Read my Preston travelogue here

The antepenultimate city on my list is the North-Eastern city of Sunderland which you will find in Tyne and Wear, 268 miles north-east of London.

Sunderland’s etymology is tied to its rich Christian history with its name literally meaning ‘separate land.’ This was thanks to the monk: The Venerable Bede who began his career at the Monkwearmouth monastery. It is also a relatively young city only gaining city status in 1992, thanks to old Queenie having her birthday. Sunderland once had a rich manufacturing history from ships to cars.

Sunderland is special for a particular reason. It neighbours Newcastle – with the two cities having a big football rivalry. I spent three years studying in Newcastle and it very much became a second home for me. I haven’t been back for five years so I was looking forward to returning. You can’t go direct to Sunderland via London; you have to change via Newcastle anyway, so I thought I would spend some time around my university city.

My journey to Newcastle started with the 15:03 LNER service from London King’s Cross on the 22^nd of March. Four hours later I arrived in Newcastle. It was all a bit weird as we were stopped in the nearby Hartlepool because the train crew had to boot off an antisocial passenger which delayed us twelve minutes. But then it looked like we had made up the lost time and would arrive early except then we got stuck just outside of Newcastle waiting for a vacant platform. At least it was an attractive journey. For parts, we were going along the coast and it did make me nostalgic for Newcastle.

Anyway, we eventually got into Newcastle at 19:00 where it was time to catch up with a couple of my old uni friends: Rhys and Jamie. I haven’t seen them in five years so I was looking forward to catching up. Considering I would be staying overnight in Newcastle, it made sense that I see them too.

As they say in Geordieland, Rhys and Jamie are reet canny lads. They’re also tall. Well over six feet. I’m 5”10 which is tiny in comparison. We met in the nearby Forth pub – insert pictures, where I had a slight culture shock at the prices. Two pints there cost me £11, which is what I would expect to pay in London. Anyway, it was lovely catching up with Rhys and Jamie. They’re both from the Northumberland countryside. Although Jamie’s accent is understandable enough, Rhys has a Geordie accent on steroids. I’ve been friends with him for 12 years and I still have no idea what he says when he talks to me.

We spent a good couple hours catching up and I told them about the very mission you’ve spent the last three years reading about. Both of them were astonished that I would be visiting Sunderland – as proud Geordies, they’re obligated to have a faux-hatred of Sunderland. Rhys was very curious about my travels though and I explained some of my favourite cities: Ely, Canterbury and Chester and least favourite: Southend, Stoke and Doncaster. I also explained Portsmouth was one of the most overrated cities, as I’ve still not forgiven them for the fish and chips debacle.

Alas at 9.30, we had to say goodbye to Jamie, with a promise to see each other much earlier than five years, and I needed something to eat for dinner. It was onto the local kebab joint for some kebab meat and chips. I also got to see Newcastle at night. It’s a lot hillier than I remember – on par with Exeter or Wakefield, but not as bad as Lincoln. The city has naturally changed a lot in the five years since I’ve been there. One thing that remained the same was a comic—book themed wine bar – Al Vino where Rhys and I stopped to make use of the facilities and have yet another drink. I was on three drinks at this point. Alas my student days are long behind me and I don’t have it in me to have more than one drink now. Yet here I was drinking like I was still eighteen.

After dinner, it was time to head to Rhys’ flat where he had kindly offered to host me for the night. On the train there, a local overheard us talking about my planned trip and couldn’t quite believe I was going to Sunderland either. He was friendly about it and gave me lots of recommendations for things to do in Newcastle. NOT Sunderland, lol. On that very day, Sunderland beat Newcastle in the football, so maybe that’s why the animosity was higher than usual.

Rhys had a nice flat with a very handsome bookshelf. We quickly discovered we like a lot of the same books and authors including Thomas Harris, Cormac McCarthy and Bret Easton Ellis. He is also a big music fan and had a big record collection. I do remember him being a big fan of the Smiths, but he also loves The Cure, Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala and as he regaled in telling me, he also loved Lord Huron. Also just like me Rhys has a big imagination and loves writing, so he was telling me about this web series he and another mutual friend of ours is producing at the moment.

He also had this funny ornament:

It very much seemed like the male equivalent of: “best friends are like bras. Close to your heart and full of support.”

But it was a tidy and organised flat – more so than mine. It also smelled really nice, thanks to his diffuser. I need to get one of those. And, as you can imagine, we had yet another drink. This was my fourth drink! And we didn’t finish until midnight where it was finally time for bed.

Rhys had to work the next day so he wouldn’t be joining me on my excursion, so I said goodbye then. And then I had an amazing night’s sleep. Well that’s not really true. I was bloated af all night and never really got to sleep. I was super hungover when I woke up in the morning yet there was no time to lie around feeling sorry or myself. I had a whole city to explore.

At 9:15, I headed to Sunderland via the city’s local Metro system. Forty-five minutes later, I had reached my destination. Judging by how everybody was talking about Sunderland, I was expecting a post-apocalyptic hellhole or at least a completely dead city centre like in Stoke or Doncaster, but it was quite bustling.

My first stop was the city’s CEX, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay £5 for a secondhand film, so instead I mooched around the city’s charity shops, yet I didn’t buy anything. I did see a burger van that sold burgers for less than £2 which is more the price I would expect to see in the North-East. I was starving as I yet had to eat breakfast so I made a note to come back here.

Why didn’t I eat straight away? I saw signs for the city’s museum. That would be my next stop. It was free entry, unlike Salisbury and had an interesting exhibition explaining Sunderland’s Pottery industry history – I thought it was just Stoke that had that industry. It also had interesting exhibits on Sunderland’s coal-mining history too.

But my favourite part was the indoor Jurassic Garden that was a bit like the hot house in Kew Gardens, it was a bit on the humid side, but at least it didn’t cost £30 to enter. It also had a fish pond, dinosaur statues and a canopy walkway. It was so cool.

#In the gift shop, I also bought this crystal for my girlfriend. She loves them for aesthetic reasons so hopefully she likes this too. I left the museum at eleven to explore the adjacent Mowbray Gardens which were very attractive. It had a nice duck pond, some choice graffiti and a terrific view from the top of the quarry.

I spied a church from the top of the hill. Sunderland doesn’t have a cathedral, so I headed to St Ignatius’ church, but they were currently having a service so I couldn’t enter. It was roundabouts 11.30 at this time. I still hadn’t eaten anything, but I saw on the map I was an hour’s walk from the seaside. If I could walk there, maybe I could get some fish and chips for lunch like I did in South End or Southampton. Obviously, it would have been much faster to have taken the train, but I had lots of time to kill.

I had so much time to kill, I went shopping in the local Oriental supermarket. I have plans to cook a Malaysian curry of which I need lemongrass paste. I’ve had difficulties finding this anywhere, but I succeeded here. Also I got some bamboo shoots, lychee juice and mango shots, as I was still starving. The mango shots provided little sustenance.

Anyway, it was onto Roker Beach, which involved crossing the River Wear. That was so pretty.

So far, I had a decent impression of Sunderland. Sure, it wasn’t on the same level as Cambridge or Hereford, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as everybody was saying. And then I crossed the bridge. This is when I realised I was in one of the rougher parts of the city. My clues? The boarded up windows, broken glass, closed-off buildings. All a bit dodgy. I was in the belly of the beast and the only way out was through. Thankfully, it was a short journey where I discovered the highlight of my trip: St Peter’s Church.

Thus far, I had failed to explore any churches due to them either being closed to the public or closed for services. However, St Peter’s was open and the staff were more than happy to show me around. The nice lady explained the church dated back to the fourteenth century and showed me the original 1350s wall.

Most importantly, the church also had a toilet and a café. I know I said I wanted fish and chips but I was starving. Alas the café was cash only and I had already used most of my cash so I could only afford a £2.50 ham and cheese toastie. A simple meal, yet in my famished state, it was like a three-course meal. In the café, there was also a music club with a bunch of amateur musicians jamming together. They weren’t the best, but it was a lovely bit of entertainment. I very much enjoyed the Church. It was a nice little oasis cut off from the rest of the world.

 It was onto the beach, which took me past this random pheasant???

But I arrived there at 1.30ish. I resolved to have a little walk here before getting the train back to Newcastle. I walked along the pier to the lighthouse, which felt pretty sketchy. There was a very staircase with only a simple railing stopping you from falling into the deep waters below. It was also super windy. Thankfully I didn’t tumble into Davy Jones’ Locker, so I could continue my beachside walk.

Once I was finished, it was time to head back to Newcastle – I did want to see the city a little more before I went home. From the beach, I turned left and walked through this quasi-ravine. Like a canyon but without the extreme heat and with nesting pigeons.

It also had a nice waterfall.

By quarter past two, I was on the Metro going back to Newcastle. I had a little wander through the University campus

before my stomach reminded me that ham and cheese toastie wasn’t particularly filling. It was nearing three at this time. My train home was at 4.30. Maybe I had time to do a Too Good to Go which could serve as a snack/cum dinner.

I went to the Bake – a new (for me at least) a Lebanese style grill where for £7 I got a big tray of chicken rolls, chips and salad. Not that I knew that at the time, as there was nowhere convenient to check my haul. But at least it was £7 and not The £21 it would have been originally.

When I was a student, one of my favourite places in the city centre was the indoor Grainger Market which sold all types of things from meat to fish to fruit and veg to clothes and DIY food. I was also hoping there would be some watch repairmen there. The strap on my watch is broken. I did ask a man in Sunderland, but he wasn’t able to help me. Neither were the first two watch repairmen (is there a word for somebody who repairs watches?) and the third declared the watch was broken beyond repair. So I just have to buy a new watch. Which is brilliant. Love it. Go me.

Okay fine. I failed on the watch front, but maybe I could get some fish. Like I said earlier, I had to buy some lemongrass to make a Malaysian fish curry. The fish? Monkfish. I also needed to buy some sea bass for a separate recipe. Success on the first two fish. But alas the fishmonger did not have the halibut I needed for a third recipe. Whatever. But for 600g of fish, I paid £15 which would be much cheaper than what I would have paid in London.

Sadly, I could not eat this raw fish, so I went to a nearby bao shop like where I went in Preston and got three separate bao: Barbecue Pork, Duck and Pork and Cabbage for £5.50.

Grainger Market took up a lot more time than expected. It was four. Would I make it to the station for 4.30? Oh the tension. The drama? Nail-biting stuff. But do not fear dear reader, for I was twenty minutes early for my train, which gave me a chance to eat my bao. Alas they were not made fresh, so they were a bit soggy but still good.

I also had a chance to finally inspect my TGTG bag where I realised I probably didn’t need to buy the bao.. Especially since I have four chicken rolls to eat (three, as I ate one as a snack. They were a bit dry, but nice enough) ah well. No use crying over spilt milk. Like Edith Piaf would say “NO JE NE REGRETTE RIEN.”

Anyway, by the time 4.30 rolled by, I was on the train back to London. Overall, I quite enjoyed my time in Sunderland. It surprised me as a city. I think the Jurassic Gardens and St Peter’s Church were real hidden gems. And it was great seeing Rhys and Jamie again. Hopefully it won’t be another five years before we see each other again. That was my two days in the North-East. Two days of old friends, Jurassic gardens and hidden gems. Speaking of ‘two,’ I only have two cities left to visit. Crazy. Lancaster. You’re next.