Waking up in the morning and not having to immediately get on the bike was a real luxury.So what did I do-I got on my bike and cycled 4 miles to see the Angel of the North.This monumental sculpture is so in keeping with the industrial heritage of the North East that it has become a sort of emblem.
Unfortunately it drizzled and was dark. The atmosphere wasn’t improved by the distant rumble of the traffic on the A1M. Nobody else was there so I didn’t linger.It was very big but very grey and grim on that day.
By the time I had reached the Tyne the drizzle had relented.Next stop was the Baltic art gallery which I had never been too.The building was an industrial flour mill by the river.
The three galleries I went round were huge , but the contents didn’t quite live up to the building itself.The stairs have a mirror at the top and bottom of the stair well which makes it seem endless.
The view from the 4th floor balcony was just fantastic.
I was delighted to find an Angel of the North fridge magnet in the Baltic gift shop and pleased with my purchase I spent a couple of hours wandering round the riverside.The seven bridges are awe inspiring.
I went for lunch in a pub called the Bridge Tavern. At the bar I was confronted by a line of pumps for various craft brews that I knew nothing about.
“What would you like?”the barmaid asked.
“Err,I dont know.” I replied.
“Well what kind of beer do you like?” She asked.
“Err,not to strong.Not to hoppy.” I answered hesitantly.
She pulled a bit of beer into a half pint glass and gave it to me.”Try that.”she encouraged.
I had a slurp.”I ‘ll have a pint of that please.”I smiled.
I ordered food and sat down slightly stunned at how pleasant the pub had turned out to be.The food arrived -pigeon breast strips and beetroot salad with bulgar wheat.I’m happy to say it was delicious.
The pub was built into the arches of one of the bridges and while I ate I googled the Tyne Bridges.Apparently there are seven at the last count.The major ones in the middle of Newcastle/Gateshead are the Tyne Bridge(looks like Sidney Harbour Bridge), the High Level bridge,the Millennium foot bridge, the King Edward VII railway bridge and the Swing Bridge.The remaining two are the Redheugh Road Bridge and the Metro Queen Elizabeth bridge-both west of city centre.
The Swing bridge was built on the site of the Medieval bridge,which was in turn built on the site of the Roman Bridge- the Pons Aelius(after Emporer Hadrian Aelius – as in Hadrians Wall.). The Bridge was built in 213 AD. Apparently the Roman bridge was made of timber on stone piers.It must have had a few repairs over the centuries but seems to have finally burnt down along with most of the town in 1240.A thousand years for a bridge- roman engineering.The next bridge was stone medieval one built in 1320 and which stood until 1771 when part of it washed away ion a flood. Anew bridge was built with 9 arches in 1781 and stood until it was removed by the swing bridge in 1876.The swing bridge was the largest of its kind in the world and allowed large boats to pass up the Tyne. At its peak it would open 6000 times per year to allow boats up and down the river.Currently they open it 4 times a week.
When the foundations for the swing bridge were dug they dug through the old roman foundations and found two stone abutments and piers.This enabled the archaeologists to estimate the bridge was 234 metres long. Lots of stone inscriptions and two stone alters were also recovered from he mud.
After lunch I hung about for the arrival of the Tour of Britain up a very steep hill to the finish.There were good crowds behind the barriers and a nice atmosphere of anticipation.Two blokes standing next to me were watching the race live on their i phone and gave a running commentary on whether the breakaway would be caught.The breakaway was caught just a t the bottom of the hill before the race swung into view. I was amazed at the speed they went up the hill after 5 hours in the saddle.(I only managed it in my lowest gear with fresh legs the next morning.)Dylan Grownabagen won for Jumbo Visma. He is in yellow in the front 4 as they go by on the video’.
As an indulgence for my day off I went out for dinner at a proper restaurant.I had heard of Trakol from a newspaper review and it sounded right up my street.Everything is grilled / griddled over a fire.The menu heavy on the meat and it prides itself on “nose to tail” dining – ie lots of unusual kinds of meat but they also grill veg and potatoes in an unusual way. The restaurant is housed in several converted shipping containers right next to the swing bridge ,which also houses a bar.
I was impressed by the kitchen which was visible from the restaurant. It looked more like a foundry than a kitchen.The restaurant was busy and groups of people were eating large cuts of meat at large tables.It seemed to be the sort of place to go to with a group of cave men or rugby players.Unfortunately I was on my own and this limited my choice of food since most of the main dishes seemed to be to share between 4.
The waitress was very helpful and I managed to chose from the endless list of strange micro-brewed beers.I decided to get into into the spirit of things by ordering pigs tails as a starter and pig cheek for a main.I suppose it should have been pigs nose for main- but that was only available as a whole pigs head, roasted and I don’t think I could have managed that.
The food was delicious.The pigs tails were pork cracking with a spicy coating round sweet bony meat .The waitress warned me not to bite them like they were a chicken nugget as the bones were tough.From her tone I got the impression somebody had done so and done them self a dental mischief.
The pigs cheek was crispy as could be and came with grilled potato, spicy coleslaw and black pudding.I couldn’t manage a pudding.
I rolled home stuffed from end to end with beer and pork.The rest day had been a very good idea.I collapsed into bed a t 9 pm ready for an early start.
Food of the day-pigtails
Place name of the day Spittal Tongues-a district of Newcastle.
Sight of the day-the Tyne Bridges
Wandering North 