My new Get Carter inspired Newcastle-Gateshead Pub Tour

One of the things people most associate with Newcastle after its engineering and sometimes chilly climate is its pubs and nightlife. When I created my first pub tour here, as with London, it became obvious there were just too many interesting old pubs to fit into one tour. In the U.K. Newcastle is often depicted… Continue reading My new Get Carter inspired Newcastle-Gateshead Pub Tour

The Newcastle – Gateshead High Level Bridge

There are so many good bridges in Newcastle, it’s almost a city defined by its bridges and certainly its most famous one is a symbol of the city. I wrote last year on another pioneering bridge across the Tyne in the link below but my favourite bridge here is actually the one I;m writing about… Continue reading The Newcastle – Gateshead High Level Bridge

Meeting King ‘Kev’in Keegan

Back in 1983 my football team, Newcastle United, signed the then England Captain Kevin Keegan. I remember writing to him as a young boy and being incredibly happy when a few weeks later I received a signed photo back. It had pride of place in my bedroom on the windowsill which retrospectively might not have… Continue reading Meeting King ‘Kev’in Keegan

John Clayton – The man who planted the most famous tree in the world!

Not many people have heard of John Clayton but most of us have enjoyed his farsighted benevolence even if from a distance. There is a saying that a person is truly generous when they plant a tree that they will never live to see mature. If that is the case then there are few better… Continue reading John Clayton – The man who planted the most famous tree in the world!

It’s getting hot in London, so let’s plant lots of trees!

Spending all day in London, it’s always been clear to me that it doesn’t just have its own heat-island climate (https://stephenliddell.co.uk/2018/01/27/busting-the-myth-of-london-being-a-rainy-city/) In fact London has multiple different microclimates and I encounter several every day. Some places it is always much warmer than others. Some places seem perpetually cooler and windier and it rains more at… Continue reading It’s getting hot in London, so let’s plant lots of trees!

St Mary’s Lighthouse

For people who live in the U.K. St Mary’s Lighthouse is one that lots of people know if they don’t realise it due to its rugged though photogenic location, it is often featured on photos depicting spectacular sunrises and stormy seas. The rocky, tidal sandstone outcrop 2½ miles north of Whitley Bay, known as St Mary’s… Continue reading St Mary’s Lighthouse

In the footsteps of Stan Laurel

Whilst out and about on Tyneside, I wanted to visit a little spot that I’d never got to make it to previously, the one time home of Stan Laurel, one half of that legendary comedy duo of a century ago, Laurel and Hardy. Like myself, Stan was born in Cumbria and moved to Newcastle at… Continue reading In the footsteps of Stan Laurel

The Lit & Phil Library in Newcastle

In a rather unassuming building close to the central station is a place I’ve wanted to visit for many years but have always been too busy. The Lit & Phil is Newcastle’s exquisite independent library, open to all and free to explore and browse.  Founded in 1793, its purpose-built  library  opened  in 1825 on Westgate… Continue reading The Lit & Phil Library in Newcastle

The Newcastle-Gateshead Swing Bridge

Last week to get away for a change of scene, I went to spend a few days in my childhood city of Newcastle Upon Tyne, to meet an old friend and some new ones who made an epic 12 hour return car journey to drop off food for me during the height of Covid and… Continue reading The Newcastle-Gateshead Swing Bridge

Practical Georgian Dating Advice from ‘Black Jackie’ Johnson

You know how it is; at best you’ve been living miserably, having minimal social contact and at worst you’ve been Excluded from all help and Shielded at home alone for 16 months.   With some of freedoms tantalisingly close to hand, you might want to look for that special someone. But what happens if if… Continue reading Practical Georgian Dating Advice from ‘Black Jackie’ Johnson