Back To Normal?

One of Ferretfingers’ favourite Sunday trips is down to the Quayside market,

We’ve been regular, sometimes fortnightly, visitors for a couple of decades;  so much so some stallholders know the boys' by name and ask after Thunderthighs if he isn’t with us.

We used to take the bus to Blackett Street, walk down Grey and Pilgrim Streets to the Guildhall, then along the Quayside to the Law Courts or perhaps over the Millennium Bridge for a visit to the Baltic.  Then we’d catch one of the Q busses back up into town.  The boys usually had some Deli Churros and a jumbo hotdog or hamburger.

These trips stopped during the pandemic.

When the Quayside market started up again there were of course Covid precautions, with a one way walking system, hand sanitation stations and masking requirements.

We decided our car was a safer option than public transport so for the past couple of years I’ve driven to the Newbridge Street car park and we’ve walked down from there.  It’s a historically interesting if not picturesque walk, but with excellent views of bridges etc (like a lot of Newcastle).  The walk back up out of the Tyne gorge is excellent exercise; according to our GP.

Today, however, Ferretfingers decided that we could go on the bus again, which saved me from both driving and paying for parking.  He has a disabled person’s bus pass, with companion, and I’ve finally got my Over66s pass (which is Over60 in London and elsewhere).

We got off at Blackett Street and walked over to St Nicholas’ cathedral.  I wanted to see what it looks like now they’ve taken the Victorian pews out and made it more ‘accessible’.  To be honest I was favourably impressed.  Then we exited the backdoor of the Cathedral towards the Black Gate and down The Side to the Quayside.

After our DeliChurros, my coffee and his hotdog, look around the stalls and couple of purchases I thought he’d want to get the Q bus from outside the Law Courts.  But no, we kept walking downstream to the next stop – where there was a poster saying busses no longer stop there.

“What now?” I asked.

He led me across the road and up St Anne’s Steps.

Half way up I stopped for a breather and realised the Millennium Bridge was fully open (or closed depending on your point of view).

At the road we carried on walking east, to the next bus stop which was also not in service, so we turned into Lime Street and visited Ouseburn Farm.

We came out at the back of the Farm, crossed the Fairy Bridge, turned left, then right, then up and up steep sloping paths and steps until we reached the end of Byker bridge, Morrison’s and the bus stop for home.

A few things have occurred to me.

After all those years of nagging Ferretfingers to catch up on walks he’s now got such a turn of speed I can no longer keep up with him.  I’m back to being how I was as the youngest of four calling “Wait for me” when little legs couldn’t keep up with siblings.

Ferretfingers loves exploring as much as I do, and knows parts of the city better than we thought.

The walk was a lot further than I’d planned.

May be I’m tempting fate but perhaps things are … see this post’s title.