It rather depends how far from the city she's prepared to go.
In the city itself there's the Laing Gallery which has quite a good collection and almost always has some travelling exhibition on, and there are galleries asscoiated with the Universities, several small theatres as well as the Royal, and the Metro venue has lots of music tours and so forth and even ice-shows at the right time of year. Most people like to visit the Quayside area which is very pleasant and has lots of bars, restaurants and a small theatre, from where they can walk across the "Blinking Eye", Gateshead's Millennium Bridge to the Baltic which, apart from its changing exhibitions, also has, I understand a very good restaurant. You can stand on the top floor and get a really good view along the Tyne.
Outside of the city itself and just a few miles away are lovely seaside places with fine sandy beaches, mostly empty and some of the most beautiful coastal areas in the country.
About an hour's drive away is Bambrugh with a wonderful beach and Bambrugh Castle which has featured in several films. There's also a tiny museum dedicated to Grace Darling. Nearby are the Farne Islands which are well worth a visit for the colonies of sea birds and quantities of seals.
A little further north is Boulmer - huge empty sandy beaches and the very fine Fishing Boat Inn.
A little further north,still, near Craster (don't forget to buy some kippers!) is Dunstanburgh Castle and more cliffs full of sea birds. IIRC Craster is the place to get the boat to the Farne Islands.
Further North, about 2 hours' drive from Newcastle, is Holy Island, or Lindisfarne, although she needs to check the tide tables before going to make sure she can get across.
Alnwick is about an hour and a quarter's journey from Newcastle and it has the famous and interesting Alnwick Castle as well as the recently-refurbished-at-great-expense Alnwick Castle Gardens with its stunning water feature, Poison Garden and Treehouse. Alnwick is also the home of my beloved Barter Books which is an enormous second-hand book shop in the former railway station.
If she would rather go West, Hexham is half-an-hour's train ride away. It's a lovely market town with an Abbey, still in use as a CofE establishment and with interesting little shops, such as a violin repairer, stick-makers and other things I can't now remember. Or, further away is Carlisle, which is probably an hour's train journey.
An hour and a half's drive from Newcastle is Kielder Forest and Reservoir, one of my favourite places. There are lots of trails for walking and cycling and there's a ferry which makes a journey around the reservoir. There's also quite a lot of wild life and there are unexpected works of art dotted around the forest.
There are so many other places...Wallingford Hall, Amble, Cragside, which was Lord Armstrong's home and was considered a wonder when it was first built, being the first house ever to be lit by hydro-electricity. It has huge grounds with massive rock gardens and lovely woodlands. I'm told it has a maze and an adventure playground as well. I tried to go there once but was put off by the distances involved with oomeleg. When I finally get an electric scooter it will be one of the first places I visit.
Newcastle is great for all kinds of shopping and has a lovely indoor market, and the Metro Centre in Gateshead was the first of the really big shopping centres and is still a nice place to shop.
I've just scratched the surface here. There's just so much to do around here that she won't find time to do everything.
Whoops! I forgot the Sage, which is just a stone's throw from the Millennium Bridge. It's the thing which looks like a huge silver chrysalis.
There they have all kinds of interesting musical things from grand concerts through jazz and folk to master classes and sessions for amateurs and complete beginners to get together to learn things.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-02 07:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-02 07:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-02 11:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 03:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 02:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 03:46 pm (UTC)In the city itself there's the Laing Gallery which has quite a good collection and almost always has some travelling exhibition on, and there are galleries asscoiated with the Universities, several small theatres as well as the Royal, and the Metro venue has lots of music tours and so forth and even ice-shows at the right time of year. Most people like to visit the Quayside area which is very pleasant and has lots of bars, restaurants and a small theatre, from where they can walk across the "Blinking Eye", Gateshead's Millennium Bridge to the Baltic which, apart from its changing exhibitions, also has, I understand a very good restaurant. You can stand on the top floor and get a really good view along the Tyne.
Outside of the city itself and just a few miles away are lovely seaside places with fine sandy beaches, mostly empty and some of the most beautiful coastal areas in the country.
About an hour's drive away is Bambrugh with a wonderful beach and Bambrugh Castle which has featured in several films. There's also a tiny museum dedicated to Grace Darling. Nearby are the Farne Islands which are well worth a visit for the colonies of sea birds and quantities of seals.
A little further north is Boulmer - huge empty sandy beaches and the very fine Fishing Boat Inn.
A little further north,still, near Craster (don't forget to buy some kippers!) is Dunstanburgh Castle and more cliffs full of sea birds. IIRC Craster is the place to get the boat to the Farne Islands.
Further North, about 2 hours' drive from Newcastle, is Holy Island, or Lindisfarne, although she needs to check the tide tables before going to make sure she can get across.
Alnwick is about an hour and a quarter's journey from Newcastle and it has the famous and interesting Alnwick Castle as well as the recently-refurbished-at-great-expense Alnwick Castle Gardens with its stunning water feature, Poison Garden and Treehouse. Alnwick is also the home of my beloved Barter Books which is an enormous second-hand book shop in the former railway station.
If she would rather go West, Hexham is half-an-hour's train ride away. It's a lovely market town with an Abbey, still in use as a CofE establishment and with interesting little shops, such as a violin repairer, stick-makers and other things I can't now remember. Or, further away is Carlisle, which is probably an hour's train journey.
An hour and a half's drive from Newcastle is Kielder Forest and Reservoir, one of my favourite places. There are lots of trails for walking and cycling and there's a ferry which makes a journey around the reservoir. There's also quite a lot of wild life and there are unexpected works of art dotted around the forest.
There are so many other places...Wallingford Hall, Amble, Cragside, which was Lord Armstrong's home and was considered a wonder when it was first built, being the first house ever to be lit by hydro-electricity. It has huge grounds with massive rock gardens and lovely woodlands. I'm told it has a maze and an adventure playground as well. I tried to go there once but was put off by the distances involved with oomeleg. When I finally get an electric scooter it will be one of the first places I visit.
Newcastle is great for all kinds of shopping and has a lovely indoor market, and the Metro Centre in Gateshead was the first of the really big shopping centres and is still a nice place to shop.
I've just scratched the surface here. There's just so much to do around here that she won't find time to do everything.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-04 01:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 03:48 pm (UTC)There they have all kinds of interesting musical things from grand concerts through jazz and folk to master classes and sessions for amateurs and complete beginners to get together to learn things.