Side Street Issue 1

vis it 13

E

SID

p urpose of

STREET

featuring: Berwick

A Cittaslow town

Monument

View from the top

North Sea Surf school

Wild swimming and interviews with Carl HonorĂŠ Gemma Hall Stephen Hudson

The Immersive Travel Project

The alternative slow travel guide to the North East

Welcome...

Learn

4 Meet Carl Honoré Writer of the slow movement

5 What is slow? Experts explain the concept behind slow travel

6 Berwick-upon-Tweed The region’s first Cittaslow town

7 Gemma Hall Advice from the North East slow travel writer

Discover

8 How to arrive in the North East

Sights from a journey into Newcastle

9 Dear Angel...

Letters to the region’s famous guardian

10 View from the top

Newcastle from Grey’s Monument

12 Circling the Metro lines

Take a trip on Tyneside’s tube

13 Pedalling the valley

Cycle the history of the Ouseburn

14 Art in the outdoors

Discover unexpected art in the fresh air

16 Immersed in the surf

View of Saddler Street in Durham. Mark Stuart Bell

... to the first edition of Side Street: your guide to immersive travel in the North East.

paul r mcdonald Vicky Soderberg Katie Hindle & ashley patricia anne DEBORAH CARD hilary berriman armitage

Ian Mitchell

nature stories james taylor The Ouseburn Trust alison matthews & Elizabeth

neil mutch

steve david christopher

scribbins

anna pollock

helen wesson

heather simone

jennifer tomlin

steven nickells ‘ ’ kris koo makuch john tassell jamie fulbrook

mell moore

graeme thompson

sheila

bell

mark a.

george

WHITAKER

charlotte

Learning to worship the waves

17 Following in the footsteps

We have created this magazine, released to coincide with the creative bounty of the Festival of the North East, to explore slow travel in this fantastic region.

...of the monks of Lindisfarne

Don’t know what we mean by slow travel? Fear not! We’ve rounded up a whole host of slow experts to explain what it’s all about. Authors, academics and entrepreneurs share their invaluable advice to help you immerse yourself in the places you visit this summer and hopefully leave you with memories of a fulfilling experience.

20 Slow Bathing

We started our online investigation, www.purposeofvisit.co.uk, to look at the myrisd problems we face in travel, and why travelling can sometimes be more stressful than relaxing. This magazine is the product of that investiagtion and we hope you enjoy re-discovering our region slowly as much as we did.

Turn over for arts and culture, nature, history, food and drink and to explore what the North East has to offer in a slower, deeper and more fulfilling way.

Join us as we follow the road less travelled through ancient kingdoms, ruined castles, cities, countryside and coastline. Stay slow!

Love, the Side Street team X Publisher Alex Lockwood Editor Mark Stuart Bell Web Editor Graham Matthews Designer Lyndsay Oxley

18 Durham’s Empty Shop Boosting the city’s art scene Popular seaside spots of yesteryear

21 Seaton is believing

An unexpected view of Hartlepool

22 Castles in the North East sky Explore our medieval ruins

23 Food glorious food

The benefits of locally-sourced produce

24 The great Grainger picnic

North East fare from a North East market

25 Wild & wonderful

The delights of foraging for dinner

26 Slow down on holiday

Inntravel: the slow holiday experts

27 Holy Island

A gem in Northumberland’s crown Features Editors Helen Armitage Gillian Scribbins Mandy Carr Digital Content Editor Taalay Ahmed Editor-at-large Ben Hewison

Find the Immersive Travel Project at http://purposeofvisit.co.uk/ Email: info@purposeofvisit.co.uk. Twitter: @ImmersiveTravel

Celebrate

28 What’s on at the Festival of the North East?

Our ‘slow’ picks

29 Heather Phillipson at the Baltic A walking tour of Newcastle

Side Street sponsored by www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

Side Street

3

Travel’s

slow seduction

Karen Bryan

Author, journalist and ‘Slow Movement Guru’ Carl Honoré speaks to Mark Stuart Bell about stopping to smell the proverbial roses

T

here is a particular anecdote that Carl Honoré relishes telling. He is a motivating and impassioned speaker, but he doesn’t hope to offer his audience the quick-fix solutions reminiscent of most ‘motivational speakers’.

In fact Carl Honoré is the antithesis

of the babbling salesperson bamboozling customers into unfulfilling purchases. The author of In Praise Of Slow instead prefers to reassure people that it is okay to feel overwhelmed or dissatisfied by the fast, hectic modern culture of instant gratification and infinite distractions.

“This is the world of speed reading, speed dialing, speed walking, speed dating, and even things which are by their very nature slow – what do we do with them?

Well, we end up trying to accelerate them,” says Carl in his considered tone. “There’s a studio, not far from my house in South London which now offers an evening course in... speed yoga.”

He accentuates those last two words, enjoying their contradiction, and then pauses to savour the punchline.

“I manage my own life by saying ‘No’ to a lot to things,” said Carl. “Only doing what I think is important or what really has to be done. And I try to switch off my phone and

Carl Honoré

other gadgets as much as I possibly can.”

His great epiphany came when he was stood in a bookshop one day toying with the idea of buying a collection of one-minute bedtime stories to read for his son.

Somebody had thought that there was a market for busy parents who wanted to be

able to streamline the story of Snow White into sixty seconds.

“Things had got so out of hand that I’m even willing to speed up those precious moments with my children at the end of the day,” Carl remembered. “There has to be a better way, I thought, because living in fast forward is not really living at all. That’s why I began investigating the possibility of slowing down.”

At an RSA talk on ‘The Slow Revolution’ Carl was joined on a panel by Ed Gillespie, a writer who had travelled around the world without flying. He talked of the “slow seduction” that other modes of transport offered to those arriving at their destination. By the time you arrive, he suggested, “you’re probably going to feel a very strong connection to all of the things that bind and unite us as humans.” “‘Slow Travel’,” said Carl, “means taking the time to savour every moment of the journey, revel in the fine grain and texture of a place, making meaningful connections with other people. It’s about richly experiencing a place in a way that sends us home relaxed, refreshed and blessed with a new understanding of ourselves and the world.”

With international travel being cheaper and faster and more routine for most of us, we are in danger of losing the wonder

The Slow Food Movement began in 1986 in protest at the opening of a fast food chain - McDonald’s - outside the Spanish Petrini, wrote a manifesto promoting localism, sustainability and, above all, taking your time to enjoy the meal in front of 4

Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

of exploring a foreign place and immersing ourselves in its unusual idiosyncrasies. If one destination doesn’t quickly live up to our expectations we can always move on.

So, perhaps it is time to reassess our expectations of travel?

Carl agrees wholeheartedly. “Sometimes less is more,” he said. “It is always more fulfilling and memorable to spend three days really getting to know one place than rushing round three different places in the same time.

“Travel to your destination on a cheaper and slower mode of transport, and savour the journey, noticing how the landscape, light, smells, sounds and tastes change.

“Be open and approachable, and talk to people. Chatting with locals is free and yet often supplies our richest experiences of a place. Use sites like couchsurfing.com and airbnb.com to stay in local homes, which is not only cheaper but also plugs you right into the local scene.”

But that’s not to say you should be constantly “savour attached to your every moment computer or of the journey, phone.

“Disconnect revel in the fine from the Web as grain and texture much as possible,” Carl says. of a place” “Being ‘always on’ makes it hard to stop and stare, to smell the proverbial roses.

“We lose the joy of discovering things on our own, or by chance, when we stick to routes prescribed by GPS download.

“Even as I lap up the electronic dispatches from my friends during their travels, part of me is thinking: ‘Why are you sitting in an Internet café instead of wandering round a street market? Why are you chronicling every twist and turn of your journey instead of living it?’”

Carl also believes we need to be mindful about the consequences of our travels.

“Much damage is done to the physical environment. All that charging around, in planes, cars, buses, takes a toll,” said Carl.

“Fast, short-termist travel also tends to be superficial, which means that tourists go for the same old sites and the same old experiences that everyone else has. That can narrow down a country’s sense of its own worth and lead it to neglect other aspects of its culture.

“It’s about doing what you have to do, not as fast as possible but as well as possible.”

Steps in Rome. Its founder, Carlo you and the company you have.

In an ideal world...

Time flies while we’re having fun.

But why does everything have to be such a rush?

LEARN

“Living in fast forward is not really living at all.

That’s why I began investigating the possibility of slowing down...”

Lyndsay Oxley gets some expert advice on how to go slow

Mair Smith, Academic

“Slow travel means different things to different people,” says Mair Smith, a university academic who studied the evolving concept of slow travel as part of her MSc in Sustainable Development. “It relates to a reduction in speed both in mode of travel and experience.”

She believes that it is the way we think about tourism which needs to change if we want to truly appreciate what it means to travel well.

“Annual long distance travel has become an expectation and Mair Smith considered an entitlement to many in the Western world so therefore attitudes are a key issue.”

Something as simple as taking the lesser-trodden track could be the answer to getting more from the time we spend exploring what is around us. www.slowtravel1.wordpress.com

CL Claridge, Sustainable living specialist

Many towns and cities across the world are attempting to slow things down a little.

The world’s first slow island, North Stradbroke Island, located 30km southeast of Brisbane, has been providing an encapsulated slow travel experience since 2004.

CL Claridge is a director of Footprint Choices, a family-run enterprise which dedicates itself to promoting sustainable living on the island.

“Slow travel allows a person to become a part of local life and to connect to a place and its people,” she says. “In doing so, this supports connection to culture, and by connecting to another culture in this way people often find they are more able to identify aspects of their own culture and to acknowledge and appreciate it.

“The benefits of a ‘slow holiday’ are long lasting as opposed to the short term outcomes from a mass tourism style package holiday. The latter type of holiday can be enjoyable but it often lacks the deeper satisfaction and meaningfulness gained from a slow holiday.”

She adds: “Package holidays give us a small taste of different places and allow us to boast to our friends and colleagues that we have been to certain places. Several years later, there are scant memories remaining apart from some visuals.

On the other hand, a slow holiday can give us greater tolerance and understanding of another way of living. These understandings and tolerances remain with us and change the way we view the world and the diverse people within it.” www.slowmovement.com

Vivienne Crow, Writer

Vivienne Crow is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer from Cumbria, whose work revolves around her passions for the outdoors.

Vivienne is a strong believer that if you make efforts to get to understand a place and its people, you are more likely to show respect towards it.

“Travelling slowly is all about taking your time to get to know an area, its culture and its people. It is not about rushing from one destination or experience to another,” says Vivienne.

Vivienne Crow Vivienne visits overseas destinations once or twice a year, but travels to various places in the UK on a more frequent basis.

When holidaying a bit closer to home, her favourite place to visit is the Shetland Islands, which she finds atmospheric and beautiful. Who would have thought that her favourite place in the whole world could be found so close to home? www.viviennecrow.co.uk www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

Side Street

5

LEARN

Helen Armitage visits Glen Bowman

A SLOW NORTH EAST

Lyndsay Oxley catches up with author and journalist, Gemma Hall about a deeper exploration of the region

G

emma Hall is a freelance journalist from the North East who specialises in history, heritage, travel and environment. She has travelled far and wide but remains extremely passionate about this region, telling us why she thinks it’s important we should slow down the pace a little.

“You could argue that slow travel is part of a wider backlash against late modernity and a desire for a more simple way of living,” she says. “Hence the interest, at the same time as enthusiasm, for allotments, organic food, farmers’ markets and the countryside is on the rise.”

Having learnt from experience, Gemma believes that there are many benefits to taking the slower route.

She explains how exploring places slowly can help you to gain a greater appreciation of the places you visit and the people you meet.

“Slow travel often becomes experimental travel in that the opportunity for surprise and spontaneity and the rich experiences that come from lingering, taking an unexpected route, trying local foods and not cramming your day with ‘top sights’ can often be extremely rewarding,” Gemma says.

Despite a love for travel and Image by Lyndsay Oxley sustainability, Gemma also likes the idea of a holiday that comes pre-packed in many ways.

She admits to thoroughly enjoying a package holiday earlier this year in Gran Canaria. However, Gemma is aware of the problems usually present within mass tourism.

She identifies problems such as environmental degradation and false ‘authentic’ travel experiences which are available. She admits to being quite 6

skeptical about most holiday companies who appear to have jumped on the eco-bandwagon. Their ‘sustainable’ holidays, she believes, are nothing more than exploitation of local people and damage wildlife and habitats; hidden by the rhetoric, and promise of ‘independent,’ experience-focused, eco-tourism holidays.

Gemma sees such holidays as often being ‘no more responsible than your standard package holiday.’

“I would like to see UK travel companies work more closely with operators in the destination country to ensure that tourist activities that impact negatively on wildlife, local people and the environment are discouraged,” she says.

When travelling, Gemma forfeits the opportunity to get anywhere fast. Her favourite method of transport is her feet, especially loving long-distance hiking, which she believes gives you access to remote countryside and places you may not have discovered otherwise. She claims hiking is a tremendous tonic for the mind.

Of course, it’s impossible to travel the world by foot (or is it? – it would no doubt be an extremely slow travel experience to say the least!). Therefore, if needs must, Gemma’s preferred method of transport would have to be the train.

“The rocking sensation, the repetitive noises and whoosh make me feel very relaxed and I enjoy the cinematic experience of looking out of the window.”

Regardless of her worldwide travels, it is here in the North East of England where her heart belongs.

When asked to choose her favourite place in the whole world, Gemma can’t help but pick Lindisfarne, specifically the shores opposite the island.

“I yearn for the view of Lindisfarne castle and sand dunes, the swirling creamy sands and sounds of curlews, oystercatchers and seals when I’m away from home,” she says.

Gemma’s ‘Slow Northumberland & Durham’ is available from local bookshops or at www.bradtguides.com

Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

Historical Hamlet Berwick-upon-Tweed is a town steeped in tumultuous history. The border town was officially declared a royal burgh of Scotland during the reign of David I (1124 – 1153), and from the tenth to fifteenth century changed hands between the English and the Scots a total of 14 times, before finally being ‘claimed’ as part of England in 1482.

It is renowned for its town walls – Elizabethan ramparts and bastions built between 1558 and 1570 – and forms part of the European Walled Towns circle.

The town that slowed down

“T

hat’s what really makes Berwick stand out as a Cittaslow town - the fact that it is truly community-led,” says Margaret Shaw who, alongside husband Bernard, oversees Cittaslow Berwick.

Berwick-upon-Tweed, the most northerly town in England, just under three miles from the Scottish border and nestled at the mouth of the River Tweed is a picturesque, historical town, immersing itself in the slow movement. It is currently embracing a new way of doing things – the ‘Cittaslow’ way.

And Berwick plants residents and visitors of the town firmly at the heart of its Cittaslow principles. “All towns have their own characteristics,” says Margaret, “but a town with Cittaslow status focuses its attention on quality living for all those who live in, work in or visit it – a visitor is considered as a resident for the day.”

A Cittaslow community In May 2007 Berwick became the sixth UK town awarded Cittaslow status, now part of a 176 strong international network of fellow towns alongside wine-making mecca Sonoma Valley, California and Finnish market town Kristinestad.

Founded in 1999 by Paolo Saturnini, then mayor of Greve in Chianti, in Italy’s culture rich Tuscan region (and locale of Hannibal Lecter’s favourite wine district), Cittaslow really harks back to an older, simpler way of living – respecting local traditions, the environment, eating seasonal food and supporting local business.

Berwick’s initiation into the Cittaslow movement came about after an unsuc-

cessful bid for World Heritage Site status in 2005. An assessment of the town concluded that Berwick, despite 1000 years of colourful history, wasn’t quite ready for World Heritage status and should instead aim for Cittaslow status.

Under the community’s volition the town took its first steps towards satisfying the necessary Cittaslow criteria.

Slow town, slow food As a pre-requisite to becoming a Cittaslow town, the establishment of a local Slow Food movement, a committee chaired

by Graham Head, set about creating a Berwick-based Slow Food convivium.

“It is a town defined by its food and drink,” says Graham. “Unlike many other small towns which don’t necessarily have distinct identities, Berwick-upon-Tweed, due to its distance from any major conurbations, really does. It’s a special place and it needs an organisation to support its unique food culture.”

Like the Cittaslow movement, Slow Food aims to protect local food traditions threatened by convenience and fast food.

“We at Slow Food Berwick like to think our role is similar to the WWF’s in counteracting the extinction of animals – unless we work promoting and protecting our local food products they too will become extinct,” says Graham.

“The Slow Food ethos is all about promoting good, clean and fair food,” he adds. “It should taste good and be good for us and our health. By clean, we think that food should be produced in a way that is good for the planet and isn’t harmful to the eco-system and by fair, we believe that the people who produce the

food should be fairly rewarded for their work.”

Culture in a slow town Berwick’s contemporary “A town with arts and culture cannot Cittaslow status be ignored. The town was a favourite destinafocuses its tion of artist L.S. Lowry, attention boasting a ‘Lowry trail’, on quality with stop-offs at sites where he painted scenes. living “Though more associated for all” with the North West, Lowry actually painted many scenes of Berwick,” says Derek Sharman, friendly and informed local tour guide.

Contributing to Berwick’s growing status as a cultural hub of a border town is its frequent vintage and antique fairs, an annual Arts and Craft Festival and newly established music event, Frontier Festival, which attracts acts such as Newcastle-based folk singer Bridie Jackson.

A forward thinking Cittaslow town With Bernard Shaw now at the helm of the overall Cittaslow UK movement, Berwick has big plans to expand its own Cittaslow status and to encourage other towns to get involved.

“It’s important we don’t get lazy,” says Margaret. “Achieving Cittaslow status is not the end of line – it’s a work in progress and we have to ensure that existing Cittaslow towns retain a high standard of satisfaction within the criteria so being a Cittaslow town is a badge of honour.”

Berwick looks set to become an exemplary Cittaslow town not only for the North East, but the whole of the country.

Martin Pettitt www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

Side Street

7

n i e v i r r a o t t s How a E h t r o N e h t

Clockwise from top left: departures and arivals at Central station, train leaving Central Station, people bustling about in Central Station, photos by Mandy Carr and Ultra 7, wikimedia commons.

B

ill Bryson is a fool. Quite possibly the most endearing and impish fool in the world, but a fool nonetheless. In fifteen seemingly innocent words, which were quickly propagated by the tourist board, he said of the North East’s cathedral city: “If you have never been to Durham, go at once. Take my car. It’s wonderful.”

But were you to take Mr Bryson up on his casual car hire scheme, you would be missing out on one of the most beautiful and awe inspiring sights to an Anglophile.

Arriving into Durham by train is breathtaking. Sliding through fields, the land suddenly starts dropping away from the track, and the steep banks abruptly meet the brick viaduct, cloaked in the scraggly branches of unkempt trees.

And then…

Without notice the magnificent city reveals itself: waves of stepped terraced houses, the barely perceptible, ancient Wear, the grandeur of cobbled walkways and impermeable bridges and the sheer, silent power of the sublime, transcendent cathedral, conveying a resolute, quiet permanence.

The East Coast Main Line enters into the North East at Darlington. Boarding passengers’ accents begin to hint at a fluctuating pitch, losing the stilted Yorkshire twang.

And with just enough time to reposition the armrest, the train recedes out of the compact town and glides into the countryside. Hay bales and stock-still bulls dot the landscape, and a delicate

“Was that a giant steel angel?”

8

Mark Stuart Bell

The North East has strong ties with steam rail. Though Cornishman Richard Trevithick is credited with inventing the first working steam locomotive railway, it is Wylam native George Stephenson who really pioneered steam rail. Dubbed the ‘Father of the Railway’, Stephenson invented the Rocket – the most famous early locomotive.

Visitors can experience the early days of steam trains at one of the region’s still working railways. Tanfield Railway travels a picturesque round trip via Causey Arch, the oldest surviving single arch railway bridge, while South Tynedale Railway takes passengers through Cumbrian market town Alston and the Northumberland village of Kirkhaugh at the leisurely pace of 15 miles an hour.

Mark Stuart Bell

footbridge leads over a canal into a village. A glistening red postal van rumbles between hedgerows that mark century old boundaries.

Inside a suited, older man gazes aimlessly out of the window, his hands loosely holding open a briefly forgotten newspaper on his skinny knees.

A women with shower-wet hair, glistening in a bun, deliberately clicks up the volume until Tim Buckley’s voice is all she can hear. And a graduate office worker, snarling through a terrible cup of coffee, notices a kid with ill-fitting clothes engrossed in a copy of WIRED magazine and resolves to leave his job. The conductor’s muttering monologue: “All tickets from Darlington, thank you.

All tickets from Darlington. Darlington tickets, thank you, all tickets…”

In primary school, during a history lesson on the Industrial Revolution our teacher asked us to draw a river on a

Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

Dear Angel...

Why do you love the region so much? If you could talk to the Angel of the North, what would you say? Lyndsay Oxley spoke to artist, Stevie Ronnie to find out...

Over many journeys North-South South-North she has been captured in my lens; becoming my talisman a way marker to light the way home North always North Susie Goodwin Dear angel, You must be very cold without a t-shirt on.

Can you see my house?

I live in Hexham See you soon Omar @_dearangel Do your arms ache yet?

Mark Stuart Bell enjoys the ‘slow’ route into the region spare page in our exercise books. Nearby to the water we were to add a handful of cottages and farmhouses and connecting paths. To the west she told us to put some kind of market place.

“Now for the next part you must draw on every feature and building as soon as I read them out,” she said. “It is up to you where they go, but you must fit them into the page. Ready?

“A mine to the north. A large storehouse adjacent. Three rows of workers homes and two large ones for the managers. A wide road connecting them to the town. A factory. More houses. A church.

Shops. Another factory. A wider road.

More houses. Warehouses by the river.

Merchants stores. A port. More houses. A railway station and track. More churches.

More houses. More shops.”

We all looked at our smudged, grey pages, thick with tightly packed squares and rudimentary doors and roofs.

“Welcome to Britain’s modern cities,” she said.

“Built in the 19th century, with haste, without a plan. Built to serve industry.”

Every time my train arrives into Newcastle I think back to this lesson. As the track curves into the station, above the careworn banks of the Tyne, and past monolithic storehouses, and mechanics shops tucked under arches, you see an intimate cross section of an ever-developing city.

And it all starts a few miles back, at a tributary of the Tyne, sonambulantly flowing down its path. Its slow patient

@Erriwend

DISCOVER

Get steaming!

@_dearangel You have big arms, just like Geordies have big hearts

@Bamburgh_Castle

force inconceivably carving through rock.

Smaller and smaller ploughed fields start backing onto semi-detached houses with obsessively manicured lawns.

Conservatories. Bay windows. Allotments and cemeteries. A jittery dog checks to see if his owner is following him into the forest. A nihilistic horse, head drooped.

Then suddenly, passing underneath a B-road, brief darkness flashes your reflection in the window. A little older looking than you thought, a little paler.

Some scrawled graffiti catches your eye by the fence of a substation whose wires rise to the first pylon of a chain that ends far out of view. Beyond are distribution centres and mail depots and concrete works. And a moment past a scrap metal yard, piled with motor vehicle carcasses, a vast affiliated gleaming garage whose sign implores the train’s passengers to “DRIVE AWAY TODAY”.

But even if they were licenced to drive, I don’t think many of the passengers in this carriage would swap their commute.

The final acceleration towards Newcastle, flickering by satellite towns, a wholesale fruit and veg market, “was that a giant steel angel?”, The Sage and Baltic, towards an incongruous Castle and St James’ towering fortress. You arrive in the iron arched Central Station rested, reflective and already intimately familiar with what makes the city tick.

To arrive at the North East by train is to journey under its skin before you have set foot onto the street. You would be a fool to arrive any other way.

Sally

Dear Angel, I miss you as I write this from Mexico City. It has been three years and time has rolled on, and on. I will get married in a few months time and perhaps one day, my new family and I will return and our children will get to meet you.

Through not seeing you over these past few years, in my mind you have become even more beautiful.

So with a bittersweet goodbye and I say that I hope we shall meet again soon. The world goes on around you and from the other side of the planet, I hold you in my heart.

Jack Little

Patricia Gibson

Stevie Ronnie

Stevie Ronnie

Northumberland based artist and writer, Stevie Ronnie, is offering people the chance to share their thoughts about the North East. Those passionate about the region are able to write a letter addressed to one of the region’s most iconic landmarks, the Angel of the North.

These letters will be brought together in an interactive artist book. The Dear Angel project will bring together old and new forms of communication by combining all contributions whether they be audio, handwritten letters, tweets or images. The artwork will be on display at Globe Gallery Newcastle throughout June, where visitors will also be able to view work by artists that explores the wider themes of Dear Angel: place, particColin Davison ipation and communication. www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

Elspeth Side Street& Evan 9

Monumental facts

top

the

Alice Barigelli

Earl Grey tea, preferred beverage of posh folk and flavoured with bergamot, is named after Charles Grey.

from

View Helen Armitage takes a trip into the skies as she scales one of Newcastle’s finest structures, from the inside

E

very city has a focal point, a central hub with a magnetic force that pulls people from all walks of life. To meet, to trade, to protest and preach. And of course to people-watch the passing folk.

Glasgow has George Square, and Copenhagen has Rådhuspladsen. For Newcastle, that place is the area known colloquially as ‘Monument’, nestled at the top of Grey Street and Grainger Street.

The area owes its name to Grey’s Monument: the lofty, 130 foot high stone tribute to Charles Grey, second Earl Grey,

Helen Armitage 10

Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834.

Thanks to Newcastle Tourist Information Centre, I have been granted access to the top of Grey’s Monument for a 360 degree view of the city and beyond. I meet my guide, Visitor Information Manager Jonathan Gilroy, and we begin our ascent.

Entrance to the tower that Earl Grey stands proudly atop, keeping a watchful eye over the ‘Toon’, is via a tiny Being John Malkovich-esque door.

It makes me think for a second that I’m crawling into the mind of a local celebrity - Jimmy Nail, or Sting perhaps.

After what feels like a half-hour trek up a steep mountain to an unfit soul like me, but in reality is more like two minutes, we arrive at the summit.

After a few deep breaths to counteract the lactic acid, lung burn and dizzying vertigo, I step out onto the viewing platform and feast my eyes upon the city. If a 164 step climb up a winding spiral staircase doesn’t take your breath away, the view from the top certainly will.

I’ve lived near Newcastle for over twenty years and marvelled at its fusion of still-standing medieval structures to its Georgian grandeur, and new additions like Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

Looking down over the city, 100 feet in the sky, is a different matter altogether.

Up here you see the true scale of the

Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

Andrew Horne

city – the way the streets link together the different corners of Newcastle, the movement of the people as they make their way through the urban landscape.

Physically removed from the street level hustle and bustle, the city becomes a living, breathing entity in its own right.

I can see the city’s beloved football stadium, St. James’ Park and the ornate sea green copper domes of the Emerson Chambers. And across the River Tyne in

Gateshead, the converted Baltic Flour Mill, the SAGE centre for music and Chopwell Wood’s rolling hills.

And who could ignore the gentle contour of Grey Street as it meanders down towards Mosley Street, whose beauty was once described by poet Sir John Betjeman as beyond compare, earning it, in 2010, the privilege of being named ‘Britain’s Best Street’ by BBC Radio 4 listeners.

The monument, built in 1838, truly is a

John Flowler

Man Alire!

After the statue was destroyed by lightning it wasn’t until seven years later, in 1948, that it was replaced by a local sculptor.

“Standing by the Monument, Just waiting for the rain….” Maximo Park’s ‘By the Monument’ refers to this landmark.

creation and celebration of home grown talent. Though Grey’s statue itself was sculpted by Bristol-born Edward Hodges Bailey, who later sculpted Nelson’s statue for Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, the Roman Doric column was designed

by Northumberland architects, and father-son duo, John and Benjamin Green, who the year previously completed construction of the nearby Theatre Royal.

Earl Grey himself was a headstrong Northumberland native who entered politics at the tender age of 22. While in power, he saw the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832, which took away parliamentary seats from corrupt ‘rotten boroughs’, towns known for their voting bribery, and increased overall suffrage by a quarter of a million.

His reputation exceeded the purely political. A father of 16 children with wife Mary, he was also known for his wandering eye, fathering an ‘illegitimate’ daughter with political campaigner, beauty and socialite Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The child, Eliza Courtney, born in 1792, was raised by Earl Grey’s parents at the insistence of Georgiana’s angry husband, the Duke of Devonshire.

Some of the more superstitiously inclined of us may take the bolt of lightning that struck Grey’s Monument in 1941, causing the Earl’s head to break off and land in neighbouring Grainger Street, as a sign from the gods condemning such outrageous, scandalous behaviour.

Despite the odd scandal, Earl Grey is largely remembered for his political career. Perhaps the significance of his political reform is why the ground around the monument is often used as a platform for protest, a place where people gather to decry the status quo.

In March this year, around 200 hundred North Easterners congregated at the base of the statue in protest against the coaliton’s new bedroom tax policy.

And like any urban hub, Grey’s Monument attracts its fair share of the weird and the wonderful.

Whether it’s doomsayers donned in

sandwich board signs alerting you to the imminent arrival of Armageddon or flash mobs, the area is known to attract local folk striving for a spot of comedic notoriety. In 2007 500 people flocked there to perform the biggest conga line Newcastle has ever seen.

Perhaps the most outlandish, though as yet unrealised, plan for the Monument was Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi’s vision of constructing a temporary hotel at the top. ‘Hotel Monument’ was to be built around the statue’s head and patrons with a head for heights could have experienced a night at the top and breakfast for the princely sum of £350. Sadly, Nishi’s ambitious and artistic interpretation of hostelry never came into fruition.

As my time at the top comes to an end, I tear my eyes away from the view and descend the stone steps. Legs still wobbly from the climb up, I sit at the base of the monument and partake in one of my favourite activities – people-watching.

It’s a cross section of the motley inhabitants of the North East. There’s the white collar workers rushing to their next meeting, iPhones planted firmly to their ears, the dread-head stoner, Vans clad feet ambling along at a leisurely pace and the harassed mothers bribing kids with promises of Happy Meals in exchange for five seconds’ peace.

They make their daily passage through the city’s hub, the monument towering over them – a symbol of local pride, protestation and prestige.

DISCOVER

“Like any urban hub, Grey’s Monument attracts its fair share of the weird and the wonderful.”

Grey’s Monument will be open to visitors on Saturday and Sunday July 6th, 7th and 13th, 14th. Tickets cost £3 for adults, £1 for children aged 5-15 (no under 5s). To book visit NewcastleGateshead To u r i s t Inforation.

“Doomsayers donned in sandwich board signs alerting you to the imminent arrival of Armageddon.”

www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

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Ben Hewison spent a day travelling the metro loop from Shiremoor to South Shields, unravelling the marvels of the places as he passed through

“where or what is this place Shiremoor?”

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Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

Ben Hewison

Fresh off the Metro, Ben Hewison decides to partake in healthier transportation

‘B

zerp, zerp’ drawls the harsh call for the doors to shut on the Metro, followed by: “Next station Shiremoor.” Where or what is this Shiremoor? A desolate moor, bracken and heather everywhere? Or a housing estate on the edge of Newcastle, connected for the last 100 years to the city by the Metro system?

It’s the latter. But the former has a poetic notion, that this small city can and does indeed boast such a grand integrated transport system. One of the first to become electrified, still shuttling people from coast to moor, city to suburb, the Metro is Newcastle’s very own tube.

I think of the Metro as a uniquely Northern quirk, a relic of days gone by where the government provided infrastructure to more than just London and the South East.

It is a feat of engineering beauty that spans dozens of bridges and some of the oldest track in Britain. Built to move the workers from coast to city and docks strewn down the river Tyne, it has a history that other travel systems must be jealous of.

Radiating out from the city centre, the Metro traverses 50 miles, 60 stations, serving around 40 million journeys a year, an impressive 40 journeys per person per year for the area’s population.

It’s not the figures that interest me though, it’s the romance of the journey when taken from the front of the train. Looking out of the window, your view the same as the driver’s, trees blur past, green interspaces with brown and yellow depending on the season, the sky cracks grey and blue depending on the hour. This circuit is Tyneside. It is the history of the area in the two and a half hours or so it takes to complete both loops.

Passing through Jarrow, from the Metro station’s safe environs,

“to ride the metro is to ride around a potted history”

Pedalling the valley N

Clockwise from top left: Ouseburn Farm, sign in Ouseburn, Cycle Hub and Lime Street in Ouseburn.

Photos by Ben Hewison.

DISCOVER

Circling the Metro lines you can see where the famous Jarrow March began, marked by a simple plaque.

On the same line you reach South Shields, once the site of huge industry, of salt and coal. The original black gold of shipbuilding and engineering, all of which has vanished thanks to progress. Confronted by bawdy winds, fish and chips are the only option from the area’s finest establishment, Colmans on Ocean Road, five minutes from where the coast is confronted by the conundrum of the North Sea. History and former glory are an integral part of Tyneside, and no more so than at South Shields seafront, a cornucopia of arcades and beach huts, colourful reminders of staycations of the past where ice-cream was warmer than the air around it.

A short hop over the river, on one of the last public transport ferries in the UK, Tyne swirling grey and and black, currents drag the ship to and fro and into North Shields.The station is new, freshly painted and desgined to be functional, but is automatic and forgettable.

Towards the coast the Metro heads, speeding quickly into the station, flanked on both sides by twists and turns of Victorian metal work. The rickety crossing bridge gracefully arches over the tracks, art works adorning its interior, floating mesmerisingly between the walkways.

From Tynemouth towards Cullercoats, through Whitley Bay - famous for nights out and swimming in the North Sea. These stations all represent past ages for the Metro, with their beautiful design and faltering colouration.

The loop continues back to Shiremoor proving the deeper you look the more you find. The Shiremoor Treat is a fair for the village with a 100-year-old history - a tradition that hopes to continue long into the future. As I hope the Metro does.

Ben Hewison

estled just off the Tyne lies a gem hidden under six bridges, whose history spans the story of Newcastle’s recent and distant past: Ouseburn Valley, where old meets new in glorious juxtaposition.

A collection of businesses and recreation space spread over a kilometre squared or so, where city and country clash with the industrial past. Ouseburn is one of the success stories of Newcastle, detailing the changes the region has seen through the decades.

I am exploring the area on a bicycle, bought from Recyke Y’Bike, on the periphery of Ouseburn. A community organisation, it takes unwanted bikes and makes them shiny and new again.

Why explore the area on a bicycle?

Mostly because it is a simile for the Ouseburn, sustainable and independent, old and industrial yet modern and popular.

It’s about 15 minutes from Central Station, along a route complemented by the fantastic sights of the Quayside, from the historic buildings just off Dean Street, to the epic bridge compilation composing the Tyne, Swing and winking Millennium.

After passing these monuments, the regenerated Gateshead riverside announces itself with the concert hall, the Sage, next to the Baltic art gallery.

Our first destination, The Tyne Bar is one of the longest standing residents of the Ouseburn. Under the Glasshouse Bridge also lies the Toffee Factory, a new

bank of offices for creative industries on the site of an old toffee factory.

The Tyne Bar is the start, or end, of the ‘Boozeburn’ run, the drinking trail of the area. It encompasses six pubs, all with their own quirks, such as The Tyne’s cavernous outside seating area or the Free Trade Inn, sitting atop its corner with the best view of the riverside but open to the elements.

Ouseburn is defined by the spectres of the past that lie all around, in the form of graffitied buildings and abandoned warehouses, scrap merchants and dank grey patches of unused land. However, these patches of dereliction never last long, with a notable stretch between the Tyne and Seven Stories earmarked for a new sustainable housing development.

From Foundry Lane, where the Ouseburn Coffee Company sits, you get a fantastic view of the area. The connection of the different eras is apparent through the Metro Bridge, built in 1976, to the Viaduct, a Stephenson bridge from the mid 19th century, to Byker bridge, its bleak grey contrasting with the lush black of the Stephenson.

Everywhere you look you see the work put into the area, from the lovingly reworked buildings with their thoughtful graffiti to Ouseburn farm, itself a working wonder free to enter – although not advisable with a bicycle; the narrow turns around the cabbage patch can be treacherous. People all over the Ouseburn seem

to be enjoying themselves away from the city centre in what is an exciting, vibrant area for young, old, singles, couples and everyone else.

There can’t be many urban spaces where you can see Shetland ponies grazing under a mass transit bridge. This strange juxtaposition is an integral part of its charm.

Ouseburn Valley is brimming with local artistic and entrepreneurial talent...

Seven Stories At The National Centre for Children’s Books little ones can take part in fun events while the parents re-visit the books of their youth. www.sevenstories.org.uk Mama’s Vintage and Antiques Based on Stepney Road, this exclusive shop is open by appointment only. Browse through items including clothing, jewellery, records and kitchenalia. www.mamasshack.com Ouseburn Coffee Co. This young business hand-roasts its own coffee blends including ‘Coffee Johnny’, named for local legend bare knuckle boxer John Oliver. www.ouseburncoffee.co.uk Mushroom Works Provides studio space for local artists, including Joanne Wishart. Exhibitions are open to the public as are jewellery-making and stained glass craft workshops. www.mushroomworks.com www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

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Art indoors...just in case it rains

Chris

Art in the outdoors

The North East is renowned for playing host to some of the UK’s most diverse art and culture. Graham Matthews finds out about the alternative art on offer in the region...

B

ehind St Nicholas’ Cathedral on Amen Corner in Newcastle lies a secret, spooky piece of art known as the Vampire Rabbit.

Like a gargoyle, the fanged black creature sits atop the entrance to what are now solicitors’ offices.

In the suburb of Heaton resides the shoe tree; a large tree with hundreds of pairs of shoes dangling from its branches.

Unlike the Vampire Rabbit, where nothing is known about it, the “We will shoe tree’s history is debatable. Some claim the tradition survive. started in 1627 when Sheriff Babington of Heaton threw The arts his shoes into the tree to celcuts are ebrate his grandson’s birth. very short Others believe Lord Armstrong planted the trees in sighted” the area at the start of the 20th century, so it wasn’t possible. A more likely explanation is they are the shoes of students who have thrown them up when leaving town.

These are just two examples of art in the region that don’t require a roof above visitors heads or shuffling round a 14

busy room staring at walls trying to work out whether four red squares painted diagonally represent a diamond or the conflict man faces (it’s the first one).

While anyone who can tell a Van Gogh from a Viz comic knows that the Baltic Mill is the place to go for North East artistic fulfilment, there are plenty of artworks out in the fresh air just waiting to be discovered.

Situated on Newcastle University’s campus are a trio of giant head sculptures, entitled ‘Generation’. Ex-student and full-time artist Joseph Hillier said: “I wanted to create a work which used the form of a head to articulate ideas around creation, and how human thought tends to be incremental and a development on other ideas.”

The heads have been viewed by plenty of students since their relocation to the university, as well as many others passing through. Joseph feels this helps people develop a relationship with the work. “The scene in Newcastle has always found its own spaces, whether artist initiated shows in empty commercial spaces or pieces in public space,” he says.

Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

Graham Matthews

Paul Hudson

Paul Robertson

Housed in a Victorian warehouse, the Biscuit Factory (Ouseburn) displays a range of contemporary fine art, sculpture and prints

“I think there is an excitement to putting work outside of the frame of the gallery, where expectations are less, there is a greater opportunity to illicit a gut response.”

The recently announced 50% funding cuts to the arts budget in Newcastle has led to an outcry from the arts community and stars such as Sting and writer Lee Hall. Joseph, though, is optimistic.

“We will survive. The arts cuts are very short sighted, any vibrant city has culture at its core,” he continues. “Which cities do people like to visit most? Barcelona, New York, these places place great emphasis on art and benefit as a result. It is not just the responsibility of the state to fund art though.

“When I lived in New Orleans, there were around 50 commercial galleries selling contemporary art. Collecting need not be the exclusive thing it is in our class-ridden country. We need to invest in the scene, which the North East is fortunate enough to have.”

Unaffected by the cuts in Newcastle, down in Sunderland resides the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art. It will be holding a special exhibition entitled Walk On from the 1st of June through August in association with the Festival of the North East, which examines how walking influences art.

Programme director at the gallery, Alistair Robinson, explains that it is a varied and unusual exhibition, not your classic ‘story of this art movement’. “There are nearly 40 artists in the show who all undertake walks as a way of making new kinds of artwork,” he says. “For some, the walk is the artwork itself; a kind of performance or event. For others, the walk is a means to an end, a way to leave traces on the land, to explore previous unmapped territory, to reach a destination no-one has looked at in the same way before.”

The event may be held in a gallery but it’s not just a load of paintings and photographs of countryside walks (although there will be some from the likes of Northumberland based artist James Hugonin). A range of sculptures, posters,

installations and video works by contemporary American artist Bruce Nauman will be on show as well. It also embraces the digital future with some works that have been created to be viewed on iPads as well as books and maps produced by writers and explorers. “‘Walk On’ has several aspects,” says Alistair. “There’s work in the gallery, but also events across Northumberland, at Visual Arts in Rural Communities at Highgreen in July, and right across the county.

There are also special surprises.”

One of those surprises features a member of Sunderland’s most famous modern bands lending his talents to a very special project.

“We’ve commissioned Peter Brewis, one half of the band Field Music, who were nominated for this year’s Mercury Music Prize, to create a guided walk for the coast at Roker which you listen to whilst undertaking a walk from the coast towards the city centre,” says Alistair.

“He’s creating five brand new tracks which are only available by visiting the exhibition, or from June from our website - www.ngca.co.uk.”

Alistair thinks this is one reason the region’s art scene is seen as so vital; that it’s not afraid to try exciting new things.

“Galleries and arts organisations in the North East have an incredible history. NGCA’s been the first gallery to show various Turner Prize nominees, from Sam Taylor-Wood to Mark Titchner and Spartacus Chetwynd. People aren’t afraid of risk, and of trying new things here.”

Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) is a contemporary gallery, with work by Lowry and Hockney In the industrial heartland of Redcar a one-off cultural spectacle for the Festival of the North East, ‘Salamander’, is set to take place. Named after the block of imperishable steel left after the blow-down of a furnace, a number of community groups and schools have been working with Newcastle’s Theatre Royal to put on a day full of performances.

From dance to performance poetry as well as a commissioned sculpture and metallic rhythms (essentially making music out of scrap metal), it will be a varied visual experience.

Scott Illingworth, Project and Event manager at Salamander and Newcastle Theatre Royal explains the event aims to celebrate not just the history of steelworks in the area but also the communities built up around them.

“The community has been producing the work, which helps to raise self-esteem and aspirations in those who have been involved in the creative process,” he says. “They will be able to enjoy and experience their history and the importance that has had on the wider world.”

He believes visual art is important to the North East, helping put back into the region as well as further developing it.

“They help keep a sense of confidence, community and show the creativity of the North East.

“People should come to the event as there a number of performances from different art forms, that showcase not only the groups who are performing but also the artists from the region who have

DISCOVER

Johndal

The Side Gallery, Newcastle is primarily concerned with photography and organises talks on the exhibitions

Graham Matthews www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

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Immersed in the surf

Following in the

footsteps

Mark Stuart Bell learns how surfing can teach you to wait, to enjoy anticipation and to engage with your environment

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Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

Mark Stuart Bell

DISCOVER

T

he shipping forecast, the BBC’s daily broadcast of weather reports for Worked up an appetite? the seas and coast around the British Isles, is eagerly anticipated by scraggly-bearded skippers, audiophiles and the amateur meteorologists of the surfing community.

The latter are hoping for just the right combination of north, north easterly swells, low pressure and wind which, over the course of two or three days, combine in a stormy concoction whose eventual conclusion will be a few hours of perfect waves.

“You’ll get maybe a day, maybe half a day only of really nice surf from that so it’s important to catch that on the right stages of the tides,” says Stephen Hudson from Mark Stuart Bell Tynemouth Surf Co. Kitscheners Vintage Cafe in TyneAccording to Stephen, the wait for the right conditions is all part of the fun of mouth is nestled in the roof of a surfing, and its fleeting nature makes you value it more. converted church and serves tasty, “It’s a funny experience,” he says, “because you’ve checked the forecast the night home cooked food, including a fried before, and you’ve been dreaming about it. You’re up at the crack of dawn, you’ve PB and banana sandwich. filled the tank with fuel, drove a few hours up the road. All of the preparation and while you could be surfing for three hours, the three hours could turn into literally one minute [of riding the waves]. But that is enough. If you go out on a big swell, you get one good wave of maybe four or five seconds, and that’s enough to keep you happy for the next week. You never stop thinking about it, it’s always in your mind. So for days you’re thinking ‘God that was a really good wave, next time I must try one of them, or do this something to perfect it a little bit more.’ But that keeps the hype, the buzz, the charge in you, it keeps you alive for a long time.”

A lot is hidden within those few thrilling, elegant seconds. A lot of effort, a lot of preparation and a huge amount of patience.

The waves come in sets. Rows of immense natural force rising up to obscure the horizon. Paddling out you watch them crest and break and pick your spot.

And then you wait.

“If you’re sitting out at sea and it’s a lovely peaceful evening and the sea’s two, three, four foot it’s just a really pleasant feeling,” says Stephen. “It’s therapeutic, it’s comfortable, you’re at home with yourself and you’re just gliding on waves.

“Or you could be out there and it’s ten to twelve foot, and you know that the next set’s going to be the size of a hotel coming towards you, so you’re anticipating, you’re worried, you’re thinking ‘Am I in the right place? Have I drifted too far in?’ You’re “I don’t go worried now. You want the wave but you don’t want it on your head.”

But in the North East you’re less likely to experience the sheer height of the latter. anywhere Stephen says: “I’ve travelled all over the world surfing, and I like the North East without a because you’ve got lovely backdrops when you’re sitting out at sea. It’s a nice environment to be around. It’s not commercialised. surfboard or “A lot of spots now are getting real busy, so you can be out there and it’s pretty frustrating when you can’t get waves because there’s so many people getting them a wetsuit” and dropping in on you. So if it’s nice and quiet, which up on the North East there are a lot of quiet spells. With these conditions, the North East genuinely is an ideal place to learn to surf, and the temperature isn’t half as bad as most people expect.

“They might think it’s going to be cold because it’s the North Sea, they’ll get quite a different view on it when they’ve been in. If they like the sea they love it.

“You wanna be with people who know the water, love the water, understand the water, then you can learn the whole run down of beaches; rips, danger areas, how you get in them, how to get out of them, and obviously how to learn to surf.”

And Tynemouth has no shortage of people who love the water.

“I wake up and think ‘I wonder what the surf is like?’” says Stephen. “The first thing I do is I wonder what the surf is like before I make any plans in the day, and I work around that. I think you’re lucky if you can find something like that. It’s also, it’s not just the sport, it’s keeping you fit, which keeps you happy in itself. It’s an important part of your day to do some exercise and if you can find yourself something like this instead of thinking, ‘Oh I don’t have to go to the gym again do I?’ It’s a really good attitude.”

Book your first lesson at www.tynemouthsurf.co.uk

Lee Bailey

With the Lindisfarne Gospels coming to Durham this summer, Gillian Scribbins speaks to one man who has blazed the trail taken by a group of monks in the Middle Ages

I

’m standing by the great marble slab that marks the final resting place of St Cuthbert, the general hush of Durham Cathedral somewhat intensified within the ornately carved walls of his shrine. Said to have performed miracles throughout his life and after his death, St Cuthbert has drawn pilgrims to the region for centuries.

Yet after quizzing day-trippers in the environs of the cathedral it becomes clear: not many of us really know why he is enshrined in such grandeur. Plenty of North Easterners are quick to proclaim him an important part of our history and heritage, though few are sure why. One man I spoke to believed Cuthbert was responsible for Christianity in England.

Shocked? Of course not. The Church recognises hundreds of such saints, each with their own regional importance and religion no longer holds the role in society it once had.

Yet when the Lindisfarne Gospels return to Durham this summer, organisers expect at least 120,000 tourists will travel from across the country to feast their eyes on the 1,300 year old illustrated manuscript. When the Gospels last graced our region in 2000 at the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, 180,000 visitors filed through the exhibition.

We are fiercely proud of the book those Londoners in the British Library only let come out to play for three months once every seven years. But why?

manuscript_nerd

This year a whole summer of events is being held to compliment the exhibition, giving visitors a chance to experience North East works and performances, says Programme Director of Lindisfarne Gospels in Durham, Dr Keith Bartlett.

Inspired by St Cuthbert’s journey, travel writer Richard Walker-Hardwick has led a quest amongst University of Durham staff and students to experience and understand the legacy of one small monastery from the tiny Lindisfarne island.

The exhibition of St Cuthbert’s Final Journey, part of the Festival of the North East, is the combination of ethnographic and archival research, writing and photography to research and celebrate the return of St Cuthbert’s Gospel to Durham. Richard, along with award-winning photographer Paul Alexander Knox, has retraced the steps of the monks who for

centuries crossed the North East carrying St Cuthbert’s coffin and the Gospels, before finally settling at Durham.

“The best way to try and capture an event is to experience it as much as you possibly can,” says Richard, who travelled about 1,600 miles over 16 days this spring, through the ancient kingdom of Northumbria, now the modern counties of Northumberland, Galloway, Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cleveland and Durham, following the route of the community of the Lindisfarne monks.

The aim was to record the landscape today and imagining how it would have been for monks in the ninth century.

“People back then were much closer to nature. They saw omens in the weather, in the direction of the flight of birds etc.

They were at the mercy of the elements as well as invading forces. Following the route brought me closer to what they experienced, over the same hills and mountains, alongside the same rivers.”

With the help of Durham University students, he also wrote a history of each place from the time of the original journey until the current day. His first-hand experience of the journey will enhance the material produced for the exhibition.

As well as keeping a regular blog from the beginning of the project, he has photographs taken by Paul along the way to draw inspiration from.

No stranger to slow travel, Richard’s acclaimed travel memoir, Andalucia, www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

Side Street

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Relax in Durham Carrying medieval gospels from Lindisfarne to Durham is thirsty work. Pop into cosy cafe Flat White on Elvet Bridge for an invigorating cup of tea and a scone. If you need something a bit stronger visit The Head of Steam off North Road. This pub featured in CAMRAs 2013 Good Beer Guide and has refreshing real ales. www.flatwhitedurham.co.uk www.theheadofsteam.co.uk

The scenic route

Why not catch an Arriva bus to take in the sights of the North East and beyond?

The X18 from Newcastle takes you all the way to Berwick-upon-Tweed passing some of the most beautiful spots the Northumberland coast has to offer. Stop off for fish and chips at Amble or a horse ride on Seahouses beach with Slate Hall Riding Centre.

To see more of the south of the region, and a bit of neighbouring North Yorkshire too, hop on the number 5 from Middlesbrough taking in market town Guisborough, with its beautiful ruined priory, and the pretty harbour cottages of Runswick Bay, or indulge your inner goth at Whitby Abbey.

For an epic journey that traverses the breadth of the country, catch the 685 from Newcastle.

Travelling adjacent to Hadrian’s Wall, the route passes through picturesque Northumbrian towns and villages including Corbridge, Hexham and Haltwhistle before landing at Carlisle in Cumbria.

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DIY artists Carlo Viglianisi and Nick Malyan speak to Ben Hewison about shifting Durham’s cultural focus from the medieval to the modern and all points in between

“I

n terms of the North East, Durham has always been the hole in the doughnut of culture and arts programming.

What we need to do is turn it into the jam in the centre,” says Nick Malyan, one half of Durham arts project, Empty Shop. “And you can’t just make it from nothing, it needs time and nurturing.”

Started in 2008, Empty Shop is an organisation with an ethos for the creative conundrum of the North East that is Durham, with its HQ in the city’s eponymous 70s shopping centre, The Gate.

Next to its incongruous doorway is the Empty Shop HQ sign, a marker like Harry Potters platform 9 ¾. It is the entrance to a different world, except here you won’t find the witches and wizards of childrens books, but Carlo Viglianisi and Nick Maylan of the DIY art world.

Stepping in is like stepping back in time, with DIY art on the walls, a homemade bar in the corner and bare floors.

It feels homely, a place that is a creative use of space. You can see two sides of Durham from inside, the heritage and the modernist brutal.

This idea that Durham is an empty cultural space in the centre of the North East is strange; after all, pretty much the whole world knows it now after the cathedral was used to film scenes for the Harry Potter films.

“There are a few museums you can go to but if you’re not interested in the heritage side of things, there really isn’t much,” says Carlo. “Its a great place

Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

to walk around and have a cup of tea, but lacks something more. We want to change that for something more positive!

Not saying heritage is a bad thing, but it’s a bit lazy in a way for the town to rely on that side of things.”

The idea is to provide access for artists of all levels and backgrounds to produce, exhibit and engage with art, by trying to bring the cultural focus from the medieval to the modern. It’s not about ignoring the heritage in Durham, its about revitalising it for the 21st century.

Ben Hewison

Previous spaces have been dotted around the town, the last being 17 Claypath, a horrible, ugly building that grew on them after the years of use, becoming iconic in their minds.

It is this challenging of perception that is at the heart of their movement. The idea of permanence is also important, as they don’t want to be one of the fly by night pop up shops that seem to spring up in other parts of the country.

“We have a selfless attitude towards these things, its not about us, its about

Empty Shop

DISCOVER

“If you didn’t know better you’d think the last interesting thing happened 1500 years ago in Durham”

cites Booker Prize winner Pat Barker as one of many moved and inspired by his real-life tale. It draws on his own travel experiences - earlier in life Richard spent three years working and travelling abroad.

“When I read about the Community of St Cuthbert’s journey from Lindisfarne, a place I have loved for many years, to Chester-le-Street and then Durham, it seemed a logical step to follow the route,” Richard says.

The exhibition runs from 28 June in the old tourist information centre, Millennium Square, Durham.

Visit: www.stcuthbertsfinaljourney.com

Durham’s

what we can do for others, unlike some of these other ‘pop up’ shops,” says Carlo.

“It’s not about looking at an empty shop and thinking ‘I can put my work in that, I can sell it for x amount, lets have a go’.”

Durham itself is one of the most popular tourist spots in the region, but only for day trips to its main attraction, the cathedral. Built in the 12th century, it brings hundreds of thousands to the city each year. But, in doing so, it allows inaction from the council towards other attractions and events they could promote. The showstopper has pretty much become the only show in town.

“If you didn’t know better you’d think the last interesting thing happened 1500 years ago in Durham,” Nick says. “But actually things like Lumière (Durham’s winter light festival) really have been a game changer for us. 150,000 people to Durham came to see art over four days and that is unheard of here.

“Then there’s the Miners’ Gala, which is the biggest annual event in the calendar and brings in over 100,000 people to Durham on one day. It’s about celebrating contemporary culture, albeit from the recent past.”

To highlight contemporary Durham, Nick says that if you walk towards the Students’ Union building, a Norman Foster one no less, you could almost be in ‘The Land of the Morlocks’ from The Time Machine, complete with weird concrete structures, hundred-year-old trees and the Amazonian part of the River Wear. In his words, “An amazingly horri-

ble but lovely concrete thing.”

At this Carlo laughs, and it’s plain to see that a lot of what is beautiful for Empty Shop is what is unexpected, like 17 Claypath and the HQ. It is about making something from nothing by filling in gaps.

Carlo says: “If you cross over Milburn Gate Bridge, you look one way you have lots of lovely heritage buildings and greenery, and then the other way is some kind of sci fi nightmare.”

The ideology is formed from the North East, which by anyone’s terms has had it a little hard over the last few decades.

However it is from this that creativity seems to sprout up, taking hold in areas like Newcastle, where there is a thriving scene for all things artistic.

Carlo thinks Newcastle has been so successful in its regeneration because of the lack of an omnipotent cultural attraction like the cathedral, and so has been able to reinvent itself culturally.

“You know what defines the North East and the people as a whole?” asks Nick. “Nothing really. You end up with very small local identities such as the Mackems and Geordies but nothing that defines the whole area.”

“If you move out of Durham you have all of these new towns, which are great.

Did you know Peterlee was designed by the artist Victor Passmore, who was brought in to plan the whole town, as they thought engineers and town planners weren’t doing enough, so he came in to make the future.

“You look at it and essentially it is the

Empty Shop

future and a piece of art! Then you go to other places around here, like Newton Aycliffe and its completely dystopian, it shows the odd mix of the area.”

Through Empty Shop Carlo and Nick want to give a voice to contemporary Durham. The idea is to take Durham into the 21st century, away from the heritage that is the current lifeblood of the city.

They want to fill in a gap, make something loved even better. Exactly like the jam in the centre of a doughnut. www.emptyshop.org

Empty Shop

Bohemia in the ‘Boro If Middlesborough, not Durham, is your city of choice, head to Baker Street, the new indie shopping quarter and town centre street given a facelift

by Mary Portas’ High Street Innovation Fund.

Deck yourself out in vintage clothing from Niamh’s Boutique, grab a delicious pie from Chilli Cake Deli and wash it down with a piping hot latte from Coffee Bean. www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

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The Wherry at Whitburn

If you catch it under the blazing sunshine, this secluded bay in Whitburn coastal park looks more like the setting of a Herculean adventure than a stretch of the Sunderland coastline.

A far cry from the award-winning sandy beaches from Northumberland to County Durham, the hidden cove shows

the effects of the merciless North Sea which has carved it out of the cliff face over time.

Caves, arches, and stacks are among the many rock formations caused by centuries of erosion to the quiet pebble beach. The view from behind the bay doesn’t quite prepare you for the scene that awaits you beyond the gentle grassy slope which forms its entrance.

The cliffs rise up on the north side so as to cut off the National Trust owned bridleway above, and the rest of the world with it. I was fortunate enough to catch it at a time when it was completely deserted. The natural shelter of the cliffs made it a sort of sun trap on the rare fine day, and the sun glancing off the crisp, clear seawater and ancient cliffs was breathtaking, even to a regular visitor like me.

“It used to be known as the lads’ and lassies’ wherries,” says one early morning walker. Flora Hornsby, 81, grew up in nearby Cleadon, South Shields.

The bay used to be divided completely in half by the central rock formation. The flat rocks of the

S

“There are thousands of people who remember the pool as an integral part of their childhood”

south side of the bay made a popular picnic spot for women and children, whilst the north bay was used for launching fishing boats.

“You used to bump into everyone you knew on the beaches in them days,” says Flora, who also spent her youth playing in and around the long-since collapsed Marsden Rock.

“We called it the velvet bay because when the tide went out all the rocks were furry and green.

“But it was a lot more glamorous than the beaches are now,” adds Flora.

The National Trust now looks after the wherry as part of the coastal park behind Souter Lighthouse.

Tynemouth Outdoor Pool

Visitors don’t always realise that the somewhat unsightly grey concrete hole in the ground at Tynemouth beach is in fact an outdoor swimming pool.

Friends of Tynemouth Outdoor Pool have recently applied for

g

n i t h a w o B l

Gillian Scribbins explores Whitburn’s rocky coastline and a former popular holiday spot in Tynemouth.

ming? of wild swim lge in a spot du ,” says in th d al an he s eat for your rivers or lake gr ’s so on al gi s em.” it re st , e sy re immune retreat to th h with natu MING ngthens your g? Why not esh back in touc re fr d in st re th an er or ur ty , at ci yo w ge WILD SWIM e t ing in cold t out of th d lidos no esters Brid m ge an Ch s im to of re s sw ay nt in d w ce ru an nt e e Leisur ne by th rphin kick ing a brillia the North Ty you an endo wild swimm take a dip in ing, “it gives “Not only is d, m an im rl Sw be ild um t of W ming.co.uk in North Daniel Smar ww.wildswim of the Coquet of Teesdale. s w t ol ar po he r e ve th ri in Bathe in the at Low Force e waterfalls yourself in th 2018 Side Street June sidestreet June2013 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

National lottery funding to restore the former lido.

“The Friends started out as a small group of friends who were local to Tynemouth and who had always had a bit of a fascination about the pool and its history - and also about its future,” says Barry Bell, one of the founders of the group.

“We originally set up the Facebook page in 2010 as a means to begin collecting memories and photographs from the pool’s past, and with the hope of starting some meaningful discussions about its future, and the many failed attempts that had been made to revive it.”

The saltwater tidal pool was built in the 20s, and was popular with residents and holidaymakers for the next 50 years or so, before falling into disrepair.

“Things came to a head in August when North Tyneside Council announced they had applied for funding to ‘help the pool make a splash again’,” says Barry.

“But the local authority weren’t going to bring the pool back at all.”

They were going to fill it with concrete.

“Our goal is to fully explore the possibility of recreating an outdoor pool that is ideally heated by geothermal energy, and which will hopefully be the catalyst for the regeneration of the rest of the beautiful North Tyneside coastline,” says Barry.

Seaton is believing...

T

By Taalay Ahmed

Seaton Carew seafront by Fearlesspunter

here isn’t much sand left when the tide comes in on Seaton Carew’s twinkling beach. Blue waves slip up the coastline as I stand by the bus station. The sun has just passed its zenith. The wind is strong but after a cold winter the happy people on the crowded beach are grateful for the clear skies above.

This is the busiest part of Seaton. Across the road from the bus station, rows of fish and chip shops stand side by side at the foot of old terraced buildings. Some of these shops have been here for decades. When I ask one of the ladies working in Young’s what time they close, she says they’re staying open extra late this Easter weekend. I ask what time they would normally close.

“When all the fish are sold out.”

The fish and chip shops may be used to selling all their fish, but squeezed between them is the prospect of Britain’s other favourite dish in the tiny ‘Seaton Tandoori’. The Tandoori is emblematic of the surprisingly rich fusion of cultures at this otherwise traditional seaside resort.

I’m here to take a long walk to the other end of the four mile beach. I used to come here as a child with my grandfather, but this time I want to do it more slowly; I want to actually take in what there is on the beach rather than just splash in the cool water. I want to experience the real variety of sights, sounds and smells that make Seaton such an enjoyable day out for so many people.

As I begin to walk along the road a block of terraced houses obscures my view of the water. I pass a sweet shop, a gift shop, an ice cream factory and Burgerland. Only the lonely newsagents reveals people actually live in Seaton.

Once I reach the giant arcade of endlessly bright and often loud games I take a left at the end of the terraced block, through a car park, past some benches and onto the sand.

People of all ages are playing and laughing. A young girl rushes her scooter down a sloped path at the top of the beach. Suddenly she falls to the pavement and screams with shock as tears fall down her face . On busy afternoons like this, Seaton becomes a wall of noise. A kind lady, who happens to be passing by, helps the young girl up.

I head along the path, past a smiling couple walking with ice creams in their hands. There is a large expansive building which draws my attention. As a boy, I remember playing pool inside. It used to be another arcade but it has seen better days. The windows are boarded and parts of it are cordoned off. Litter and sand are scattered along its walls.

I keep walking along the concrete path, now railed off from the sand. On the other side are patches of trimmed green grass. Seaton is closer to Blackpool than Barbados but it does have that British seaside resort charm.

As I walk into the early evening, this part of Seaton feels lonelier. The buildings thin out to leave small fields of grass on the opposite side of the beach.

This part of the beach is far less busy and offers a more thoughtful solitude.

Its dark. I stand at the opposite end of Seaton from the bus station where I started. During the day you can see for miles along the coast. Now though, you can only make out sections of light. Light from buildings which are miles away. Light from ships on the sea. Light from the stars and the white moon.

DISCOVER

T

he wide expanses of our beloved beaches aren’t too difficult to stumble across: head east and you’ll find one. But our shores are splashed with more than just seaweed and penny arcades. Why not seek out the secret Whitburn Wherry or the Tynemouth Lido and delve into the glory days of the north-eastern seaside?

www.purposeofvisit.co.ukJune June 2013sidestreet Side Street www.purposeofvisit.co.uk 2013 21 21

Castles in the North East sky

The Story of the Castles Prudhoe Castle was the only castle in Northumberland to resist the Scots. The Umfravilles were the first to occupy the castle which was inhabited for nearly nine hundred years.

Price: English Heritage members free, Adult £4.50

Food, glorious food

Magnificent manors, romantic ruins and fascinating fortresses. Mandy Carr visits three castles in the North East to learn about history and lose herself in the scenery

T

here are countless ruined castles across England, and the North East is home to many of them. Great to visit, they’re often packed with wonder, so why not explore some of the region’s finest ruins?

Dunstanburgh Castle I started my long walk up to Dunstanburgh Castle from Craster with waves crashing up against the rocks on my right, a beautiful landscape in front of me, with the castle barely in view, and sheep and lambs scattered all around.

The walk to the castle only adds to the experience of the visit. Leaving behind the fishing village of Craster, where I ate a hearty meal of fish and chips, the sun was shining bright and a brisk breeze blew in from the sea. The sheep parted like the Red Sea for visitors to make their way up to the castle, yet stayed close enough to touch.

On arrival visitors can climb a winding staircase to the top of a central tower and take in the incredible view which goes on for miles. It takes in the village of “The lodgings Craster and the entire castle around and the 16th it, which during century brew WW2 held dehouse give a real fensive trenches, gun mounts and sense of what life a minefield, to was like”

protect Northumberland from attacks by occupied Norway.

There isn’t much of this castle left, but there is still plenty to see and explore.

The brave-hearted can walk down the steep bank to the edge of the cliff for a closer view of the thrashing waves below.

Walking around the perimeter of the ruins, the nesting kittiwakes and razorbills are visible on the cliffs at Gull Crag, a popular spot for twitchers.

A wander of the grounds reveals nooks and crannies perfect for the intrepid explorer, including the imposing gatehouse-keep and the crumbling Egyncleugh Tower, which could once be accessed by drawbridge and now resembles a set piece from the film Highlander.

Warkworth Castle If you are a fan of beautiful castles, but not a fan of crowds, Warkworth Castle isthe perfect spot to visit.

A good deal of the structure is still standing and two upper chambers, known as the Duke’s Rooms, are furnished with beautiful furniture including mid-19th century carved oak pieces decorated with the emblem of the Percy family who once resided in the castle.

Visiting some of the more intact castles of the North East can feel a bit like a regimented tour, but with Warkworth, you can simply have fun roaming the grounds as you please.

The grounds themselves still show evidence of the long destroyed chapel and stables, but it is the Great Tower that is the star of the show.

Its small, labyrinthine staircases lead to various rooms including the beer and wine cellars, along with huge kitchen quarters. The medieval feasts held here must have been quite an event.

While the entrance to Warkworth lacks the dramatic landscapes of Dunstanburgh, its hilltop location on an oxbow bend in the River Coquet lends it beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and bay. Warkworth Castle is the perfect setting for losing yourself in history.

Prudhoe Castle For a more intimate setting, Prudhoe Castle is smaller, but equally bursting with history and beautiful scenery – a curious mixture of archaic ruins and modern, 19th century architecture.

A walkway of hedgerows leads you to the grounds, accompanied by the soft rushing of running water as the millstream twists its way under the gravel drive. The carriage driveway has several different surfaces: the cobbled gullies are thought to have provided a smoother surface for coaches.

Prudhoe Castle is fantastic for exploring and learning about history. Its Georgian manor house, situated amongst the ruins, contains two exhibition rooms de-

Warkworth Castle is one of the largest in the North East and was also once home of ‘Harry Hotspur’,the hero of many Border ballads and a misery to Scottish raiders.

Price: English Heritage members Free, Adults £5.00 voted to the castle’s past, with examples of artefacts discovered on the site.

Prudhoe offers a ‘sensory tour’ of the grounds, which really allows you to look at the intricate details of the castle and immerse yourself in its history. You can touch the 15th century doors of the Gatehouse and feel the difference between the rough and smooth wood that’s been restored. Ornate corbels with foreboding twin faces are dotted around the castle, a pair in the central arch and another in the carriage archway.

The sensory tour also suggests you walk around and listen to the chirps of birds from the surrounding woodland, a blanket of trees that almost cuts off the castle from the outside world. Roaming through the ruins, it’s easy to forget the nearby houses and cars, and for a moment it almost feels like you’ve gone back in time.

DISCOVER

The Earl Thomas Lancaster built Dunstanburgh Castle during hostilities with King Edward II. He began in 1313 as a symbol of his opposition against the King rather than as a military stronghold. The Earl’s rebellion was defeated and he was executed in 1322. The castle was captured by Yorkist forces during the War of the Roses.

Price: English Heritage members free, Adults £4.20

P

By Graham Matthews asties, stottie cakes and Newcastle Brown Ale are often assumed to be the staples of the North East diet, and there’s no denying their popularity in the region. However if that was all locals consumed then surely the average life expectancy would be even lower than it already is?

Thankfully that’s not the case, with the North East serving up plenty of eateries offering locally sourced produce (pastry optional) as food tourism becomes even more important to the region.

For Jan Crook, manager of Jack Sprats café in Newcastle, using locally sourced food is essential. “It keeps people in a job locally,” she says. “Our food is all from various locations and we use produce from local vegetable shops as well so I find out where they get their stuff from.”

Being a vegetarian and vegan café they stay true to their values and Jan hopes one day they can go fully organic. “We tend to look at where places are, where the actual stuff’s sourced from before we buy. Where it’s coming from means more to us than price, definitely.”

According to the Tourism Business Toolkit, which provides information for tourism businesses in the North East, food tourism is on the rise. More people are making an effort to try local cuisine and visit food festivals or farmers’ markets while travelling, and some even make it a priority.

Jack Sprats has had visitors from as far away as Glasgow and London come and try dishes such as their vegan Fish and Chips (comprised of tofu and seaweed). “People hear through word of mouth or they go on websites such as TripAdvisor or the Happy Cow,” says Jan. “These websites can be helpful but can also be a hindrance if people write negative stuff about your business.”

Another place whose main aim is to support local producers is Cross Lanes Organic Farm, which opened just over 18 months ago in Barnard Castle, County Durham.

Aiming to be organic, local and green, manager of the farm (which includes a café and shop) Debs Hare feels there are plenty of local food producers out there.

“A lot of them are quite small scale and they’re not really into marketing so finding them is harder than others, but there’s some fantastic stuff out there,” she says.

The recent horsemeat debacle has actually had some benefits, believe it or not, with lots of people now looking out for where their food comes from. “I think it’s all to do with food security, traceability, knowing where it’s come from and trusting the source,” says Debs. “People can rely on the farm shops because it’s got the true ethos behind it as well with knowing where it’s all sourced from.”

She is also a firm believer of the importance of food tourism to the region. “We’ve got to shout about what the region has to offer. I know from past work I’ve done that every region specialises in certain things and the region’s proud of what it offers. That’s a big attraction for tourists coming in.” www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

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23

The

Great Picnic

D

espite inclement weather, we northerners are well versed in the art of picnic-ery. Whether it be seaside, castle-side, countryside or down the park, we all know how to seek a good spot.

(We also know how to shelter a good spot, and to bring waterproof matting and raincoats, but that’s another matter.)

What I for one sometimes struggle with is the choice of picnic food. All too tempting is the allure of M&S, with their handy pre-packaged selections of scotch eggs, cocktail sausages, sandwiches and buckets of bite size chocolatey treats. Or better still Waitrose - if you’re going to a pre-organised group picnic and

want to show off. But every TV chef will tell you that food tastes better when you know where it’s come from.

I set out on a quest to find a one-stop-shop for conscience-clearing, locally sourced, delicious picnic treats - and found it in Newcastle city centre’s 178-year-old grade 1 listed indoor market.

Inside Grainger Market is a wealth of hidden treasures, but it is fairly sizeable, so we’ve picked out our favourite food stalls.

Next time you fancy a lunch al fresco, swing buy and gather some of these homemade offerings so you can eat the North East, in the North East. Life is good.

Mmm’s Deli is Grainger Market’s champion of small producers. Their philosophy is to stock their shelves with foods from close to home, and made by those who share their passion for good food and quality of life. Amongst their treasure trove of goods you can pick up locally brewed ales, charcuterie reared and produced in Northumberland, homemade fudge, and jams and conserves made from ingredients foraged in Durham. Stop buy on a Saturday morning and you might be lucky enough to grab one of their fresh baked artisan loaves before they’re snatched up by savvy locals.

The French Oven is an independent artisan bakery, which prides itself on its fresh, quality goods and their teeny tiny carbon footprint. Their bakery is but one mile from the market, and their macaroons are the best I’ve tasted this side of the channel. Fact. (The clue is in the name…)

Gillian Scribbins 24

Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

WILD WONDERFUL

Mark Stuart Bell talks to Chris Bax, founder of Taste the Wild, about foraging for nature’s real super foods

“I

Gillian Scribbins

You will find a whole aisle of fishmongers, including Lindsay Bros, whose produce is needless to say fresh, fresh, fresh! We’re lucky to have the North Sea on our doorstep, which means you can snap up some ready made fresh crab meat, or the local delicacy, Craster kippers, smoked in Northumberland and ready to eat.

FEATURE DISCOVER

Wondering where to buy your summer snacks? Gillian Scribbins scours Newcastle’s favourite market to find you food to feel good about. Time to dust off those hampers...

The French Oven

If your sweet tooth isn’t satisfied yet, check out Pet Lamb Patisserie. Owned by friends Katie and Kay, the shop sells delicious sponge cakes, cupcakes and brownies that look almost too good to eat. The girls even make made-to-order giant cupcakes for the true cupcake fanatic.

Pet Lamb Patisserie

was sat at dinner with mostly food journalists from national newspapers,” says Chris Bax from Taste the Wild, “and the lady next to me, said ‘What’s the point of foraging? Surely anything that’s any good we can buy in the supermarket?’

“I was shocked because clearly that’s not the case. A lot of our crops have been cultivated for their ability to produce large amounts of food, not necessarily to produce large amounts of taste or diversity.”

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, there are over 50,000 edible plants. But just three of them - rice, maize and wheat - provide 60 per cent of the world’s total food energy intake.

“There are some amazing ingredients in the countryside,” says Chris, “but the most amazing thing is what it adds beyond food.

The whole thing about foraging is investing value in landscape, nature.”

For Chris the goal isn’t to live completely off the land - by foraging he aims to augment his range of culinary ingredients.

“There are some great things around at

Taste the Wild

the moment,” he says. “In the north of England there’s sweet cicely. It has an amazing aniseed scent. I think that people are missing out when they walk past it and don’t realise how delicious it can be.

“Then you have the nettle. Lots of people know about nettle soup and often don’t like it, but nutritionally it’ll knock your socks off. We think of spinach as a super food but nettle is a true super food.

It’s full of protein, vitamins and minerals.”

For foraged fare...

Chefs at Blackfriars, the beautiful restaurant set in a 13th Century rectory, serve up traditional fare using seasonal and locally sourced produce - some of which is grown in their own courtyard, and some of which they forage in Jesmond Dene.

Recently voted Newcastle’s best restaurant in the 2013 North East England Tourism Awards, Blackfriars is famed for its regular medieval banquets. Diners are encouraged to dress in medieval attire, should they have a spare surcoat or kirtle.

And as for converting the population to foraging, Chris believes it is down to chefs and their use of wild food.

“It’s about learning to use it, just like anything else that we grow. If you don’t cook it right, it doesn’t taste good. There’s nothing magical about foraged ingredients, they’re like any other foodstuff.”

For beginner foragers Chris recommends starting with a good book, and ideally somebody to learn from.

“Good plant identification and a wild food book is where to start,” he says. “I’m very lucky that my wife is interested in plants, so she’s good at identifying them.

“I started off with four plants,” adds Chris, “and built on it by researching. Over the last 13 years I’ve got to over 300.”

But most of all, remember that foraging is about much more than simple sustenance. It’s about respecting and engaging with your surroundings and immersing yourself in your environment.

“It feeds your soul as much as it feeds your belly,” says Chris. www.tastethewild.co.uk

www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

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25

Slow down

the value of the experience, quantity over quality, and profit over people.

on holiday

While every travel company needs to make a return, we fundamentally disagree with the ‘mass’ approach because it doesn’t respect the destinations, the local people, the environment or the customer as an individual. No wonder it has problems!”

Ever returned home after a holiday ready for another? If a week of relaxation turns into a hectic hell, then slow travel is the answer. Lyndsay Oxley spoke to Inntravel about how to achieve a perfectly planned peace

“A

slow holiday is definitely not a ‘stop’ holiday!” says Steve Jack, communications manager at Inntravel, one of the UK’s leading travel companies specialising in independent holidays on the slow side.

Inntravel offer unique holidays to Europe and beyond. Whether it’s a short stay in a rural hideaway or a holiday in the snow, it doesn’t matter if you prefer to explore by train or by boat, Inntravel has got it sorted.

So how can slowing down benefit your travel experiences? Aptly defined as the ‘slow holiday people,’ Inntravel has over 25 years experience “Slow down! in researching and organising holidays Spend longer that take the lessin each place. er-trodden path.

Take a good look Its mission is to visitors around you. Talk enable and holidaymakto the people you ers to explore hidden corners of the meet. Try the world in their own local food” way and, importantly, at their own pace.

The North East is a popular tourist destination for visitors from far and wide, renowned for its beautiful, unspoiled scenery, heritage and historic sites. However, sometimes we might fail to really appreciate and immerse ourselves in some of what the area has to offer just so we can at least say, ‘Been there, done that.’

26

Steve Jack advises on turning down the pace...

How would you define a slow holiday?

“It’s all about travelling at your own pace, whether on foot, on a bike or on skis. We rarely offer group holidays and prefer not to use guides. Instead, we carefully research each itinerary and provide detailed route notes so that people can do it themselves at whatever pace they feel comfortable. ‘Slow’ is not an instruction! It’s an invitation to take as long as you wish, so that you can pause to admire the scenery, meet local people and immerse yourself in the landscape and local culture along the way. For us, it is an approach and a mindset rather than being about green or ‘eco’ credentials. Indeed, you can fly to many of our destinations and we provide hire cars if this is the best way of helping customers engage fully with a region. However, most of our holidays are, by their very nature, ‘green’ as they involve a low-impact enjoyment of our chosen regions, in a way that helps to support and engage with the local communities.”

absorbed in activities such as the walks, the cycle rides and even the delicious meals that they end up ‘being in the moment’. It gives a sense of time expanding and leaves our customers feeling re-energised, revitalised and refreshed.”

What are a slow holiday’s benefits?

“There’s much more to stimulate holidaymakers. They feel like they are experiencing something that is unique to them. They get to learn more about the local people and the culture and traditions of an area. By travelling at their own pace they get to see a great deal but ‘up close’ and in a way that is far more meaningful. We genuinely believe that by slowing down you get to see more!”

Do you think there are any current problems within mass tourism?

“The main problem is that mass tourism isn’t discriminating. It doesn’t treat people, neither locals or customers, as individuals and prioritises volume over

Go Slow

J

ust off the coast of Northumberland lies a rugged monastic island with a tortured history. Lindisfarne, or Holy Island as it is better known, is accessible only by a causeway open at low tide. Otherwise, it sits in splendid isolation adrift from the Northumberland shore.

The island is home to less than 200 residents, and is a byword for the hardy nature of the Northumbrian people. First inhabited about 1400 years ago by monks and fishermen, the island has withstood the relentless fury of the North Sea, and decades of torment from the Viking invaders of the Medieval age.

Holy Island works for its keep by producing mead, a honey based liquor brewed for millennia by monks of the island. Now people over the world enjoy it as a fine and sweet artisanal drink, in the most made by St Aidan’s Winery, which is based on the island.

The seclusion and wild beauty of Lindisfarne makes it apparent why the monks chose this small, windswept land as their home. Once a jewel in the ancient Kingdom of Northumbria’s crown, the island retains its simple way of life, and although it has a number of hotels and B&Bs to cater for trapped tourists, has refrained from falling into the commercialisation trap.

We suggest taking the time out of your schedule and the scenic drive north to explore the island in the footsteps of generations past. Muddy shoes and the possibility of getting trapped will serve to embellish the day’s adventure over a nightcap of Lindisfarne mead.

For the history buffs among you, a Viking landing is to be re-enacted on the island this August bank holiday - visit www.english-heritage. org.uk for details.

...in the North East

In the Footsteps of Saints

Discover rural Northumberland and explore one of Britain’s most beautiful and unspoiled coastlines.

Includes: 4 nights, 4 breakfasts, 1 picnic, luggage transported, route notes and maps, transfer back to first guesthouse to pick up car. From £315pp

Holy Island & the Northumberland Coast

Visit historic land in rural Northumberland and discover the ruins and castle still visible today.

Includes: 4 nights, 4 breakfasts, 1 picnic, luggage transported, route notes and maps, transfer back to first guesthouse to pick up car. From £285pp

Fearless Punter

Inntravel testimony

“We had a great holiday. The preparation and information was very thorough and meant that all details were accounted for. Most of the places to stay were excellent with friendly people and every home comfort. It was great to be able to walk each day unhindered by luggage or concerns about the route. I have recommended it to all of my friends and colleagues and will definitely be booking other walks in future.”

Why do people enjoy slow holidays?

“For many, it is the chance to disengage from a world that has become increasingly hectic and to switch off from life’s day-to-day responsibilities. It is also an opportunity to engage with a beautiful region in a way that is far more meaningful than rushing through or ticking destinations off a list. People become so

Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

How can we get more from our travel experiences?

“Slow down! Be open to, rather than resistant to, local hospitality. Try to leave behind your preconceptions so that you are open to new experiences and can see places from a new perspective. Get off the beaten track where you can. Even the most popular places in the world can provide visitors with an enriching experience if you give them a chance.

Also, use a knowledgeable local guide who can provide a genuinely insightful and entertaining experience. Remember to do some research first. Why not let Inntravel do the research for you!”

HOLY ISLAND

DISCOVER

Rebecca Lightfoot

cribbins

Gillian S

M Z Mu

ltics

For more info visit www.inntravel.co.uk James West

www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

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of the

The Lindisfarne Gospels are returning to Durham from July to September 2013. How better to welcome them home than with a region-wide party? Here at Side Street we have highlighted some of the best bits to immerse yourself in For full listings and information visit www.festivalne.com Walk On is a collection of different events organised throughout the summer to celebrate ‘art-walking’ across the region.

The highlight is an art-walking weekend organised by Visual Arts in Rural Communities on the 13th and 14th of July at Highgreen in Tarset, Northumberland, in which artists, poets and writers will lead walks around the area.

The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland, will be hosting Walk On: 40 Years of Art-Walking, an exhibition running from June 1st to August 31st.

Programme Director, Alistair Robinson, said: “There’ll be an incredibly varied range of objects, from video works by American pioneers like Bruce Nauman, to paintings by the Northumberland-based artist James Hugonin, to drawings, prints, sculptures, posters, installations, works created to be seen on iPads, and books and maps by writers and explorers.”

Other Walk On events include a multi-channel video installation of the film High Wire in Berwick Gymnasium from June 22nd to September 15th, and Tim Knowles’ Forest Walk; an

exhibition at Kielder Castle running from the 15th of June to the 28th of July, showcasing an attempt to walk in a straight line through the forest for eight hours.

Heavy Plant Crossing on the 21st and 22nd of June is a plant finding expedition with a difference with artist Julia Barton at Wallington House.

For full Walk On listings visit www.festivalne.com

‘Hill Walker’ by Tracy Hanna at Walk ON exhibition, Sunderland

The Angel of the North is having a birthday party this summer, and everyone is invited.

Gateshead Council

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Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

Councillor Mick Henry, leader of Gateshead Council, celebrated the Angel’s 15th birthday earlier this year with young people who were born on the day the Angel arrived.

“The Angel has brought pride, belief and confidence to Gateshead. It continues to bring almost daily national and international attention and shows how far the name of Gateshead has travelled,” says Anna Pepperall, Public Art Curator, Gateshead Council.

Join in the party, admission free, at the foot of this iconic monument on the 16th June from 11am.

Reviewing the scenery Artist, poet and musician Heather Phillipson’s two-part show - exhibition and walking video tour of Newcastle – arrives at BALTIC this month

Heather talks to Helen Armitage about her forthcoming show, re-looking at a city and the advantages of taking off-the-track back alleys Tell us a about your exhibition Yes, surprising is existence in the post-vegetal cosmorama and the accompanying walking video tour? How are the two linked?

My show for BALTIC is in two parts. In the ground floor galleries, there’s my exhibition, Yes, surprising is existence in the post-vegetal cosmorama. Then, leading you away from the gallery and out onto the streets of Newcastle, is the walking tour, Cardiovascular Vernacular (as in ‘it’s time for my regular cardiovascular vernacular’).

These two elements operate discretely, in the sense that they are on different sites, but they’re fundamentally connected. Ideally, they are also sequential – I’d like you to inhabit the gallery space first, then to be guided on a walk away from it.

I like to think of it as a welcome and a surprise party, a summons to re-view the scenery.

Through several other ‘instalments’ within the gallery, there is the continuation of modes of transport, arrivals/departures, bodily inhabitations – videos that segue to France via the inside of a mouth, a brain or a speedboat, for example.

Then, following on from this, the viewer is invited to undertake the walking tour. But it’s not your average city guide, more of a first-introduction-to-the-outside-world.

What can a participant expect to be doing whilst taking part in the walking video tour?

The participant will be talked through their paces, advised on (in)correct motions, confronted with the banality and wonder of walking and looking. 90 per cent of our movements obey habit and automatism, so this is a minor attempt to re-think about thinking, to re-look at looking. Geographically, it’s a dérive through some well-known landmarks and off-the-track back alleys, but, really, the city and its architecture are just prompts for digressions.

What I can say is that the participant will inhabit several sites simultaneously – the current moment of their location,

Heather Phillipson

the history and future events that surround their location, and the screen of their hand-held device, which could show a different location at any minute. Attention may be pulled in contradictory directions.

Were you well acquainted with Newcastle and Gateshead prior to making the video tour?

In short: no. I had visited a few times but I really only knew the insides of a few streets and buildings.

But actually, it’s this not-knowing that interests me. Robert Bresson’s advice to himself and other filmmakers was ‘Be as ignorant of what you are going to catch, as is a fisherman of what is at the end of his fishing rod.’

So, in planning the walk, I just stepped out of BALTIC and tried to find without seeking. Like the participant, I only really knew where my rod was leading when I got to the end of it.

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How do you think touring the city through the medium of video will affect the experience of that city?

It’s the medium of pre-recorded video/audio, but it’s also the medium of real-time images (the facades of buildings), ‘live’ audio (the sounds of the city), the ‘feed’ of sensations (the feeling of your legs on a bridge above water), the textures of the weather.

The video is just another surface or space you’re invited to inhabit. It allows past, present and (imagined) future to be coterminous. One moment, the video might sync up with your precise location, the next it might relocate you in a time, space or event that never happened. It’s one long collage.

Catch Yes, surprising is existence in the post-vegetal cosmorama and Cardiovascular Vernacular (as in ‘it’s time for my regular cardiovascular vernacular) at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Quays, from 21 June to 22 September.

www.purposeofvisit.co.uk June 2013

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Writers, artists and actors come together in A Wondrous Place: a play performing at Northern Stage, Newcastle, showing things aren’t so bad in the North.

Thom C

Summer Sessions are informal happenings at pubs across the region.

Image courtesy of Northern Spirit

and with imagination, invest them with a sense of wonder, with a widescreen intensity, with glamour and with romance.”

A Wondrous Place is at Northern Stage, Newcastle from 4-6 June. Tickets £14.50/ £12. Call 0191 230 5151 or visit www.northernspirit.org.uk.

Tyne is a new production at Live Theatre, Newcastle, showcasing some of the North East’s greatest writers.

Lee Hall, all of whom have collaborated with Live Theatre since it opened back in 1973.

The production is brought to life with evocative images and live music to tell the story of the well-loved famous river.

Tyne runs from 27 June to 20 July at Live Theatre, Broad Chare, Newcastle.

Tickets start from £10 (£5 concessions).

Advance booking required. Call 0191 232 1232 or visit www.live.org.uk.

Wikimedia Commons

Foghorn Requiem is an unusual performance at Souter Lighthouse.

National, local, and international vessels of all shapes and sizes will be lining up off the shore beyond the National Trust property in Whitburn to take part in the performance. Brass bands will line the clifftops to join in with the arrangement.

The event is both to celebrate the seafaring heritage of the region and to commemorate the disappearence of the sound of the foghorn from UK coastal life.

See the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle at midday on 22 June shoreside from the clifftops, or get in amidst the action on a DFDS Ferry.

Ferry Tickets are £30 for a three hour sail out, inlcuding buffet lunch.

Visit www.dfdsseaways.co.uk to book, or www.forghornrequiem.org for more information.

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Side Street June 2013 www.purposeofvisit.co.uk

The play brings to life parts of Port of Tyne’s writer in residence Michael Chaplin’s book, Tyne View, as well as stories from authors from the region, including Tom Hadaway, CP Taylor, Julia Darling, Alan Plater, Sid Chaplin and Image courtesy of Side Gallery

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Whether music, poetry, dancing, or a mixture of all three, these individual one-offs all share the aim of showing off the welcoming spirit of north eastern pubs.

Renditions of well-known northern chorus songs (audience participation encouraged) are sure to rekindle community spirit, day and night at the participating venues.

Confirmed musicians include fiddler Roddy Matthews, folk singer Tom Gilfellon, and ceilidh group Hexham Village Band, among others.

Visit www.festivalne.com for full events listings and venues.

A unique two-part show at The Sage Gateshead combines the talents of two North East Mercury prize nominees: Maxïmo Park’s Paul Smith and Field Music’s Peter Brewis.

Frozen by Sight is inspired by English musician and song writer Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis (as in the band, not the telephone company) and Frank O’Hara, an American writer, poet, opera singer and art critic.

The piece is a string and percussion ensemble based around Smith’s travel writing, arranged by Brewis.

Barographic is a new site-specific composition, that uses the architecture and atmosphere of the building to create graphic scores. In other words, the music combines melodies and rhythms that reflect the design of the building.

8pm on the 26 June at The Sage Gateshead. Tickets are £10, advanced booking is recommended. Call 0191 443 4661 or visit www.thesagegateshead.org.

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“Overwhelmingly dramatic stories located in the North of England depict a North of the past, or emphasise social depravation, or are about a character’s need to escape to a more fulfilling life elsewhere,” says Chris Meads, Northern Spirit’s Artistic Director.

“We want to present an alternative, more surprising and more inventive idea of the North of England to the world, led by people who are passionate about this part of the world.

“We want to approach the people, the landscape and the experiences that you can have here with respect

Arts, Design and Media at the University of Sunderland Best New University in the North East,

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