Quayside Seaside

I love nothing more than spending a lovely warm afternoon sitting on a deck chair with my feet snuggled deep into the sand.  Sometimes I'll take a bit of a nana nap, just opening my eyes every now and again to admire the tropical palm trees or glance up at the clear blue sky.


Where am I?   LA?  Miami?  Nope, the Quayside in Newcastle!   What do you mean the Tyne Bridge in the background gave it away?!

This might not be LA but we do have our own version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the recent installation of our "Local Heroes" spread across the pavement of the Quayside.  The plaques are much smaller than the ones you'll find on Hollywood Boulevard but if you keep your eyes to the ground you'll easily spot tributes to Alan Shearer, Sting and Ant & Dec along with many others (although I am a little miffed that my favourite famous Geordie Cheryl is nowhere to be seen).
  
Every Summer a small area of the Quayside is transformed into the Quayside Seaside, a little bit of staycation heaven in the city centre.

Overnight 260 tonnes of sand is delivered and a fully functioning beach complete with deckchairs, buckets and spades, palm trees and a volleyball net appears alongside the Tyne.

Simon showed me the pop up beach when I first visited Newcastle and it is one of the many things that I love about the city.  It's such a fantastic idea and hugely popular with locals and tourists alike. 

During the week you'll find the sand covered in kids enjoying a school outing, people relaxing on their lunch hour or local businesses partaking in some competitive volleyball.  The weekend sees families and friends spending hours relaxing in the sunshine, I've even see a few brave people lying on the beach in their bikinis.

People seem to think that it's always miserable and cold in the North but this is my third Summer enjoying the Quayside Seaside, and my second as a resident of Newcastle and I've loved spending many hours sitting in the hot sunshine on a deckchair.  

With so many fantastic local businesses on the Quayside, my favourite thing to do is get a huge slab of cake from the Great British Cupcakery and take it to the seaside (obviously being very careful not to get it covered in sand) for a bit of deckchair lounging!   Even better if you visit on Sunday Market day you'll have your pick of the food stalls and can enjoy a hot dog, an ice-cream or a tray of donuts.

The  Quayside Seaside will be in Toon until the end of September so make sure you get yourselves down there to enjoy the Summer sunshine.