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.
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