Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Carry on down to Sunderland for more cutting-edge creativity at the
Northern
Gallery for Contemporary Art,
Fawcett Street (
&
0191/561-8407;
www.ngca.
co.uk), free to enter and open Monday and Wednesday 9:30am to 7:30pm; Tuesday
to Friday 9:30am to 5pm; and Saturday 9:30am to 4pm. Sunderland is also home to
the
National Glass Centre
(
&
0191/515-5555;
www.nationalglasscentre.com),
with exhibitions, activities, and workshops about glassmaking. You can take a walk on
its roof made of 6cm-thick (2
1
⁄
2
-in) glass. Open daily 10am to 5pm, it's free to visit.
Lastly, keen bird-spotters or those with kids should visit the
WWT Washington
Wetland Centre
(
&
0191/416-5454
), between Gateshead and Sunderland,
where wetlands, meadows, and woodlands house ducks, geese, waders, flamingos,
cranes and herons, as well as frogs, bats, and goats. There are family activities galore;
entry is £8.45 adults, £4.25 children 4 to 16; it's open daily 9:30am to 5:30pm (until
4:30pm Nov-Mar).
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
This major international venue for
contemporary visual art, which opened in 2002 and played host to the prestigious
Turner Prize in 2011 (the first time it wasn't hosted by a Tate gallery), eschews a
permanent collection in favor of an ever-changing roster of exhibitions and events.
Arts showcased to date have included Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, and Sam
Taylor-Wood.
Gateshead Quays, South Shore Rd.
&
0191/478-1810.
www.balticmill.com. Free admission. Daily
10am-6pm (from 10:30am Tues).
Where to Eat
Malmaison,
Quayside (
&
0191/245-0580
), a brasserie celebrating Northumber-
land's “food heroes” in French-inflected dishes, plus a deli-style cafe. In the same area
are the reliable Italians:
Café Vivo,
27 Broad Chare (
&
0191/232-1331;
www.
caffevivo.co.uk) and
Gusto,
Quayside (
&
0191/260-2291;
www.gustorestaurants.
uk.com).
Amer's Restaurant
is in the Jesmond Hotel (p. 667). For great fish and chips,
head 12 miles east of Newcastle, to coastal South Shields, where
Colmans,
182-
186 Ocean Rd. (
&
0191/456-1202;
www.colmansfishandchips.com), is the proud
holder of several national awards, served by four generations of the same family.
The Cherry Tree
17
MODERN BRITISH Newcastle's foremost dining
spot opened to critical acclaim in 2008 in the former telephone-exchange building in
Jesmond, a 20-minute walk, or £5 taxi ride, north of the center. It's worth the detour.
The space itself is clean, modern, buzzy, and family friendly; food is served from
breakfast all through the day from a cafe menu, then there are fixed-price and a la
carte lunches and dinners. Sunday lunch is a highlight, with traditional roasts sharing
the menu with the likes of roast salmon with brown shrimps and caper butter, and
goat's-cheese gnocchi with oregano, walnuts, and baby leeks. Kids get half-portions
or their own menu. Desserts are sensational: Save room for blood-orange jelly with
citrus salad and Earl Grey ice cream, or baked Alaska with stem-ginger ice cream and
champagne rhubarb.
9 Osborne Rd., Newcastle.
&
0191/239-9924.
www.thecherrytreejesmond.co.uk. Reservations recom-
mended for dinner. Main courses £15-£22. MC, V. Mon-Sat 9am-11:30pm, Sun 9am-9pm.
China Town Express
CHINESE This is the best option in Newcastle's Chi-
natown—centered on Stowell Street and also hosting some Korean and Japanese
restaurants and shops. As the name suggests, it's canteen-like and no-frills, but for
