July 14 Carlisle to Newcastle by train

Carlisle is not very big nor is it very small.  The buildings are not tall, not are they especially low.  There are a few things to do, but not very many.  The B and B where I stayed was musty and hot, and way overpriced, but the lady who runs it was nice and the location was good.  I was not sorry to leave.  

I was planning on taking a 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. train to Newcastle, but I was ready early and so caught the first train of the day at 5:54. How nice to have an "anytime" ticket.  The Carlisle train station is unusually nice.  

This poster was part of an ad campaign get people to ask for help if they feel they need it.

The thing is that,"Are you alright?" = "hello"in these parts.  

Since the two-car train route is Carlisle—Newcastle with 15 stops on the way, there was no problem finding a spot for my suitcase.  These little things matter.  Anyway, this early departure got me to Newcastle at abut 7:30 and to the hotel before 8:00, so not a chance in hell they would let me check in, but there was a nice ladies' room in which to change and re-org for the main excursion of the day, a walk to and through the park in Jesmond Dene, a suburb of Newcastle.  

As one would not seek out Carlisle as a destination, neither would one seek out Newcastle, but Newcastle is big and does have a few attractions and wide sidewalks.

The big draw in the park is this man-made waterfall:

OK, Now we can move on.  There is also a small animal zoo:, small being a double-duty adjective to describe the animals and the size of the zoo:

You are very cute:

These porkers need a better diet:

This is Max.  He can say,"hello" and "good bye."

As can our Max!

There were trees:

And a dog giving a stepping stone demonstration:

Now those are my kind of stepping stones!  

Having completed the circuit of the park, I had to get back up to street level, the park being along the river.  I had to ask four or five people how to manage that.  Very frustrating!  Then I was going to take a tour of the suburb, which is reputed to be "very nice," but since it looked like this:

I aborted the plan and headed back to Newcastle proper where it was time for ice cream.  It was still too early to go to the hotel, so I headed to the Laing Art Gallery.  Can't say I loved the art, but there was a pretty tea pot:

And a charming village scene:

And a Jacob Epstein sculpture:

of his wife, who was frequently his model.

The gallery had a portrait exhibit, which certainly featured a lot of different kids of subjects, but the political-like commentary was super off-putting.

Finally time to try my luck at the hotel.  Success!

I had hesitated to book this hotel because the decor was so off-putting:

But aside from the animal thing on the bed  (you could plotz) and the whole black and grey color scheme and the chains and the fringes and stuff, and the very dim lighting, it is actually a very comfortable hotel, excellently located.

I could not let the day go by without seeing the Tyne, as in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Bridge:

It pretty much captures the feel of the city