Newcastle

This morning we woke up to a grey morning and steady rain. We packed and took our stuff downstairs. The chef on duty was surprised to see us, but he could not have been nicer. He kept telling us he was "back of house" but he made us toast and "chef's tea", and wished us safe travels as we left. He was actually way better than the front of house staff, but maybe they are a bit burnt out.

We stood out under shelter, watching the rain and wondering what would happen if the taxi didn't turn up. The latest advertised safe crossing time for this morning was 8 o'clock. At 5 to 8 George and his taxi splashed into the courtyard, and off we went, across the causeway, keeping an eye on the location of the refuge tower built in the middle, where we could weather the flood if things turned nasty.

But they didn't, and George deposited us in good time at Berwick station, and soon after we were whizzing along in our first first class train, with tea and toast laid on. The trip to Newcastle takes less than an hour, and suddenly we were on the rather gritty streets of Newcastle. A bit of culture shock, to go from somewhere so quiet and idyllic to crowds, people begging, a young guy passed out on the street, terrible buskers, and tatty shops. Some fairly brutal modern heaps of concrete make you think that the place doesn't really care about its heritage. Here is the 13th century church of St John the Baptist, seemingly unloved and surrounded by high rise.

Maybe a rainy grey day doesn't help, but I can't say I warmed to what we've seen so far of Newcastle. I seem to recall that my grandmother didn't like the place much either.

I went off to check the great Northern Museum, while Anne checked some shops and had a rest. The museum had firmly gone for the family, younger person audience, and there were plenty of kids in there having a good time. A bit disappointing though given that Newcastle​ has seen so much . Some sorts of objects I had not seen before though. Like this box of carved whale bone, from around 700 AD.

I bought a bag for the Brompton - I hope the VAT refund system works, but still way cheaper than Australia. And the we laid low in our hotel, which is a impressive piece of Victoriana in its own right - indeed Victoria herself stayed here. It has been nicely restored but has a sort of under used air today.

We are on the ferry tomorrow night, and in Amsterdam for a few days after that. It will be good to stay in one place for a while.