31 May 2023.
The in-laws had really wanted to visit Newcastle (in FIL’s* case, for the first time since before The House of the Rising Sun was No. 1) on their visit to Sheffield.
It did at least take a couple of days out of their ten (10) day visit, and I needed five ticks to finish Tyne & Wear. Still collecting counties, mate, even if I’m not completing this year.
I thought I’d picked a good day for an overnighter, between the Mag’s victory parade for finishing third in the Prem and the stadium gigs by rock legend and guitar designer Sam Fender.
£41 a room at the Ramada Encore, five minutes walk from the Millennium Bridge.
It’s possible the lack of trains was a factor in keeping prices down, scuppering pub tickers trips to Hexham and Morpeth, but rail strikes normally inflate hotel rates.
Checked in by 5, our in-laws took a hour’s rest before the exciting evening on the Toon I had planned, an hour being just long enough for the Designated Driver to get his first pint of the day over the bridge.
Here’s me walking very fast the wrong way towards a Sage covered in scaffolding,
stopping to take photos of Newcastle shirt sponsors,
and stopping to admire the view. A reminder that, as with Birkenhead-Liverpool, the best view of Newcastle come from Gateshead.
10 minutes walk past the iconic Pitcher & Piano, where no doubt we’d all be ending the night, to Ouseburn, and a pub I was convinced I must have been to, having surely done all all of Byker.
But no, the Tyne Bar, oft overlooked in every sense by the Free Trade seems to have escaped the Guide, till now.
The outside table full of young folk headed down to the valley, cheery staff, quirky stuff on the walls,
a great soundtrack,
an almost trad range of cask.
It feels very Kelham Island, and the Three Brothers Cherry Chocolate Stout is up to Sheffield standards.
Which is unfair, as beer quality in the Toon has been as consistent as anywhere over many years.
19 minutes to walk the 1.1 miles back to pick up the in-laws; follow the signs…
*See MumsNet for abbreviation list.
retiredmartin 
Yeah, it’s disgraceful how these faded teams get plucked from obscurity by Middle Eastern owners to inexorably tend towards Premiership domination.
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What happened to organic teams formed in 2008 taking 15 years to reach global success ?
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You very rarely see old-fashioned “add a knob to a figure” graffiti these days. I hope that SAGE sign will be preserved for future generations.
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Another observation on the Sage sign if I may
Why has the bloke got a motorbike helmet on?
Or does he have a pac-man head?
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Safety first, Na-dine.
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What was Mrs. RM’s opinion of the Cherry Chocolate Stout?
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“I like my beer to taste like beer”.
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Sounds like one of those CAMRAs.
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It’s always the CAMRAs
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Splendid. Good shot of Burnsy and Dan behind the bar, and you sat in my usual pew! Back in the GBG because Fred made peace with the local Camraists.
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Ah !
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Dan Burns the Mags defender on his day shift ?
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No access to records today, but convinced the Tyne Bar is ex gbg. Going by memory I would suggest 2004. I have been a few times and quite like the place.
What year did you start ticking Tyne and Wear Martin ? (narrows down my search)
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It was GBG for some time, until the owner sort of fell out with the Camraista, which was poor on their part because selection should be only about the beer.
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There’s a classic pub on the Kent/Sussex border (Cowden Pound) that I always assumed never made the Guide because beer wasn’t great. It turned out venerable landlord didn’t want the trade that GBG listing would (it was assumed) bring; when the villagers took it over it straight in.
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There’s a chap called Jim from Stalybridge who keeps a spreadsheet that would tell me precisely, Mark, but the Tyne Bar sounds like it should have been GBG. I started ticking Tyne and Wear in 1994 but only completed it the first time a decade or so later.
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