I awoke abruptly at 1am in the morning to the sound of what I soon realized was the fire alarm going off. We both leaped out of bed just as the alarm stopped ringing so I returned to bed and when I was satisfied it was a false alarm I went back to sleep. I suspect it was one of the party goers thinking it amusing to set the fire alarm off. A little while later I awoke to the noise of loud voices outside the room; they went on for a long period of time which was most unwelcome. I dropped off to sleep only to be awoken again by more loud voices outside the room. It was one of those nights…

Morning came around all too soon but this didn’t stop us enjoying our breakfast even though we had chosen to meet earlier than on previous days. The service in the breakfast room was rather chaotic and not running quite as smoothly as we had become accustomed to.

After breakfast we strolled into town to show mum the highlights of Newcastle city centre. We walked through the Black Gate and into town, passing through Central Arcade before spending some time in Waterstones. We then made our way across town to St Mary’s Cathedral which I hadn’t visited before. I enjoyed the Cathedral even though it is currently undergoing work around the windows so workmen and scaffolding were present. Next to the Cathedral is an excellent bookshop where I was unable to resist buying a book. I could have spent more time in both the Cathedral and bookshop but my companions seemed in a hurry. After I had purchased the book we enjoyed a cup of tea in the Cathedral tea-shop. They had some rather delicious cakes on the counter but we all resisted temptation.

After our tea break we returned to the hotel to wait for JD whom we had arranged to meet for lunch. He came bearing gifts (two lovely paintings), one for me and one for my mum (thank you JD ). We went to the nearby St Nicholas’ Cathedral for lunch where the service in the tea-shop was even more chaotic than service we had experienced during breakfast. Sadly there was only one cherry scone which mum insisted that I had. We stayed and chatted for a while but got the impression that they wanted to close the tea-shop so we left and walked along Amen Corner to the back of the Cathedral so that mum could see the Vampire Rabbit. She didn’t immediately notice it but when she did she exclaimed, ‘What’s That’.

We walked back through the town and past the Mog On The Tyne tea-shop, before parting company with JD. He made his way home and we visited The Lit & Phil library before returning to Waterstones pick up a book I had seen there earlier in the day. We intended to have a cup of tea whilst there but unfortunately all the tables were full so we made our way to Costa instead. By this time it was time to return to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. We had a very nice meal in Sabotini’s Italian Restaurant which mum decided was meal of the weekend and I couldn’t disagree. All too soon we returned to the hotel for a last nightcap there and to pack our cases for the return journey home the next day.

When I got up in the morning and looked out of the window I noticed that the weather had changed to rain.  After breakfast, equipped with raincoat and umbrella, I left the hotel and set off towards Grey Street to see the monument.  Luckily on this occasion the scaffolding had gone so I  could enjoy the view properly.  I didn’t take any photos though because it was raining too much.

When I turned the corner into Central Arcade I realised the scaffolding hadn’t gone, it had just moved around the corner!  After visiting the arcade Mr C and I made our way back towards the Castle Keep via the Vampire Rabbit and Amen Corner. The Castle Keep was very interesting and there were some spectacular views from the rooftop.  However during the walk to the keep, I had somehow managed to get one of my trouser legs soaked. This meant that after the tour of the keep I had to go back to the hotel to change before having lunch in the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas.  The Cathedral’s tea shop does very nice cherry scones and the young man who served me tried very hard to tempt me into having two.  I managed to resist the temptation!!

After lunch Mr C and I went back to the hotel where we had arranged to meet JD in its newly refurbished reception area .  He came bearing ‘mini’ gifts (thank you JD ).  We again set out into the rain to the Side Gallery which was displaying old photographs of Newcastle.  They rather reminded me of Frank Meadow Sutcliffe’s work.

Afterwards, we walked to the Laing Art Gallery which contains some interesting art.  JD got talking to the curator and asked her about two pieces of art that used to be on display in the gallery but she couldn’t immediately recall them.  She must have been intrigued because, even though she was busy with a large group, she later caught up with us whilst we were enjoying a cup of tea and produced a catalogue of all of the artwork that is in the possession of Tyne & Wear’s galleries. JD found the two paintings listed in the catalogue, which delighted the curator. She mentioned that by prior arrangement they could be brought out of storage and viewed.

When we left the gallery, Mr C  and I parted ways with JD after which I got a bit carried away in Waterstones, ending up with three books and some ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ mini-bookmarks!!

In the evening we dined in a nice Italian restaurant after which we returned to the hotel lounge for a nightcap before retiring for the evening.

Taken from a signboard located in front of the Black Gate:

Built between 1247 and 1250 during the reign of King Henry III, the Black Gate was the last addition to the medieval Castle defences.  Now a scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I Listed Building it was the gatehouse of the barbican, a walled defensive entrance passage leading to the Castle’s North Gate.  The gatehouse could be sealed by portcullis (latticed grille or gate made of wood, metal or combination).  Mounted in vertical grooves in the walls that are still visible today it could be raised or lowered quickly by means of chains or ropes attached to an internal winch.  The narrowness of the barbican passage and its angle to the rest of the Castle wall meant that attackers were restricted in their means of attack, and were left exposed to fire from the Castle’s defenders.

At the front and rear of the original gate were turning bridges.  Both have since been replaced with wooden footbridges.  These bridges could be closed quickly using counterweights.

Due to its continuous occupancy and alteration from the 17th century right up until the present day very little remains of the medieval layout, except the vaulted chambers on either side of the passage through the Black Gate which are thought to have been guardrooms.

The original height and the original appearance of the roof of the Black Gate remain unknown.  The present top two floors, roof and additional arch over the passage were added by Alexander Stephenson in the 17th century.

Stephenson leased the Castle in 1619 including the Black Gate (with the exception of The Keep, Moot Hall and gaoler’s house) from King James I and turned the Black Gate into a house.  Upper parts of the Black Gate were extensively remodelled to give the building its present appearance.  John Pickell, whose name and the date 1636 appear on a stone high up on the south of the building, used the Black Gate as a tavern.

Popularly thought to describe its appearance, the ‘Black Gate’ derives from Patrick Black, a London merchant who occupied the building in the first half of the 17th century.

In this photograph The Castle Keep is situated behind The Black Gate. The Castle Keep website has this to say about the keep:

The Castle Keep of Newcastle upon Tyne was built by Henry II between 1168-1178, it is one of the finest surviving examples of a Norman Keep in the country.

It stands within a site that also contains: an early motte and bailey castle built by Robert Curthose, the son of William the Conqueror: an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and a Roman Fort (Pons Aelius).

The Castle Keep is a Grade 1 listed building, a Scheduled Ancient monument, and is open to the public 361 days of the year as a heritage visitor attraction.