We are starting to get towards the end of our English tour and today we get into the north of the country. Very fitting in some ways that for this tour we don’t venture into Scotland and our northern most stop matches the Roman conquests – a visit to Hadrian’s Wall.
However, as you might remember from our travels in the USA, we (I) have come across (hunted out) various significant (quirky) “compass points” to visit. Well, who would have thought just driving along in the middle of nowhere we were actually in the middle of Britain ! As we drove along, a road sign appeared “Haltwhistle – Centre of Britain”. Adrienne did a quick Google search and sure enough this was it – well one of them anyway.
We had actually talked about this one evening and why we (I) had not looked into it before we came. Not surprisingly there is some debate/dispute/conjecture/argument about the “geographical centre of the United Kingdom”. Looking into it there are various, and I think we would need at least another tour dedicated to it, but Haltwhistle’s claim is it is the midpoint of the longest north–south meridian; also approximately the midpoint of each of the lines through it across Great Britain along the 16 main compass directions. So of course it was worth the detour.
Back to the main target – the weather forecast was pretty good however as we approached our stop at Sycamore Gap there was quite a thick fog around. So we didn’t really get much of a view of the wall or where the famous tree had been – vandals had cut it down in September 2023.
So we drove further on to Housesteads Roman Fort , probably the best preserved of the Roman forts which had been built along the length of the wall. The fog started to clear at this point and by the time we left it had become quite sunny – even warm ! The ruins are quite extensive and the information covering the layout of the fort very good detailed. We walked around the area for a while before heading back to the car.
We drove on and our next stop along the way was Prudhoe Castle. This is only a small castle compared to others we had seen but since Norman times it has had various incarnations. A small portion is maintained in its most recent whereas other sections no longer exist however the outer walls largely remain and it is in lovely surrounds.
We had a quick stop at Gateshead Metrocentre, an enormous shopping centre on the outskirts of Newcastle. We looked at a few of the shops and had a quick light lunch before carrying on to the outskirts of Newcastle to see the “Angel of the North”, actually an artwork alongside the A1 motorway. It was commissioned by the Gateshead Council who wanted a landmark of the region’s character. It is said to be one of the most viewed pieces of art in the world !
We arrived in Newcastle late afternoon and checked into the Staybridge Suites located just above the riverfront. After checking in we walked down to the river, known as the Quayside, and walked along the riverfront. Newcastle river has 6 bridge crossing within a very short distance along the river, one of which is an almost replica of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was started later than but completed earlier than the Sydney Harbour Bridge and is on a considereably smaller scale. It is currently under significant renovation which they expect may take four years and it certainly looks like it needs it.
In contrast, the new Gateshead Millenium Bridge, opened in 2001 is a pedestrian and cycle bridge which has a unique “tilt” which allows it to be raised and lowered to allow boat traffic along the river. We walked along one side for a while then walked across the old “swing bridge”, much like Sydney’s Pyrmont Bridge, to the other side of the river. We had a drink at a brewpub beside the river, called “By The River Brew Co”, then walked further down to cross back over the Millenium Bridge.
There are various eateries along the river and we decided to have an early dinner at a popup food truck location and had tasty burgers before heading back to the hotel to do some much needed washing. The Staybridge Suites are a chain we have used in the US as well and midweek they have an “evening reception” of snacks and drinks so we made ourselves comfortable while we waited for our laundry to finish.
We enjoyed our time in Newcastle and tomorrow we start to head south.