Newcastle: My Geordie Welcome

We walked off across the Tyne Bridge – the river sparkling, the Baltic art gallery in a converted flour mill glowing. The Quayside at 9 a.m. was quiet enough to enjoy the Gateshead Millennium Bridge tilting like a wink. We took the train to the Angel of the North (20 min) – Antony Gormley's massive rust-red figure with 54-meter wingspan standing in a field like a guardian.

We had lunch at The Broad Chum – stottie cakes with pease pudding and ham that taste like childhood even if it isn't yours. In the afternoon we went on the Hoppings (Europe's largest travelling fair, if in season) or the Victoria Tunnel tour – coal wagons underground from 1842. The pros: friendliest city in England, hands down. The cons: some post-industrial edges, but the Geordie spirit makes it beautiful.