Newcastle Upon Tyne: Day 4 – Scotland 2017

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9 April 2017

The Discovery Museum

After an early breakfast and a bus ride with our group, we arrived at the Discovery Museum. It is a museum cram-packed with the history of Newcastle Upon Tyne and the many contributions the area has brought to Britain. One of the main draws is the Turbina, a steam-powered ship that at one time was the fastest in the world. It measures 34 meters and sits proudly in the main area of the museum for all to see. We had a great time wandering through the multi-story museum and taking in the displays after our group guided tour.

In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we nearly missed the bus to the next location! We decided to go through a one-way exhibit that went through decades of history, and, well, it was much bigger than we anticipated. However, because it’s a one-way thing, we had to finish it out. We ended up running through the last third or so because we were running out of time! We knew they’d have waited for us, but we didn’t want to hold up the group. So, crisis avoided, we jumped on the bus and headed to our next destination.

The River Tyne

After another lovely tour bus ride, we arrived at our boat. For the next three hours, we enjoyed a boat trip up and down the River Tyne. We went all the way to the mouth of the river where it flows into the North Sea and then turned around and came back. We saw quite a few neat things as we went, but my favorite thing was the haunting ruins of Tynemouth Priory and Castle. I wished we’d have been able to explore it on foot later! Other than sightseeing, we enjoyed the time with our friends. It was a wonderful experience. After all, we met on a ship. Why not continue the tradition?

Trinity House

Once docked and off the boat, we headed to Trinity House for tea and a tour. Trinity House is a charity organization that works to preserve buildings in Newcastle Upon Tyne’s historic areas and aims to see ancient maritime traditions continued. They work with quite a few other maritime charities as well. The area in which they are working to preserve buildings and displays has a long history. It’s far too much to detail here, but if you’d like to learn more, check out their website here. I could never do the history of it justice!

In short, Trinity House (then called the Guild of the Blessed Trinity of Newcastle Upon Tyne) was founded in 1505 as a charitable guild. It has functioned in that capacity, in the same buildings, ever since. Trinity House also offers educational and training programs and leases some of its buildings to local businesses. It was a beautiful place to visit, full of history and long-standing tradition. After our visit here, we said farewell to Newcastle Upon Tyne and headed back to Alnwick.

Back In Alnwick

When we arrived back in Alnwick, we had a few hours of free time before dinner. Billy and I decided to head down to Barter Books, one of the largest second-hand bookstores in Britain, and peruse the shelves. The bookstore is located in what was once a Victorian-era railway station. The owners have done an incredible job in keeping the spirit of the railway station alive. With exposed brick walls, open fireplaces, and a model train that runs around the store’s ceiling, it’s an amazing bookstore. I could 100% move in tomorrow and happily live there forever.

I’m always on the lookout for Titanic books I haven’t read, and I luckily found two to add to my collection back home. We didn’t know it then, but this would start a trend that lasted through the entire trip. In part, our trip turned out to be a book-buying trek through Scotland. Start keeping count…it was a lot!

Want to add these books to your own shelf? Here you go!
Titanic’s Last Secrets by Brad Matsen
Shadow of the Titanic by Andrew Wilson (this one was fascinating. Sad, but very good.)

Billy didn’t find any books but did find a new best friend.

When we wrapped up our shopping, we walked over to the monuments that we’d passed on the way to the book store. As you know by now, we love history and can’t pass up a monument or historical marker. One monument was dedicated to the High Duke of Northumberland, and the other was dedicated to the men who lost their lives during World War One and World War Two. The war memorial was very touching, and I thought the statues of the men in uniform were brilliantly done.

A Brilliant Evening

We assembled that evening in the Olympic Suite for our usual meal with the entire group and had a delicious Irish dinner. Afterward, we had a fun Titanic quiz and each table competed as a team. We chose a lucky table that night because we won! After the quiz, we held our raffle. Each person who comes to the reunion brings something to add to the raffle, and we can all buy raffle tickets leading up to the drawing. The proceeds go to a different charity each year that in some way benefits mariners or their survivors. That year, people brought a multitude of things. Some brought items from their home country or state. Others donated Titanic-themed items. We donated a scarf that I had crocheted since it would still be somewhat chilly when we were all together.

I had my eye on one thing out of the whole table. A Tubtanic. Tacky? Yes. Did I want it? Desperately. I am a bath person, through and through. My nightly wind-down is a bath, a cuppa tea, and a good book. I WANTED that tub stopper. And guess what? IT WAS THE ONLY THING I WON OUT OF THE ENTIRE RAFFLE.

I was so pleased! And I was also beyond happy that the woman who won our scarf LOVED IT. She was so excited to win it and wore it for the rest of our reunion! With another great day in the books, we headed to bed.
But first? Bath.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy