years old and was recently restored.

We popped in to the nearby Tyneside Cinema, a delightful art-deco building that has also been recently refurbished. It was designed by local entrepeneur Dixon Scott, whose passion for the movie industry rubbed off on his offspring – his sons are the film directors Ridley and Tony Scott.

I didn’t particularly enjoy the film – The Rum Diaries – but I enjoyed watching it in pleasantly old fashioned surroundings that harked back to the golden days of cinema.

Another pleasant surprise in a pleasantly surprising city.

n For information on all that NewcastleGatehead has to offer, go to www.newcastlegateshead.com.

DISCOVER FOR LESS With times being tough at the moment, those clever marketing people at NewcastleGateshead have come up with the Discover Pass.

This is a discount card with more than 120 offers on attractions, pubs, restaurants and hotels. For example, you get ‘buy one get one free’ for a Newcastle United stadium tour; get 20 per cent of all treatments at Le Petit Spa at the Malmaison; or get 10 per cent off lunch at SIX, the BALTIC’s restaurant. To buy the pass (£10), go to www.discoverpass.co.uk.