Mini breaks using Airbnb

Part Two – Newcastle Upon Tyne

A town close to my heart, I grew up there and my family are still living there. It will always be home, and after 15 months of no visits, and not seeing my parents, it was time for a visit.

Not being able to stay at ‘home’, we booked a delightful apartment, right on the Quayside of Newcastle, under the Tyne Bridge, and right in the centre of the action.

It was heaving with people, albeit on a 10pm restaurant curfew (I assume this was due to licensing rather than Covid), and a great place to stay in these current times.

I say that because if we were here in a few months time, we’d never sleep, not only would we be people watching all night long, but we’d have no choice, because to sleep here, especially over a weekend, is almost illegal and impossible. The noise would prevent any relaxation!

This is a hotspot for hens and stags, and the apartment we stayed in was one of 4 in the block, all of which can be booked out for party weekends.

As I was there with my son, and bars, clubs and pubs had restrictions, thankfully it was quieter than it should have been, but it was still vibrant and buzzing, with all the young kids desperate to start socialising again, despite the drizzling rain.

If my kids wanted to go somewhere for a fun weekend with their friends, this would be where I’d recommend for them to go. It took me back to my youth, and it’s definitely party central, with the party buses just starting to get full again! As I type this I’m being serenaded by a group of boys and girls singing James Morrison’s ‘Love you a little bit less’!

The apartment was very well maintained, a modern design in a very old building, big old arched windows to do all the people watching from. This one sleeps 4/5, if you made the sofa a bed, and if you don’t want to sleep at the weekend, the location couldn’t be faulted. Central to a lot of the places you’d want to visit, the Sage Gateshead, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, the Centre for Life etc. you couldn’t be in a more convenient place.