Visit to the castle and an unexpected trip to Durham

The last of three places I had S looked up for breakfast was this little eatery not too far off called Tiny Tiny.  The weather was good but it was surprisingly chilly in the early hours and late nights.  I thanked myself for having a simply face mask for it blocked the strong winds and prevented my nose from freezing and dropping off.  It was five degrees Celsius on one morning and my nose was dripping like a leaking tap at times.  I had to go to a convenience stall to get myself a simple pair of gloves.

The eatery was not exactly within residential area and at the fringe of the city centre.  It had a respectable menu and I asked the staff at the counter to recommend me a dish.  I ended having this one called Turkish Eggs, which she told me was popular.  It was different from what I normally had but unfortunately, I did not take a fancy to it and decided to return another day to give the place another shot.

Having had nothing planned for the day, I decided to visit the castle which was a stone’s throw from where I put myself up.  I marveled at the architecture of the yesteryear and climbed ninety-nine steps to catch the best sights of the area at the castle gate.  There was a gift shop there where I bought more souvenirs.

I had thought of lazing around in the hotel room and watching shows on the television but I had the most surprising offer from a gentleman I had met in the Stadium Tour the previous day.  What happened was I had shared on Facebook Newcastle United Supporters Page Singapore that I had been on the tour and how I felt it was worth the money and a member of the page, Mr John Dennison, identified himself, saying he was on the same tour!  It was really coincidental as it was not the original tour I had signed up for and I gave him my contact number on Messenger.

John contacted me and told me he was staying in Durham in Newcastle and offered to show me around where he was if I caught the train to where he was.  I thought that since I was on an adventure on my own, I should step out of my comfort zone and just travel to see the sights.  I had someone bringing me and I doubted that he would want much from a fifty-year-old Asian man.  Haha.

I took the train, not the metro, after asking for directions from the staff there.  It was another experience and I sat with this well-dressed gentleman.  He chatted with me and explained he was in Edinburgh for work and was travelling home.  Football binds people and we spoke about it.  He was a Middlesbrough supporter and we spoke fondly about Juninho and Tavenelli.

I met John at the platform of the station after alighting and he drove me to the Durham Cathedral.  We had a drink before he showed me around the marvellous building.  We then went on a walk and caught wondrous sights of the river there.  We sat for coffee and spoke.  It turns out that he had studied in Singapore in his early days and would visit Singapore annually to meet his previous schoolmates for a gathering.

I thanked him for showing me around again and returned in the late afternoon.  I cannot remember doing much the rest of the day that day and fell asleep without dinner that night.

Stadium Tour and shopping

Woke up early and started the day channel surfing.  Left to try out new breakfast place called Blake’s near the city centre.  It offers the typical American / British breakfast and I enjoyed my meal there.

People here either do not seem to be out early or eat out for breakfast that early, so I usually have no problems with seats.  While eating, I noticed an Asian face at another table and nodded to him.  He came over to speak after he finished breakfast and I found out that he is from China, in town only for a couple of days.  He had studied in Singapore in his early years and we spoke for a while.

En route to St. James Park for the Stadium Tour, I walked to see Chinatown.  It was early and most shops were not open yet.  Still, I do not think I will be missing something.

I had initially booked the tour to be at 11.30am but found that I would have to wait sometime for it.  I strolled in Leazes Park in the vicinity of the stadium but still ended up early.  I decided to try asking if I could shift my tour up to the 10.30am one.

I am racking up steps easily while I am here!  My usual step count on a normal day back in Singapore would be four thousand odd, but ten thousand here is not a problem.  Of course, I do not have to sit and mark and teach in classrooms here.

The Stadium Tour was worth the money, I thought.  For twenty-three pounds, we were told the history of the team and given access to places I would only see in photographs usually.  They include the dressing rooms, VIP boxes, pitch-side, the dugouts and even the media suite.  It was as close to getting to the team on match days!

 

I followed that up with lunch at an eatery along the roads and went shopping for souvenirs at Eldon Square, the place to go for a shopping mall, I was told.  I was not left exactly very impressed but bout things for my family.  I even managed to find a book I was looking for - Pete Graves’ Here to Compete and I was quite glad how the day turned out for me.

I had a drink at Wetherspoons near the hotel where I stay before lethargy beat me.  I fell asleep without dinner that night.

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!