The Geordie Tourist.

I live about ten minutes away from Riverside Park. Or Chester le Street park as I've always called it. It’s the place I used to go when I was younger with my brother and cousins. We would spend hours playing about. They have this massive paddling pool too, which as a kid doesn't get much better.

Now I’m older, the pool doesn't have the same appeal. I appreciate the other aspects of the park now.

There’s these amazing gardens. They have rose bushes and swirling hedges. It’s even better that it’s summer time as all of the flowers are in bloom too. I passed gorgeous arrays of pink and white flower beds. Even the wild flowers in the fields looked quite spectacular.

I love the shaded walkway they have. There’s twisting leaves covering it and it’s nice just walking through it. (It’s the little things after all.)

I went with my mam and Poppy and we had a nice little stroll. I love the fact there’s a river too.  I could see swarms of tiny fish as we walked by. There are swans too. I know what you’re thinking. ‘Ok, swans, a lot of places have swans what’s so special about swans?’ Well I bet you've never seen swans like these before.

To start with there are just hoards and hoards of them. There’s a little sandy beach bit on the river bank and they all congregate there. They come up so close to people and get fed and things. You’d think the beach would be for the kids, but no. It’s where the swans hang out. They just seem so friendly and laid back. The swans next to where I live are vicious. These on the other hand are placid. You just see groups of them waddling along, shaking their tail feathers.

I noticed blackberry bushes too. Some of them are starting to ripen. I cant wait for a couple of months so I can go blackberry picking. Which then means I can use them to make cakes and jams and things. (Sometimes I sound like a right old woman.)

There were loads of butterflies too. I managed to get a few pictures of them. The park itself was heaving. I saw the masses of kids playing in the pool. Not going to lie I felt a bit sad that I wasn't little anymore and could just run around and not give a crap, but hey that's life.

We found a nice spot on the grass and ate our fab lollies. £1 for a fab lolly though. I mean that’s shocking. Poppy liked it, so that’s all that matters.

I'm loving the sunshine and the summer weather. Sometimes it's hard to come by in the North East, but when you get it, everything is just wonderful. Parks, and gorgeous ornate gardens are definitely worth checking out.

Have any of you been to Riverside Park recently?

The other day someone on Facebook added pictures from a trip to Whitby and immediately I knew I just had to go. I went along with my family and our dog Poppy for the day. My best friend Nic came too, but she’s family anyways…

Whitby is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough and English County of North Yorkshire. All you need to know is how stunning the place is. It's postcard perfect if I'm being honest. Just don't do what we did and go smack bang in the middle of the day, on a Saturday, on one of the hottest days of the year, in the kids' holidays. Yeah, the sheer amount of people around was overwhelming. I think it freaked Poppy out a bit. None of that could take away any of the shine from the place though.

As soon as we got out the car and I saw the boats docked in the marina, I fell in love. The water was a gorgeous blue colour, there were people with buckets fishing for crabs. There was just a nice buzz about the place. Seagulls squawking everywhere you went.

We walked along one of the piers and went to the beach for a bit to let the dog have a bit of a breather. We passed a lovely little cove and I’m not kidding the water looked so inviting. I could have definitely gone for a swim.

I love looking at all of the little buildings and cottages that were around. I think it looks amazing when they are in the background and you can see the water in front of them. We saw lots of holiday rentals and I think we're all convinced that we want to go back and maybe stay for a couple of nights.

We went for fish and chips. I’m not going to lie, it wasn't the nicest place, but when you’re hungry you’ll eat anywhere. The chips didn't taste too bad though. I didn't care anyways as I was saving myself for ice cream afterwards.

Teare Woods, a luxury ice cream parlour, which I had already scouted out on the internet the night before. My God it didn't disappoint. For everywhere being so busy we managed to just slip right in and order without any queuing. I went for two scoops of ice cream, bubblegum and cotton candy. Just thinking about it is making me jealous that I can’t eat it again. I went for flavours that I’d never tasted before. They were so smooth and delicious, the cotton candy one had little marshmallow pieces in it too. It was a struggle leaving a couple of spoonfuls for Poppy as it tasted to nice. I think it was about £3.50 for two scoops which isn't bad at all when its such good quality.

We decided to leave the Abbey as the thought of going up the 199 steps to get to it was daunting to say the least. Plus when we go back we have something else to explore. I noticed a Bram Stoker type museum too which I’d definitely like to have a gander at.

I realise I’m probably a bit late to the bandwagon on this one but ever since I heard about the beach that had been placed in Newcastle’s Quayside area I've been dying to go and check it out. After I took a little trip to the Baltic with my friend Nic we decided to have a little peek.

The Quayside Seaside as it is known is a pop up beach now in it's 3rd year. (Which I only just found out.) Think mighty boxed palm trees decorating the side of the river Tyne. There’s cute stripey beach huts, sand, deck chairs and even a net to play volleyball if you’re feeling a bit adventurous.

We had passed it when we went to the Baltic but being the middle of the day and the kids’ holidays it was rammed. Being me, I knew I wanted to take photos and get to sit in a beach hut (you have to dream right) I didn't want to seem like a weirdo going around taking pictures. So we waited until about six o’clock and we managed to get a couple of deck chairs in a comfy little spot.

The sun was still shining, it was warm and there were still quite a few people at the beach. We just parked our butts down and talked for a bit. I loved the attention to detail. I thought it was really well done. It’s just amazing having a beach in the middle of the city. Seeing the palm trees with the Millennium bridge in the background, and sand with the Sage Gateshead hovering above it was amazing and strange at the same time.

We had seats right next to the volleyball court. When we were there a few drunken people decided it would be fun to play. One man in particular was ruthless with the ball. I saw it hit a small girl in the head, it went over the beach and next to the fencing above the Tyne. It was all in good humour though. He seemed like a really canny bloke (bit of Geordie slang for you there) the little girl was unharmed, her family laughed it off. 

He also just seemed like he was really keen and eager to learn the rules of volleyball. It made the experience that much more fun for us. We were hiding behind our copies of the crack magazine we had picked up from the Baltic and laughing. Then in the next minute we were moving our heads in case the ball was coming our way.

It was definitely a laugh, a good way to end the day. I absolutely love going to the beach. The fact it was in the middle of the Quayside made it even better. 

I love that it had lots of elements to it. There were wooden boats standing in a line, barrels that wouldn't look out of place on a pirate ship. All of the materials are recycled and revamped from previous years. It's just making something new and different out of an already amazing space.

It's better than your average beach and next time I go back I might even try a spot of volleyball. Not sure about the drunkenness part though.

The Quayside Seaside will remain open until Monday 30th September. So if you haven't been yet, there's still time.

What do those of you that have been make of it?

Does it float your boat?

Sometimes after a busy week at work I like to just take a day to go out and chill, or just go at a leisurely pace and explore somewhere. On Monday myself and my best pal Nic decided to do just that.

We went to the Quayside in Newcastle. I parked about twenty minutes away so we had a nice little walk into town too. I love just being next to the water. Even if it is just the mucky Tyne. Just hearing the waves and the sloshing automatically puts me in a good mood and makes me feel relaxed. Does anyone else get like that? We passed some nice purple flowers growing amongst some rubble. I love looking at all of the buildings and bridges as you come towards Newcastle and we took a few pictures as I’m sure you can imagine.

We decided to go to the Baltic. For any of you that don’t know the Baltic, first of all where have you been? It’s basically an art studio/gallery type place where artists can showcase their work. They have a restaurant and café too.

We stopped in the café (Baltic Kitchen) before looking around. They have a new summer menu out and I got a vanilla milkshake from it. The milkshake came in a cool glass with a handle. It was so creamy and thick. I think if I got another one I’d get strawberry as it just tasted purely of cream with no real vanilla flavouring, it was still nice though. I think it was about £3.50.

When we went around the Gallery we saw exhibitions by Fiona Tan, Tony Swain and Ida Ekblad. Fiona Tan’s was great. It was basically a massive lorry in an open room and you could go on board and look at different sea type things and coral. Again, I’m a bit of a freak when it comes to the ocean so it was right up my street. The lorry said ‘The Giant Whale Jonah’ on the side which was a nice touch.

Tony Swain had pictures made up of magazine clippings which he had drawn and painted onto to create these amazing compositions.

Ida Ekblad's sculpture piece was just crazy. There was shopping trolleys and loads of different recycled materials used to create a weird and wonderful display.

The higher floor levels in the Baltic are great too. There are viewing platforms where you can check out the rest of the Quayside below. You can get some good photos from high up. We went to the outside part too and there were loads of birds nesting on the Baltic sign. I went on the Baltic website and found out that they are called kittiwake. They have been using the Quayside as a breeding site since the 1960's. (It's amazing what you learn.) The Baltic have even set up a live feed so that you can watch them in action.

Afterwards we checked out the Baltic shop. It is such a cool and funky place. They have gorgeous ceramics and quirky jewellery and just nice things. I could spend hours looking at everything, not even buying anything, just having a browse.

We also sat outside on the steps for a while talking and enjoying the sun. I love just going places with friends and no matter where you go you can have a good day and relax and talk and make sense of the world. It helps when the sun is shining and you're surrounded by Newcastles' finest though.

Baltic is open from 10am until 6pm daily except Tuesdays when it's 10:30am til 6pm. It's also free admission. If you're in need of a bit of culture with stunning views then look no further.

Have any of you been to the Quayside recently?

Seen any cool stuff at the Baltic?