Prop Up the Bar: Chares, Bridges and Buses - Newcastle Pub Explorations

The first week of October 2026 saw me making the long haul up the M1/A1 to Newcastle for my first visit in many a year. Lower league football on Saturday had tempted me in this direction, with plenty of time to explore Tyneside on Thursday and Friday. Not nearly long enough, I quickly found out.

After a side-mission to Swalwell Lidl's on instructions to pick up a Bavarian beer box before they all sold out, I made it into the city centre and negotiated the narrow ramps of the Travelodge Central car park. (No bumps this time, which is more than I can say about my trip to the Preston one).

Down to the quayside.
Iconic shot of the bridges straight away in case the blue sky didn't last.
Then check where the nearest beer guide pub is, which turned out to be the Broad Chare.

Odd name. A 'chare' is a traditional local term for a narrow lane or alley, this being the widest running from Quayside up into the town, hence the 'broad' chare.

Broad Chare (25 Broad Chare, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3DQ)
This one-time warehouse was transformed into a bar in 2011 in conjunction with the theatre next door. I guess theatre-goers don't want a scruffy wet-led boozer for pre-show refreshments, so what you get in the Broad Chare is a celebrated gastro menu, craft beers and smart comfy seating areas.
And Bass and lots of dogs.

We do seem to have adopted Oktoberfest in 2026 more than I can ever remember in previous years. We had three choices the previous weekend in Oxford for bratwurst, beer in big measures and staff in silly costumes. No lederhosen and dirndls in the Broad Chare, but they did have the Bavarian bunting out and a menu of German food. Several customers were tackling their Hofbräu by the stein (£15, yikes!).
I was (remarkably) smart enough to realise that pub exploration plans would be severely dented by starting on a litre of 6.3% beer.

I'm also predictable enough to order the Bass on first sight without even looking what else was on offer. Pale ales from Anarchy or Marble and a damson porter from Burton Bridge, as it turned out.

Diners are pointed upstairs, whilst the ground floor of the pub is divided into two, standing perches around the bar counter, a cosy section to the right with bench seating.
Music-wise, we got Pink Floyd 'See Emily Play', followed by the Small Faces and Derek & the Dominoes in a classic rock playlist, whilst the bar filled up nicely, doing a good lunchtime trade.

A short walk away, I found somewhere which makes for one of the best Pub & Bridge photos outside of Stockport and Durham.

The Bridge Tavern (7 Akenside Hill, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3UF)
There has been a pub on this site since the 19th century, the previous incarnation demolished to make way for the construction of the Tyne Bridge. Not to be beaten by a bridge, the current building was constructed between 1925-29, tucked neatly into the stanchions.

I thought it looked gorgeous from outside, with the earlier name, The Newcastle Arms, etched into the brickwork. So it was a little disappointing to step through the door and find a thoroughly modern big open-plan space with an industrial feel to the iron beams and exposed ductwork.

There were also very few customers at the time I visited.

But plenty of beers. From the run of eight hand pumps I couldn't resist something with Tunnock's designs on the clip calling itself a 'teacake- style stout'.

A Castle Rock and Loch Lomond brewery collab, the 'Time to Fly' was a beery chocolate and marshmallow delight.

So what else did I find in the Bridge Tavern?
Bookshelves, bespoke beer mats and brewing kit.

After falling into a bit of disrepair, the Bridge enjoyed a revival in 2013 which is when it had the brewing kit installed in conjunction with local Wylam Brewery. But I'm not sure how much, if any, use that kit currently gets.

I ambled up The Side and - I'll own up to it now - walked straight past the Crown Posada and didn't go back throughout my whole time in Newcastle. I was focussed on visiting places that were new to me, which is what took me to the top of the street, round the corner at the Castle Keep, and straight to the mightily impressive Bridge Hotel.

Bridge Hotel (Castle Garth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1RQ)
This opened as the New Bridge Inn around 1850 at the same time as Stephenson's High Level Bridge - right next to it - was completed. The original Inn didn't last an awfully long time, getting a rebuild in 1899 by architects Cackett and Burns Dick. By the 1950s it had switched the name from Inn to Hotel and became home to the Bridge Folk Club, still running to this day, making it the second longest running folk club in the country.

The font for the hotel name above the symmetrical ground floor doors and windows is great. Then you find John Fitzgerald adorning the mosaic tiling in the entryway - that being the name of the pubco who owned the Bridge from the 1950s until 2020.

The pub is as impressive inside as out. It's a huge place, with multiple sections, function rooms unseen, and a Wetherspoon-like trek to the toilets in the basement.
Lots of dark wood, burgundy leather benches and elaborate mirrors.

Hand pumps dispensed eight beers from big brands to local micros.
I ordered the Two By Two 'Waves of Motueka' which got a nod of approval from the friendly chap serving me who marvelled how much flavour the local Byker brewery had packed into a 3.4% single hop beer.
I settled under the stained glass windows at the back of the pub, enjoying a cool sixties soundtrack of Dusty Springfield and Little Eva.

The Bridge was great and I could have sunk into the seat in the corner with a book and stayed there for the rest of the day.
Except I was too keen to make the walk across the High Level Bridge and enjoy the views in the October sunshine.
You arrive in Gateshead on the other side and Gateshead has a quite superb micro.

Microbus (Arch 2 Wellington St, Gateshead NE8 2AJ)
The archway which houses Microbus has had several uses over the years including as the High Level Café which gets a mention in Lindisfarne track 'Fog on the Tyne'. The current bar was opened in 2022 and won the local regional CAMRA pub of the year award one year later. It's not hard to see why.

I didn't even look at the keg lines, which I'm certain would have challenged my willingness to move on from here. The cask line up included beers from Twice Brewed, Weekend Project, Lost Cause, Vaux, Brewlab and Otherworld.

I picked the Twice Brewed 'On the Number 21' a 6% hazy IPA, a collaboration between the Hexham-based brewery, Rare Drop bottle shop in Low Fell and Microbus themselves. What a beer!
The music offered something a little bit different too, with Ray Wylie Hubbarb's 'Conversation with the Devil' and Tennessee Ernie Ford '16 Tonnes' my highlights.

I was in a fantastically quirkily decorated railway arch, with good music and a superb beer. What more could I ask for?
"Would you like some curry? It's free."

Thursday is curry day at Microbus and very tasty it was too.
Smart move to make one of the two veggie curries fiendishly hot, causing half the pub conversation to focus around 'have you had the hot one'. The lady in charge of pouring the beers and dishing up the food popped over and had a nice chat with me, before admonishing the chap at my table for not eating his rice.
"Sorry, I just don't really like rice."
"Who doesn't like rice?!"

I stuck around for a half of the fine Victorian porter from Otherworld, before moving on a short distance to Station East.

Station East (Hills St, Gateshead NE8 2AS)
Gateshead East Station was located on the southern side of the railway viaduct before it closed in 1981. Other than a short spell as an Irish bar, this building stood derelict for many years after the station closed, until Hadrian Border Brewery brought the property in 2015 to make it the site of their first pub. It took a fair bit of cash and 22 months to renovate the building, unearthing Victorian features and a route through to railway arches which now serve as a music and events space.

It's another wonderful bar. Set over two levels, the Station had a charming ramshackle feel to it, with a decent number of customers coming and going, some Gateshead regeneration chat to listen to, and a grunge soundtrack featuring Temple of the Dog, Bush and Nirvana.

The various chalk boards advertising beers and ciders were slightly overwhelming, so I just went for what was right in front of me.

And wow! That Hadrian Borders 'Oktoberfest' was good. A wheat beer like I've never had before, served from the wood, with rich sweet malt and caramel flavours and a touch of smokiness from the barrel.

Departing the Station East, I headed down to the commercial hub of Gateshead where a first Wetherspoon's visit of the day was on the cards.

The Tilley Stone (Unit 9, 10 Jackson St, Gateshead NE8 1EE)
The Tilley Stone appears in the 2027 Good Beer Guide, so this served as GBG tick, Spoons tick, and the chance to try something from the Autumn beer festival list.
It opened in 2011 in former retail premises and is named after two coal seams that were worked by local collieries.

This street, close to Gateshead Metro station, is one of those where the modern store fronts detract from some glorious architecture. A glance above Spoons shows that the pub straddles two different buildings, seating inside on two levels with plenty of space for a decent Thursday afternoon crowd to spread out.
Or you can just loiter in the mini-Vegas bit by the loos.

From a good cask choice, I honed in on the Burning Sky 'East India Porter' - well, I would do wouldn't I? Later perusal of the beer fest list confirmed this was the joint strongest one.
A lovely hoppy and chewy proper IPA, priced at just £2.10 a pint.