U.K. and Ireland - Where to go for 2-3 days from Newcastle?

Hi there,
The hubster and I are taking the kids to Alton Towers, then afterwards, when the kids are safely back with their mother, we'll have a few days to ourselves. We'll be dropping the kids off near Newcastle, but flying back home out of Manchester.

I'd like to avoid flights for this particular bit of travel, because the hubster is a little squeamish about flying lately. So I'd thought to take the train...someplace.

I'd considered Amsterdam or Brussels, but the LAST thing I want is to go through London right now. So now we're considering Ireland, but I'm not sure how to get there from Newcastle. Is there a ferry or a train? What's the best way?

We've been to Scotland and much of England and really wanted to go somewhere new this time around. But if we're avoiding flights and London, that really limits our choices. So...any ideas?

Our dates are August 17-20, so times getting short. :)

Any help/advice/thoughts appreciated!

Warmly,
GG

You can get a ferry from Newcastle to near Amsterdam, or to Norway. Thing is, the crossings are so long that'll take the bulk of your time.

Ireland is a schlep, too. Leave Newcastle at midday, 6hr train to Stranraer then a 2hr wait, finishing with a ferry into Belfast arriving at 9.30pm,

With the short time and the 'no flying' constraint, i'd heartily suggest finding part of the UK where you haven't been to before. The Edinburgh festival will be on then and the city is - IMO - fantastic at that time.

Oh, and if you do decide on Paris or Brussels, London will be no problem. The Olympics will be over, you literally have to cross the street to get from the Newcastle train to the Eurostar, and ironically you can do that a lot faster than getting to Belfast!

Why not the northwest of England? I just had a great time in Lancashire for the British Open. Blackpool is nice this time of year with lots to do and see. Countless museums, castles, etc. You can take the train, or visit Hertz or Avis, etc. and get a car.

You can get a ferry from Newcastle to near Amsterdam, or to Norway. Thing is, the crossings are so long that'll take the bulk of your time.

Ireland is a schlep, too. Leave Newcastle at midday, 6hr train to Stranraer then a 2hr wait, finishing with a ferry into Belfast arriving at 9.30pm,

With the short time and the 'no flying' constraint, i'd heartily suggest finding part of the UK where you haven't been to before. The Edinburgh festival will be on then and the city is - IMO - fantastic at that time.

Oh, and if you do decide on Paris or Brussels, London will be no problem. The Olympics will be over, you literally have to cross the street to get from the Newcastle train to the Eurostar, and ironically you can do that a lot faster than getting to Belfast!

Tony, do you really think that London will be emptied out by then? I figured people would stick around for awhile. :P

Tony, do you really think that London will be emptied out by then? I figured people would stick around for awhile. :P

Your dates are 5 days after the Olympics finish and 9 days before the paralympics start, so you're a fair distance away from the crunch points.

Regardless, it won't impact your travel. You'll have reserved seats on both trains and as I said, you're just going to walk across the street from Kings Cross station to St Pancras for the Eurostar.

And if you see what hotels are doing to prices (almost shameless plug for my blogsite) again you'll understand that the city is still far from being sold out.

I've been in London every day for the last week (not Olympics related) and yes you do see a lot of the Olympic staff walking around in certain parts of the City but it certainly wasn't the unmitigated chaos the media have suggested it would be. The next fortnight may differ but even the games lanes that have been allocated were last week only being used when the roads got busy.

Note that the train companies (like East Coast) will sell a through ticket so you'll be protected on the connection in London if you hit a delay. I'd also recommend paying the extra for 1st class if it's in budget.

(Are you returning to Newcastle at the end of the trip, or making straight for Manchester?)

You can get a ferry from Newcastle .... to Norway.

Last time I looked the ferry from North Shields to Norway had been terminated.

Given it's Alton Towers, just wanted to check OP meant Newcastle upon Tyne not Newcastle under Lyme? Big difference.

If Newcastle upon Tyne, Hadrian's Wall (less than 1 hr's drive) and Edinburgh (2 or 2.5 hrs drive; or an easy train) both worth a look.

Go to York. Easy to get to by train or car

Last time I looked the ferry from North Shields to Norway had been terminated.

Given it's Alton Towers, just wanted to check OP meant Newcastle upon Tyne not Newcastle under Lyme? Big difference.

If Newcastle upon Tyne, Hadrian's Wall (less than 1 hr's drive) and Edinburgh (2 or 2.5 hrs drive; or an easy train) both worth a look.

Crikey - I hadn't appreciated the ferry had stopped! I thought that was considered a key trade route!

Although must admit I took the ferry once in the mid 1990s and it wasn't exactly my cup of tea....

I want so much to get out of England for these few days! LOL

My husband used to live in Newcastle (upon Tyne, btw) and we're in England to see the kids quite regularly, so we've been most everywhere we want to see in England, and we were engaged in Edinburgh.

What I'd LOVE is to go somewhere new- can anyone recommend a web site where I can find out about the ferry to Amsterdam from Newcastle?

Thanks!
GG

All info here:

http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/travel-guides/holland/ijmuiden/

Is there anywhere you could go where the hotel would be the bulk of the destination?

I really like the Hotel du Vin chain, and I'm sure there are other similar set-ups on an independent basis. For what you'll end up spending on the ferry tickets (and the time this will consume) I reckon there must be better to be found in the UK.

Are you sure he can't manage a one hour flight? There really isn't many options if you wanna train or ferry it from Newcastle without spending most of the day in travel.

Easyjet and jet2 fly from NCL and offer some great fares to quite a few European cities.

The Ferry to AMS is not a great experience from what I have heard. Do you really want to spend 12hrs in a small cabin for the night?

I would suggest Edinburgh and maybe a drive up to St Andrews? If you drive up make sure you go via the scenic route and not up the A1. Takes 30 minutes more but worth it.

Also consider a cabin @ the Lake district. Plenty of online websites offer log cabins at decent prices ad its only a couple of hours max from Newcastle.

Johan Rebel works on the Newcastle Ferry talk to him he is a very experienced traveller