Friday 20 September 2013

LIFE: Newcastle and My One University Regret


Eight years ago this week my life was packed into a car and I headed north to spend the next four years as a student at Newcastle University. Coming from a rural, back end of beyond kind of childhood, moving to the city was a big deal - it was exciting, a new start and certainly changed me for the better in many ways. Newcastle was really the only city, and only university I ever wanted to study at mainly due to family history of the north east, the culture and just loving the city in general. While I don't regret much in life and hindsight in a marvelous thing, but there is one thing I regret that I didn't do more of while in Newcastle - nope not the hangovers, missing seminars or cheap drinks, it was not making myself find the time to explore the city and the region more. 

If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know I love exploring my local area - be it around my hometown, York, Yorkshire and now Detroit and Michigan. This love for exploration in my locality only really started once I really got into taking photographs and more so through blogging. As I only started blogging in the last couple of months of completing my Masters in 2009, Newcastle and blogging never really crossed each other and I often wish it had. 

View towards the Tyne Bridge when the Tuxedo Princess floating nightclub (a hot spot for students on a Monday nights) with it's revolving dance floor but horrid smell of vomit - it closed in 2008 and by 2011 was sinking in the River Tees. The Monument which they decorated in the Toon colours.

I have no real excuse - after the fun of freshers I became a bit of a geek. Through being the first in my family, being working class and receiving a fair few bursaries and funding to even go to university I felt I had to prove myself and my worth at even being there, so I became a book worm and I'd feel guilty when I wasn't reading and researching. In hindsight I wish i'd taken then time at weekends to hop on the metro - visited Tynemouth and Whitley Bay, popped down to Wallsend to visit the eastern end of Hadrain's Wall to actually visiting the castle in Newcastle rather then merely walk pass it a couple of times. I somewhat kick myself when I think how Newcastle would have been a great base to pop up north to Edinburgh or Durham on the train. Oh hindsight how marvelous you are! Granted I often visited the Laing and the Baltic art galleries, but I could of done more, I wish i'd of breathed in more of the history, the life of Newcastle.

Granted I did go and visit things and many of my favorites include;
  • Quayside Market - Sundays 9.30 am - 4 pm along the River Tyne under the Tyne Bridge
  • Hancock Museum 
  • Laing Art Gallery
  • Jesmond Dene 
  • Grainger Market - great fruit and veg stalls
  • Walk along Gray Street - often voted as one of the finest streets in Britain
  • Baltic Art Gallery
  • The Sage Gateshead - even if your not seeing a music concert there, just going inside is awesome!
  • Severn Stories - over in Ouseburn valley is the National Center for Children's Books, they often have some great meet and greets with authors there. 
  • Heaton Park and it's castle
  • St James' Park - a must if you're a football fan, our freshers flat had a view looking out to the stadium on one side. 
While i'm proud of my Geordie family roots and of being alumni of Newcastle University, I sadly took the city for granted, it was only a little over an hour on the train from York and I had imagined living and working there after university so exploring was always put off for another day. But as I have learnt all too well, life doesn't always work out how you ever dreamed it might and still I miss that city. 
The view from my attic bedroom window in my fourth year in looking south towards Byker. I spent three years after living in Newcastle itself living in Heaton. I miss a view of hills! 
So forgive me if I rattle on about Detroit or Michigan too much, i'm just documenting the places for myself to remember everything on my doorstep before life changes again. Reflecting and remembering my university city certainly makes me see that any place - a village to a city, even a country should never be taken for granted, it needs to be explored, enjoyed and lived in.

Did you explore your university city much? Where did you go to university? And if you've ever been to Newcastle i'd love to hear your favorite places to visit!

18 comments:

  1. This is exactly how I felt about London when I realised I'd spent the whole of my two years of post grad taking the city for granted! It's a miserable feeling, but I'm glad your on the 'explore your home turf' bandwagon now! Don't be too mean to yourself, uni is a weird time, and I'm sure there are things you got out of it that wouldn't have if you were gallivanting around! Looking forward to more stories of Detroit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your right about doing other things, at the time music - especially live music was a much bigger part of my life then it is now so I was spending a lot of time in music stores and gigs because that was a big part of my life, exploring wasn't as much. But certainly university is a weird, confusing at times and certainly fun time, very much a whirlwind too at times!

      Delete
  2. I love this post - I studied at the University of Sunderland and feel exactly the same. When I left for uni I planned to visit all around the North East - I wanted to explore Newcastle, visit Chillingham castle, Whitley Bay etc. Although I do have lots of fond memories of the places I DID visit, I wish I'd taken the time to spend more time in Durham and Newcastle itself. I plan to go back one day and visit all the places I didn't have a chance to.

    http://inspire-magazine-online.blogspot.co.uk/

    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never even made it to Sunderland, I think South Shields would be the closest I got but then it was dark and yeah, which is really bad with how good the metro is/was for getting you to places.

      Delete
  3. I stayed at home for uni so I didn't need to explore, I am having a great time exploring my interim home, Harrogate, and I can't wait to explore more of Yorkshire when we are properly settled. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love seeing all your posts as you explore your new area, love seeing places I know and have visited through someone else's eyes!

      Delete
  4. My other half is from Durham so Newcastle is somewhere I have visited often. I love the city but like you Himself has done more sightseeing with me than he ever did when he lived there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love Durham and spent a couple of family trips there, I think with that association that i'd already been I wasn't tempted to visit when I was living in Newcastle, which is a shame as I would have loved to have captured some photographs of the castle and the cathedral!

      Delete
  5. I feel you on this one - I lived in the Bay Area for two years and saw next-to-nothing of San Francisco even though I worked there and it was a short train ride away. I guess I always assumed there would be time, but then I moved away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly, I just wrongfully assumed that I would be there for a long while and have the time and the opportunities to explore once university was all over with.

      Delete
  6. I went to Central Lancashire Uni in Preston - I loved the fact it was so close to Blackpool, Liverpool, Manchester and the Lakes and I spent lots of time exploring everywhere and anywhere I could get to on a train in a day (Leeds and Harrogate were about the furthest day trips I think).

    But I'm the same as you, I looked round the immediate town centre and the Uni area but didn't really explore the rest of Preston. I've been back since leaving Uni and have said to the other half things like "wow look at that park, I didn't know that was there" or "wow, I've never noticed that old building before". I do kind of wish i'd explored a bit more in the local area! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know how you feel, I should made the most out of my student rail pass!

      Delete
  7. Like you, I kinda nerded out in undergrad and basically stayed in most of the time. I spent most of my free time studying in the libraries or 24 hour buildings or in cafes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The library was my second home, use to live it there being surrounded by all the books.

      Delete
  8. I go to Northumbria Uni and live in Heaton near Byker :) I love heaton perk, the butterfly cabinet and the wild trapeze, they are all cute little cafe's super close to where I live. I do need to explore more and I might do a post on it also. The buildings here are gorgeous and really nice to photograph. Whilst living here I've been to Durham, York, Edinburgh, Carlisle and London a few times but I want to explore more :)
    Great post :) Beyond Bally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love Heaton it's such a great little area, I use to live just off Chillingham Road opposite Heaton Park too was so nice there in the summer but that was in my 4th year. I originally spent two years living next to the main line railtracks haha! Was great being close enough to the university and the city center to walk there. I had dreams of owning a house in one of the rows of terraced housing!

      Delete
  9. At least you are able to reflect on it all now and prevent yourself from not taking full advantage of your surroundings in the future. I have had so much fun exploring Chicago since I have moved here. My University was teeny so there wasn't much to explore but I definitely knew the campus like the back of my hand by the time I graduated. It felt like home.

    ReplyDelete