July 16, Newcastle and Reeth plus an almost crisis.

My train to Darlington whence a taxi pick-up to Reeth, was not until 1:27, so there was a lot of time to fill. "For starters, why not walk to Wallsend and back," I thought....Wallsend is about 4 miles from Newcastle; it is where Hadrian's Wall begins or ends depending on your direction.

It took quite some time to figure out how to get down to the quay what with the stairs and the underpasses and all, but eventually I got there.  A short way along, there was a swing sort of thing for the tired:

where they could sit and watch this view:

If one walks instead of sits, one can see the river!

It is possible that this is art:

It is also possible that this is art:

After only about two miles, he route turned away from the quay onto this:

I looked at the map and saw that "this" went on for quite some time, so plan A for the morning was cut short, very short.  I headed back.

Slim pickings, birdies, slim pickings:

But if you are a hungry person, 

you can get a real bargain.

Or maybe signing up for a course in self-defense is more your thing:

I wandered around the city centre until the magic hour of 10:00 when museums and galleries and such open.  So, guess what?  Did you know that Bob Dylan was an artist as in with a paint brush?  This gallery must really value his work because they claim that "His art has been likened to that of Picasso."  And do you know what he paints from mostly?  From life!  Yes!

Now, you may swoon over that painting, and may even wish to purchase it, but I doubt that the first association you make is to Pablo.

This is Bambi.  He seems to be crying from every pore for is mama:

See the letters in gold on the teeth?  They are the artist's initials.  It did not say if this was a self portrait:

After a couple of galleries, I headed off to the Castle because there wasn't much else to do, and, well, you know, castles are supposed to be big deals, even though often they are not, and this is NEWcastle, after all.  

Posted in the castle are a couple of job descriptions from back in the day.  (Remember to click on photos to enlarge.)

...attending to the king while he sat on the toilet...now that is an honour if ever there was one.

A little castle nook:

After you climb 99 steps, you "are rewarded" with a view:

Apparently, from this viewing spot, you can see the seven bridges of Newcastle.  I did not count.

There were other views, too.  Maybe this one is marginally nicer: 

                                

This one is not:

The viewing area is guarded by a few archers:

After the castle, the cathedral:

You can see that these pipes are not decorated like the ones in the Carlisle Cathedral.  What the sound quality is...no idea.

The candles in this area—do not know what it is called—are a nice touch.

A quick stop at the Hatton Gallery at the U of Newcastle to view a bit more art....I actually would have liked to stay longer there, but did not want to risk rushing for the train.

This piece takes a bit of looking to figure it out:

This one, not so much:

The Newcastle Train station is big, crowded, and overwhelming.  Imagine JFK at peak time only way worse. When I arrived on whatever day that was, I had to ask three people how to exit the place!  Anyway, in the confusion of finding the correct seat in the correct car—this was a completely reserved  train—I will not go into the intricacies of how the car and seat work; it is weirder than you might imagine— I LOST MY BATTERY PACK.  I cannot manage without it; the phone has been eating up battery like you wouldn't believe and today I was listening to a book whilst walking to Wallsend and that really drains the battery. What to do!  I Googled where to buy a replacement; that proved to be useless, then thought about using Amazon to get one shipped (if that would even be possible considering where I am), THEN I consulted ChatGPT.  A lifesaver!  Chat informed me that in Darlington, where I was to disembark, there was a commercial establishment that sold such items, and even gave me advice on which brand to buy.   Mientras tanto (In the meantime) about three minutes before my stop, the conductor came by to collect the tickets.  I asked him if he had seen a battery pack.  He had not.  But .........30 seconds, just 30 seconds, before I got off the train, he appeared with it in hand! Was that lucky or what!  

The drive to Reeth was beautiful.  It is great to be out of Newcastle and back in Herriot Country!