Up north

Former Member · September 2006

So.....I'm going up north some time soon for a few days with the boyfriend.
It's just a bit of a road trip really, stopping in newcastle and northumberland, and perhaps any other places around there and even edinburgh if we make it that far.

My question is...where's best to stay?! And any advice on where to go/what to do?
We're on quite a budget so can't really afford hotels, well not expensive ones at least. B&B's would probably be ok in northumberland but I don't really know the county very well. I'm hoping we can just turn up at places because we don't really want to book in advance. We considered camping but that really is a last resort!

In Newcastle, we looked at the Albatross hostel, can get a twin room for 25quid each which is expensive for a hostel but at least it's in the city centre and we can come back when we like etc.

So...if anyone knows more about the area than I do..any advice would be cool, thanks :hyper:

Former Member · September 2006

Hey, I got your PM the other day but my reply was swallowed by an "error" and I haven't managed to gather my thoughts again :impissed:

I don't really know much about B&Bs etc in Northumberland as I've never needed to use them, but the Albatross in the city centre is by all accounts really good and it is right in the heart of the city (and right next to the best club in town, if not the country

if you're up for any partying). You could spend your entire break just in the toon and not get bored if you ask me, but then I'm probably a little biased.

You need to see Hadrian's Wall - Housesteads and Cawfields are my favourite parts. There is also Birdoswald which has a Roman Fort if you're interested in history - and is right next to Brampton which is a really sweet little town. I love the red houses! Right smack bang in the middle of those first two is the tree in the dip that the little lad is sitting in at the start of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Useless fact for you, there! Holy Island is a really interesting day trip as long as you pay attention to the tides and don't get stranded there. There is an Abbey and lots of really interesting wildlife. You also have to get to Alnwick - it's a gorgeous town, gorgeous coastline and then of course there is the castle with its gardens and the treehouse. There is also THE BEST antique/second hand book shop there, if that's your game.

There are so many spectacular castles along the Northumbrian coastline - Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh are the two obvious ones (and my favourites). Dunstanburgh in particular is a very spectacular ruin. The beach at Bamburgh is gorgeous as well, and you don't need to have good weather to witness a lot of swimmers. We're well 'ard oop North

If you went to Alnwick you could do Bamburgh Castle in the same day and then go on to Berwick (taking you Edinburgh-bound) depending on how much you're packing into your days. How long are you staying in Newcastle, by the way? You can make some nice coastal daytrips from here to places like Tynemouth and Alnmouth.

I'm babbling here without really knowing what it is you want to do and see. There are myriad market towns up here which are very quaint and usually have at least something of interest. You could consider staying in Haltwhistle or Hexham, or you could camp in my favourite camping spot - Melkridge which is just east of Haltwhistle. It's small, but gorgeous. There's another village/small town called Bellingham which I love. It doesn't have too much going on but it has nice, small pubs, lots of history and gorgeous woodland walks to waterfalls and all that kind of thing. But maybe that's not what you're looking for!

If you let me know more specifically what kind of things you want to see and do I'll be happy to babble some more

eta: a few links

littlemissy · September 2006

In Northumberland we stayed in a really nice B&B. It was Peth Head Cottage near Hexham. The owner was lovely, the accommodation was excellent and we would stay there again. It was £25 pppn.

Former Member · September 2006

Thanks guys,

Briggi - thanks for the long reply, it's been such a great help - really needed someone's advice who knows the area! We're gonna stay in the Albatross for either the Fri or Sat night at the end of our trip so we can have a good night out. Where do you suggest going? We're kinda into techno/breaks/dance clubs, but we're open to anything and the boyfriend likes places it's suitable to take umm various illegal substances!

We're definitely planning to do some of Hadrian's wall. When I was a kid, we went to a place called Cragside - it was a stately home and gardens I think. I rememeber it being really pretty with a big lake, so may re-visit there once I've looked at where it is on the map. I've stayed in Berwick and the near the Holy Island before, but think as you said, we will have it as a day trip after a stay in Alnwick from which we can visit Bamburgh castle as you mentioned.

We are planning to stay in the countryside part around Alnwick for a night although if I come round to the camping idea, we might do that to save some money! Whereabouts roughly is the camp site you mentioned? I can't find my big UK atlas, so have been looking at vaious internet maps but they're kinda crap and annoying so gonna buy a new map book in the next few days so I can see where places are in relation to each other.

We quite like little walks and things, so would be happy to stay at one of the more villagey places. I live in the country myself so am quite happy with country pubs full of farmers and the like! Also, I quite like cycle tracks where you can hire bikes and there are good views/places along the way to stop. I think there are some in Northumberland?! I think we just wanna chill out for a bit, do a few interesting things, and enjoy a change of scenery.

Littlemissy - thanks for that link, the place looks lovely, and the price is quite reasonable as well. We may well stay there once I've had a look at the map!

Thanks again for the help

Former Member · September 2006

I'm not the best person to ask about clubs because I'm very stuck in my ways at this point, and only ever go to two clubs except for very rare deviations. Luckily for you (;)) they are the two best clubs in the toon, and luckily for your boyfriend in both places you're often hard pushed to find someone who isn't on anything stronger than the hooch :thumb:

The first one I reckon you might like is called Digital - pretty much along the lines of the type of clubs/music you mentioned you both like, but it varies a bit of course. It's usually amazing on a weekend night, and they have some cracking line-ups but since I don't know when it is exactly you're going I'll just point you in the direction of the website. We're going to see Public Enemy and De La Soul there in the not-so-distant future, I cannae wait. But, I digress. It's right in the middle of "The Pink Triangle" (any guesses?) but it's not specifically a gay club. If you do like gay clubs, by the way, Digital is right next to Powerhouse which is the gayest club EVER. Hilarious, except I lost my digital camera there so I'm boycotting it!

The other club you may well like (everyone I've ever sent there or taken has loved it) is World HQ which I think I've been to pretty much every week since I was 16, and can proudly proclaim to have not met one single twat in there. Even the doormen are lovely and the women's toilets are fabulous. It's one of their selling points, trust me

Take a look at the website, I can guarantee you'd have a good night if you went there, though maybe it's a little too chilled and not what you're looking for. That said, I challenge you to find pretty much anyone in there who isn't on a total buzz, it's an impossibility

Other than those two (I recommend them so much) there are a million-and-one paint by numbers clubs down on the Quayside etc. Expensive, but if you're only around for one night then maybe you want to experience the night out your average Geordie has (just after payday, anyway!).

Cragside is an excellent idea! I haven't been in years but if I remember rightly from news reports etc it's had a huge cash injection and just fully reopened to the public. First private residence to have electricity (in the form of lightbulbs, I do believe) in the UK - random fact for you. Though you probably remembered that from your trip there, riiiight?

Melkridge, the place where we camp, is right next to Haltwhistle, just a couple of miles before you get there in fact if you're travelling from Newcastle (i.e. East to West). It's right on the edge of the Border Forest Park and next to Hadrian's Wall (Vindolanda and Housesteads). BUT it's nowhere near to Alnwick, though there are camping facilities there too. If you did go to Melkridge and that part of Hadrian's Wall (it would be easy to find accomodation in Hexham (East) or Haltwhistle (slightly West) if you didn't fancy camping as it might be a bit exposed if the weather goes shitty) then it might be an idea to head from there in a North-Easterly direction and go through a little town/village called Rothbury which is just little a little chocolate box town and has a really nice tea room

. Heading on from there on the B road you'd be taken straight to Alnwick and then on up the coast past Bamburgh, the Farne Islands, Lindesfarne etc.

As for cycling. I'm fairly sure but not certain you can hire bikes at Kielder Water, which you could take in whilst at Hadrian's Wall as it is also in the Border Forest Park and a really lovely place to walk or cycle around. Further South (so potentially an earlier stop-off, depending on where you're coming from?) there is a place called Hamsterley Forest which is in the Wear Valley I believe. I used to go all the time as a kid and there were all these bike trails covered in pine needles and fun hills to go down (not up :grump: ) and it's fairly often quite quiet as it's not as publicised as other Forest Parks in the region. I do know you can definitely hire mountain bikes there, as we have done many a time.

Hmm, more as I think of it. When you get your map and start plotting some kind of itinerary I'll be happy to help, I love rambling on about the North-East :thumb:

Former Member · September 2006

Thanks, exactly the kind of advice I was after. I'm heading off today so will let you know where I went etc when I get back in about a week. We've booked a couple of nights in Alnwick but other than that, it's a bit of a road trip.
Will be in Newcastle for the Friday night I think so will probably head to that World HQ club you mentioned, sounds like our kind of place

Thanks again

Up north

Comments