Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne (usually referred to simply as Newcastle or locally as 'Toon') is a city in the northeast of England. It has many interesting bridges across the River Tyne. It has a population of 270,000, and has existed since being founded by the Roman emperor Hadrian. The people of Newcastle are known as "Geordies" and have a distinctive accent.

The New Castle for which the city was named was first established in 1080 at a strategic crossing-point of the River Tyne and a medieval borough was chartered to serve the castle. In 1400 Newcastle became 'the town and county of Newcastle upon Tyne' - that is, it was removed from the authority of the Sheriff of Northumberland and became a county in its own right. It became a city in 1882, and St Nicholas's church was elevated to become a cathedral in 1906, when the diocese of Newcastle was formed from the diocese of Durham. [[ Newcastle's prosperity was at first based upon the castle and on the export of hides, but from the early modern period coal mining and coal export grew to become a massive part of the local economy; glass-manufacture, chemicals , iron smelting, armaments manufacture and shipbuilding followed (all industries making use of the regional coal reserves). Heavy industry is now a thing of the past (with the exception of turbine manufacture, a technology invented in Newcastle by Sir Charles Algernon Parsons of Turbinia fame). The economy is based on public administration (the Department of Work & Pensions offices on the edge of the city are the biggest concentration of civil servants outside London), local government, food manufacture, education (the city has two higher education institutions, Northumbria University and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne), retailing, and leisure & tourism. Newcastle has a thriving night life, based on clubs and bars in the Bigg Market and Quayside areas.

Sport plays an important role in Newcastle, principally the local football team, Newcastle United Football Club, who play at St James' Park in the city centre. There is also a successful rugby union team, the Newcastle Falcons, and basketball and speedway teams. Horse racing takes place at Gosforth Park, and greyhound racing and speedway at Brough Park in Byker. Newcastle is the starting point for the world's largest road race, the Great North Run. Every year in the early autumn tens of thousands of people run this half-marathon along public roads between Newcastle and South Shields.

Major suburbs of Newcastle include Benwell Byker, Elswick, Fenham, Gosforth, Heaton, Jesmond, Walker, and Westerhope.