Newcastle, Ferries and Ferry Crossings

Welcome to the Newcastle (UK) section of FerryCrossings.org, the site for information about major UK and continental ports and the ferries between them. Our site includes an introduction to a number of ports and feature pages about the various crossing ways, lanes and routes and companies operating between them to help you plan your journey and discover interesting travel destinations along the way. You can even compare prices and save money on your ferry tickets with ads from selected major ferry lines.

Port of Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne, to give it its full title, is situated on the northern side of the River Tyne. Like many northern city-ports it has a long and diverse history swinging like a pendulum between the extremes of wealth and grinding poverty. Today it is a city that embodies the energy and determination that turns around the fortunes of depressed and abandoned inner-city areas and turns them into cultural and architectural icons.

One of Newcastle's earliest claims to fame is the association with Hadrian's Wall which can still be seen in part of the city. In the centuries following the abandonment of Britain by the Romans, Newcastle became a key location, known as Monkchester, in the formidable Anglo-Saxon kingom of Northumbria. Following a rebellion, against the new Norman overlords, in 1080 the town was virtually destroyed and a Norman castle erected, giving the town the new name of 'New Castle'. The original castle was a wooden structure which was later replaced with a stone one, reflecting the town's strategic defensive and commercial importance.

Throughout the Middle Ages Newcastle was of vital importance, to the kings of England, as a fortress defending their northern lands against the incursions of marauding Scots. Subsequent Royal Acts restricted shipments of coal from anywhere other than Newcastle, creating anger is nearby north-eastern ports but allowing Newcastle to flourish financially. Durng the English Civil War Newcastle supported the Royalist cause and was besieged and taken by Parliamentarian forces based in nearby Sunderland. By the 17th century Newcastle was recognised as the second most important city in England, second only to London, and the prosperity was solidly based on the export of coal. (giving rise to the saying, implying an unnecessay act, 'it's like taking coals to Newcastle'). This same coal was central to Newcastle's later strength and rise to prominence during the Industrial Revolution when steam power paved the way for the great inventions of the age, the ship-building industry, railways and heavy engineering.

As in so many industrial centres, the middle and later 20th century saw a savage decline in the prosperity of the region as industries failed and poverty became the norm. However, Newcastle realised the need to move forward, taking with it and developing the unique sense of its own heritage whilst at the same time embracing the benefits to be gained from promoting a different, new and vibrant image of the city. The Newcastle of today offers almost an embarassment of attractions for any visitor to enjoy: galleries, museums, theatre, music, retail centres, sports facilities and so on. Amongst these is the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, housed in the old Baltic Flour Mill and part of the Newcastle & Gateshead Quaysides which have, themselves, become part of an attractive regeneration project of thriving bars, restaurants and pedestrianised open spaces. Equally spectacular is the Millennium Bridge, spanning the River Tyne between Gateshead and Newcastle. This beautiful, iconic, award winning bridge has deservedly become a tourist attraction in its own right.Together with Gateshead, Newcastle has become the focus of cultural development and interest in the north-east.

Newcastle is eaily accessible by road, rail and air. If this city is your ferry departure-point then a few hours', or even a day's, exploration, will be well rewarded.