Exploring Newcastle upon Tyne

 Wednesday, 22 Oct 2025

There was no hangover the following morning as I had not had any drinks.  I am finding myself having trouble sleeping through the night here as my body-clock is still tuned to Singapore time.  I wake at twelve or one, and even though I go back to sleep, I found myself getting up at three!  It was definitely too early for breakfast here as breakfast places open at 8am at the earliest.

I did a little homework before coming over and found recommended places to have breakfast on a particular YouTube video.  The first I tried was this called the Quay Ingredient.  Fortunately for me, the eateries are not too far from where I am putting up - requiring less than twenty minutes’ walk with the help of Google Maps.

I got here early and it was still over an hour before it opened.  So, I went on an unplanned stroll along the River Tyne, which then turned out to be a jog.  It was still too early and I returned to the hotel to freshen up before making another trip to the eatery just after it opened.

I ordered the ‘Full English’ breakfast like what I saw on the video.  The portion was not overly large and I enjoyed the meal.

I proceeded to look at the bridges I had seen the previous day.  Some parts of the structure of the Tyne Bridge was under construction and I did not find.a way up.  Instead, I climbed onto the Swinging Bridge to explore.  I read somewhere that due to the low height of the bridge, parts of the bridge will swing round to allow large vessels to pass through when required.  I did find traffic lights before and after the bridge and although I did not see it in action, what they wrote must be true!

I had asked the staff at the hotel I stayed at earlier for a recommendation of where I could visit in the city.  The area called Ouseburn was put up.  Not knowing what the expect, I went on an almost-forty-five minute walk.  However, apart from the sights I saw along the way there, I was left a little disappointed.

I started returning to the hotel but decided to alter my plans since the Central Arcade was kind of along the way.  It was a marketplace where shops were only accessible at the street-level.  I have seen this on videos and stepped in to see too.

There was no way to enter the shops from in the building, as reported.  I then moved on to the Grainger Market.  It was similar to some open-air shopping centres we have in Singapore, the closest I  can link it to being Gek Poh Ville.

I also saw the Earl Grey monument.  Have to read up on him to see his significance to the British-history, but I did hear that he is linked to where we get the tea called Earl grey tea now.

Dinner place recommended was this restaurant by the Quayside called Rio Brazilian Steakhouse.  Though I am not a big eater, I decided to get my dinner there anyway so I can experience life more here.  As it is popular and required reservations to be seated, I had to wait for an hour before I could dine at the place.  Before I got into the restaurant, I did some strolling along the river and took in some sights of the The Sage Gateshead and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

Finally, I waited until the agreed 7.30pm when the waitress could slot me in to have dinner.

I took up the recommended Unlimited Meat Experience, where servers would come from the kitchen with freshly-grilled meat cuts of various meats including various steaks, chicken, lamb and pork.  The diner indicates when to stop by flipping over a card from green to red like the traffic light.  I was recommended a beer by the name of Cruzcampo which I really came to like too.  Unlike other beers, this did not seem gassy and did not leave me with a bloated feeling at the stomach.

A truly satisfying meal!