The Beer Drop

Ravensworth Castle

Team Valley · 1.9 miles

Ravensworth Castle stands as a ruinous Grade II* listed building and scheduled monument within the parish of Lamesley, Tyne and Wear, close to the Team Valley area. The remains, recognised by English Heritage, consist of fragmented walls and towers that mark the outline of a medieval stronghold, and the site is recorded on OpenStreetMap as a historic ruin. The earliest phase of the structure may have been a solar tower added to an existing manor house around 1315, with further towers incorporated throughout the fourteenth century. Ownership passed through families such as Fitz-Marmaduke, Viscount Lumley and Gascoigne before Thomas Liddell, a Newcastle-upon-Tyne merchant, bought the estate in 1607. The Liddell family retained the property for three centuries, deriving much of their wealth from coal mining that began in the early seventeenth century. In 1724 Sir Henry Liddell erected a substantial mansion within the castle’s curtilage; this building was demolished in 1808 and replaced by a Gothic-Revival house designed by John Nash. Notable guests included the Duke of Wellington, entertained there in October 1827, and Georgiana, Lady Bloomfield, who recorded a childhood visit in 1831. The house operated as a girls’ school during the 1920s, but mining beneath the site from about 1935 led to progressive demolition, leaving only three houses from a planned model village and leaving the majority of the structure in ruins by 1953. The ruins were designated a Grade II* listed building in 1967 and entered English Heritage’s Register of Buildings at Risk in 2002. Their profile was raised when the castle featured in the BBC television programme *Restoration* and the accompanying book of candidates. No visitor facilities or admission details are supplied, but the site remains accessible as an open historic ruin for those interested in the layered architectural and industrial legacy of the Liddell estate.

Utilita Arena

Ochre Yards · 2.5 miles

The Newcastle Arena is an indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global, the naming rights are currently held by Utilita Energy.

Site of Kings Meadow Island

Teams · 2.5 miles

A former flat island once stretched across the River Tyne between Elswick on the north bank and Dunston on the south, close to Gateshead. In the 17th-century siege of Newcastle, Scottish sentries were stationed on the island and recorded at least one fatal shooting of a man attempting to pass. By the 18th century the site supported a public house called the Countess of Coventry, and it later hosted an annual regatta and horse racing programme until 1850, with occasional greyhound racing as well. Nearby, the smaller Little Annie island lay to the south-west and the Clarenee Islands were situated to the north of its eastern end. The island disappeared from the river surface after dredging work carried out by the Tyne Improvement Commission between 1862 and 1887, intended to improve navigation. Today the location is marked as the “Site of Kings Meadow Island”, classified as ruins, with the nearest town identified as Teams. No specific visitor facilities or admission charges are recorded for the ruin site. The name survives locally through Kingsmeadow Community Comprehensive School, which lies close to the former island’s position. Access routes, parking provisions or opening hours are not detailed in the available material.

Mining Institute

Grainger Town · 2.5 miles

The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers – frequently referred to as the Mining Institute – occupies a prominent position in Grainger Town, Newcastle upon Tyne. Established in 1852 and granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1876, the institute was created to unite mining professionals, improve safety, and promote technical knowledge. Its library, named after the first President Nicholas Wood, holds more than twenty-thousand volumes covering mining, geology, mechanical engineering, government reports, mine rescue, mineralogy, law and related subjects, forming one of the world’s most extensive mining collections. OpenStreetMap records the site as a museum, reflecting the public display of the institute’s historic archives and technical literature. In 2019 the building, known as Neville Hall, entered a period of refurbishment and its assets – the structure, library and archive collections – were transferred to the charity The Common Room of the Great North, which aims to celebrate regional engineering history. Despite the hand-over, the institute continues as an independent professional membership organisation, drawing members chiefly from local industry and the academic communities of Durham and Newcastle universities, and is currently formulating a new strategic plan to broaden its activities. The venue therefore offers visitors insight into the development of mining engineering and the broader industrial heritage of the North of England.

Grey's Monument

Newcastle upon Tyne · 2.5 miles

A prominent column stands at the intersection of Grey, Grainger and Blackett Streets, forming a focal point in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. The structure reaches 133 ft (41 m) and is listed at Grade I by Historic England. Constructed in 1838, the monument consists of a Roman Doric column designed by Benjamin Green, surmounted by a statue of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, executed by sculptor Edward Hodges Baily. Erected to commemorate Grey’s premiership and the passage of the Great Reform Act of 1832, the monument was financed through public subscription. The foundation stone was laid on 6 September 1837, and a time capsule containing contemporary coins, medals and a list of subscribers was interred. The column was completed on 11 August 1838, followed by the placement of the statue on 24 August. Although contemporary critics questioned the site’s suitability within the city’s tram network, the surrounding pedestrianised area has since become a popular meeting spot and speakers’ corner. In 1981 the adjacent Tyne and Wear Metro station was named after the monument, reinforcing its role as a landmark for both residents and visitors. Access to the monument is straightforward from the city centre, with the nearby metro station providing a convenient public-transport link. The monument occupies an open, car-free zone and does not appear to have a charge for entry or on-site facilities beyond the surrounding public space.

Laing Art Gallery

Newcastle upon Tyne · 2.5 miles

A baroque-styled building with Art Nouveau touches on New Bridge Street West houses a varied art collection. Designed by the architects Cackett & Burns Dick, the structure was financed by a gift from local wine merchant Alexander Laing and opened in 1904. It is recorded as a Grade II listed building and is currently administered by North East Museums with sponsorship from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. In front of the gallery the Blue Carpet provides a public space, and the interior offers step-free, wheelchair-accessible circulation. The gallery's holdings include paintings, watercolours, decorative historic objects and examples of Newcastle silver. Among the works on display are John Martin's dramatic *The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah*, a piece by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Edward Burne-Jones's *Laus Veneris*, William Holman Hunt's 1868 *Isabella and the Pot of Basil* and a work by Ben Nicholson. Local talent is represented by Ralph Hedley, while 18th- and 19th-century watercolours and drawings feature J. M. W. Turner and John Sell Cotman. Enamelled glasses by William Beilby, ceramics such as Maling pottery and contemporary pieces by emerging UK artists appear in regularly rotating exhibitions.