Photos from the weekend in Durham and Newcastle are now all uploaded. I’d have got them all up sooner, but I haven’t had a free evening until now.
It was a fun couple of days, and while I had been to Durham before I had never been to Newcastle. Or Gateshead, where I stayed with friends, which I suppose I should mention given that it is a separate town.
Gateshead, incidentally, is home to a substantial Jewish population which is unusually for Britain almost entirely ultra-Orthodox. So there’s a factoid for your next dinner party.
Sunday was spent touristing around Newcastle which I was dead impressed with, boasting lovely buildings in both the city centre and the riverside. Landmarks like the Baltic and the Sage (both technically in Gateshead), the various bridges, the sensitive mix of architectural styles and good use of open space, all combine make it one of the best city riversides I’ve seen, and a good example to cities that need to work on theirs. I’m looking at you, Weegieland.
And above all, the wider conurbation boasts a light railway network, which is always a plus in my book. Especially when they have amusing features such as this.