Newcastle is the regional capital of north east England. A city of nearly 300,000 on the north bank of the River Tyne, which is crossed by numerous bridges including the Tyne Bridge (above left), it is the largest in the Tyne and Wear conurbation (total population c.1.1 million).

From: 'Newcastle' in the Victorian Society Walks Series:
"The city was the site of a Roman fort on the line of Hadrian's Wall, defending a bridge over the Tyne. A (new) castle (above right) was built in the 11th century and a merchant town developed around it.... Coal was mined locally from the 13th century, and from Elizabethan times was exported in great quantities to London and the continent. George Stephenson... and his son, Robert, were the engineers for most of the early local public railways, culminating in... the superb High Level Bridge". (below, with QE2 and Redheugh bridges behind).

"In the latter half of the 19th century Tyneside experienced an industrial boom, with the development of engineering, armament manufacture and, especially, shipbuilding, together with a vast increase in coal production".

While many of the traditional heavy industries have declined, and much of the city has been redeveloped, there are still large numbers of fine old buildings left - such as these in Grey Street:

See also Chris Tweedy's great photos of Newcastle and surrounding areas.

One of the most central suburbs is Jesmond, immediately north of the city's two universities (Newcastle and Northumbria). Follow the NEXT button to Jesmond.