American heading to Newcastle and Edinburgh (and maybe York)

[americaninboston]

Hello mumsnet!! I'm an American heading to the UK with my spouse and 4 year old son this summer. (I posted back in the fall, and ya'll were SO helpful in figuring out our plans!)

We're flying in and out of Edinburgh and have 7 nights in August. We're not renting a car, so everything will be via public transit. I'm currently thinking either:

1. 5 nights in Newcastle (with day trips to the coast / castles) + 2 nights in Edinburgh (I don't think we can afford more re: the Fringe Festival)
2. or 3 nights Newcastle, 2 nights York, 2 nights Edinburgh

I'd rather not move around too much, but is 5 nights in Newcastle too much? (We'll definitely be heading to Tynemouth, Bamburgh, and/or Alnwick)

And - do you have any recommendations for hotels or apartment rentals in Newcastle, York, or Edinburgh?

Some great suggestions here. I'd forgotten about Beamish - definitely a must-see if you're in the area!

Also FWIW I do think the Newcastle area and Northumberland have some great places to see.

I'd say the city centre or the Osborne Road/Jesmond area - it's a suburb but close to town. Be careful if you chose the city centre. It gets very busy at the weekends. People come here for the nightlife, so check the location of your accommodation.

Jesmond also has a nightlife scene but it closes much earlier. It's a residential area so they can't stay open as late. If you choose Jesmond I'd avoid staying directly on Osborne Road as that's where the main bars are. Midweek in either location will be fine.

The metro runs through Jesmond, so easy access to town if you don't want to walk. The metro also stops at the main bus stations, so if you need a combo of bus/metro to get anywhere it's not a problem. It also runs to the rail station. You can get to Beamish and Hadrian's Wall by bus from Newcastle. People here are very friendly and there's always someone who'll help with directions if you get a bit stuck.

There's currently a price fare cap of £3 per bus journey in the country (check in advance for any random exceptions). That's further subsidised in the Newcastle area and ours is a maximum of £2.50 at least for another year. For example, I'm 10 miles from the coast and would pay £5 to get there and back.

York is an hour by train and Edinburgh is about an hour and a half, both direct from Newcastle Central station. From memory, they are both walkable cities.

I'm biased because I live here 😁but Newcastle is a lovely city and a good base to see the region. We get a lot of visitors at the weekends but not as many international tourists as other cities get. It doesn't seem like an obvious base, we fly under the radar a bit.

www.91aparthoteljesmondroad.co.uk

These are lovely.

I agree. With Edinburgh, Newcastle and York on the itinerary why on earth would the OP want to go to London? The OP is only here for a week.

I know York is very touristy, but it is so worth visiting. It's a shame that The Shambles has been Disneyfied with all the Harry Potter shops, but if you can look past that, and also look up at the other buildings in York it is such a lovely city.

I agree with a PP that Newcastle has lots of hidden gems. If the OP and her family stay in Jesmond I highly recommend a walk through Jesmond Dene.

Also, Newcastle castle is never mentioned but is really worth a visit. The railway runs right through the middle of it. There are also Newcastle history walking tours.

I was a student in Newcastle and now work in York …. and have friends in Edinburgh. I have great fondness for all of those cities, but with you timescale I’d spend a day or 2 in Newcastle, and more time in York. You could spend a week in York and barely scrape the edges.

I’d go the other way OP. You’ve chosen Newcastle because it’s quieter than York but for seemingly no other reason. Your reason for only spending 2 nights in Edinburgh is the cost.

I would stay in Falkirk for 4 nights. 30 minutes on the train into both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Added bonus of the Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel.

Then 3 nights in or around Carlisle. Carlisle Castle is great as is the cathedral. You are 5 minutes from Hadrians wall and about £25 in an uber from Vindolanda. An hour on the train will get you to Lancaster, the castle and police museum are good. Or a bus into the Lake District.

Carlisle is a very underrated city.

Agreed.

No idea if it's been mentioned but if you're going to Newcastle you need to visit Beamish living museum......it's a fantastic place and a bus runs there directly from Newcastle. ! Worth a visit just for the coal fired chip shop

What a fabulous trip, I'm jealous! There really are so many options at your disposal along the East Coast Mainline, it's a shame more Brits don't realise what they have on their doorstep.

I think 5 nights in Newcastle, over the others, in peak tourist season is very sensible indeed. Make sure you go to the Centre for Life and do the planetarium bit - it is fantastic. I remember going for the first time as a young person over 20 years ago, then went back recently and it was still every bit as inspiring and exciting!

You could spend a week in Edinburgh and not cover all of this wonderful city.

York is a world class tourist destination and a genuinely incredible place. Newcastle is…. Ok. I’d definitely visit York - you won’t regret it.

I think we do realise what we have on our doorstep. Every man and his dog have “discovered” the north east coast 😂

OP - I’d still take Carlisle over Newcastle. Unless you can definitely factor in Whitby in which case I’d go for Edinburgh and York with a trip to Whitby

You are 5 minutes from Hadrian's wall

In a helicopter maybe....

Then 3 nights in or around Carlisle. Carlisle Castle is great as is the cathedral. An hour on the train will get you to Lancaster,,,,,,,or a bus into the Lake District.

She's going to the north east not the north west,. You're essentially suggesting a completely different itinerary. Nothing wrong with it, just not for this visit.

Carlisle is not what OP's looking for. I've lived in both cities. The trip OP wants cannot be accessed as easily from Carlisle.

Have a look at staying along the boarders train route. Im unsure about the pricing of Peebles or so but it would be a good base and easy to get into Edinburgh city centre

I think there’s loads you can do if you base in Newcastle , for example:
Day 1 - Life Museum, Seven Stories
Day 2 - Tynemouth
Day 3 - Durham, visit cathedral, you could always have a night in Lumley Castle (just get a taxi)
Day 4 - Train to Corbridge/Alnmouth
Day 5 - Hadrians Wall (not sure how you get without driving though there will be coach/ train.

if there is a way of getting to Beamish - this is an absolutely brilliant day out. Have a look at their website.

have a lovely trip!

Sorry what? The OP hasn’t once shown any real desire to go to the North East only.

In fact she said that she only chose Newcastle after realising they would struggle to afford more than 2 nights in Edinburgh in August and felt York and Durham too crowded. She did say she’s not at all set on Newcastle. Sounds to me like she’s looked at a map and noticed that Newcastle is not too far from Edinburgh. Neither is Carlisle.

As for “in a helicopter maybe”. Erm, no. In an uber 🙄 If she were to stay somewhere like Brampton then they’d get to Birdoswald for about a fiver. They can walk along the wall a while and then visit Vindolanda.

The only real excitement was that her husband will definitely want to visit Hadrians wall so why stay feckin miles away in bloody Newcastle? Pretty hard to access using public transport.

Plus, she only gets 2 days in Edinburgh. After a long haul flight with a 4 year old it seems a waste. Stay out West of Edinburgh with great public transport and actually get to spend enough time there!

I agree. The OP wants to visit Edinburgh, Newcastle and York, cue a load of posters suggesting other places to visit. Why? Just why?

Prebook LNER train directly to get discount the fares are dependent on day of booking, day of travel and time etc, otherwise super expensive if left to last minute. 4 years old would love York with Roman walls to walk, Viking museum, Railway Museum. Great to walk about and Harry Potter streets.
Newcastle, great for 2 days.
Edinburgh is fabulous but you need to sort out accommodation.
Edinburgh Fringe festival is 3 weeks and there is also August Bank Holiday weekend.

If you're an American visiting Newcastle you would surely want to see the northernmost edge of the Roman Empire? I recommend the Roman Fort in South Shields, it's very short walk up from the promenade along the seafront. It's several acres in the middle of a housing estate, quite surreal! Free to enter, Lots of ground excavation and a couple of bits reconstructed which are very interesting and not available at the forts out in the countryside. There's a hotel on the Tyne estuary for lunch, not brilliant but fair enough and you can watch the ships come and go in the garden and from the restaurant.

Skip Newcastle and go to Glasgow instead.

York and Durham are lovely.

And just make sure you send up in Newcastle on Tyne and not Newcastle under Lyme 🤣

Going against the flow (I live in Newcastle) I think there is more here than York!
Beamish Museum is an amazing open air museum and a whole day out. It's out of the centre but you can do it on the bus or get a taxi. Northumberland Coast you could easily do a few trips. Life Centre, Discovery Museum, Great North Museum for your 5 year old. Baltic Art Gallery, Seven Stories Children's Book centre and they Quayside.. you could easily do 5 days (2 in the city centre and 3 outside) Durham is a quick train ride. The cathedral is where the first few Harry Potter films were made.

There is more to Newcastle than meets the eye. The OP is only over here for a week.