As you will know if you are a regular reader of my blog, I went to Icelandin the Autumn of last year. It’s a great place, with a big variety of things to do, and with each different type of activity, different clothing may be required, and it will also depend on what time of the year you’re going.
Will you be spending more time in the city of Reykjavik or are you getting a secluded cabin out in the countryside? Packing the right things can be challenging, especially when you’re going somewhere for the first time.
One of the most well known and prominent drinking places in Newcastle in recent times is something known as the Diamond Strip. But what exactly is it? Well it’s basically the name which has been given to the bars in and around Collingwood Street in Newcastle. These bars are typically portray a better quality, more expensive style of bar, and are now targeted more on the student and under 30 crowd, but were previously more focussed on the 25-35 year olds. Most of these are late bars, open until at least 2AM on a weekend, with some opening until 3AM.
The Diamond Strip: Brief History
The Diamond Strip has been the place to drink for around 8 years, since around 2006. It all started a couple of years before that, where a bar which was then named The Apartment opened it’s doors as one of the first VIP style bars. It promised sophistication for the older crowd, a smart dress code and even waitresses which brought round your expensive drinks. It offered VIP membership too, along with a velvet rope and red carpet. This exclusive style of place was popular at first, but the VIP non-accessible ethos drove many people away.
The owners then changed the bar, and in fact the whole space, and you could find 3 different establishments which occupied the old Apartment bar and next door buildings; These are Madame Koo, Floritas and Baby Lynch. Baby Lynch then was re-branded and extended which is now called House Of Smith. Around the same time Perdu which is located further along Collingwood Street started getting popular after opening in late 2005. These bars can probably take the credit for starting the Diamond Strip era.
In late 2007 Tup Tup Palace opened which is off Collingwood Street, and marketed itself as “The only nightclub on the Diamond Strip”, it took the space which was previously occupied by Bar M. Bijoux joined the fray in April 2008 which was formerly The Navy Bar and @Home to name a few. This has spawned similar types of bar in and around the Diamond Strip and beyond, such as Jalou, Livello and Label.
I will start this off by saying the following: I cannot run far. I cannot run fast. I am not a professional runner, or in fact a keen amateur, I am actually pretty bad at running and always have been. I remember back in the days of being a kid, we did athletics quite a bit at middle school, I particularly remember the 1500M around the school field many times, it was so hard and felt like running miles! We used to do P.E. with 2 classes together (split boys and girls) so there would be around 30 of us running round the field. I always remember the good runners finishing so far ahead of everyone, they’d be sitting on the field watching the rest of us finish. I was not the best, probably in the last 10 or so most of the time. Needless to say I was never going to be a runner, and did not really enjoy it.
Fast forward to now and I still don’t like it, not the running aspect anyway. The good things about it is the peace, you can be out and run and it really does clear your mind, it’s a great escape from the world. It also keeps you fit, or it will at least feel that way since you are doing something, and gives a sense of achievement of doing something. It’s actually addictive, even though I don’t like it I have been running for about 6 years and when I don’t run for whatever reason I feel like I miss it, or feel like I really need to exercise.
When I run I do not run too far, like I said I can not handle it. I heard that some people are just not made to run, even if they are fitness freaks some people can simply not run very far…If that is true I am one of those people 😉 Since I got the Nike App I have been able to see how far I run, and how fast, and have been able to set goals etc. which has been great, but I don’t take it too seriously. I usually run 3km which is far enough for me, sometimes I take it a bit further to 4 or 5, or shorter to 2.5km, depending on the routes I go on.
I don’t really know what is considered fast/average/slow…I read a couple of forums online and I found people which were a lot slower than me and people who were so much faster, so it does not really give much insight. This is me anyhow, and my times. It was over 2 or 3 weeks, and I really pushed the first mile to see how quick I could do it. The fastest I have ran a mile has been 7 minutes 42 seconds, which I think is really quick, considering my fastest was 8 minutes 24 seconds weeks before, shaving off 42 seconds is a lot! It’s all about competing with myself, rather than someone who is actually a great runner :p
I think I have hit the wall with that though, my fastest time is 07:42 and I think that will be the fastest I can do, but you never know 😉
How fast can you run a mile?
Fastest Mile – UPDATE – December 2014
So I have been running all year, and I thought I would never beat my 7:42 mile time, but by some kind of miracle I did! 😮 I ran a mile in under 7 minutes…In fact, UNDER 6 MINUTES! My fastest mile is now 05:40!!! I know I’ve said it before, but there is no way I will ever beat this!
One thing I love about the spring fashion is spring knitwear. It’s not warm enough to walk around in just a t-shirt, and not cold enough for a winter coat and layers of clothing, it’s perfect weather for spring knitwear.
It’s important to remember that knitwear such as jumpers and cardigans should not be put away when the first glimpse of sunshine comes, and that they are great pieces to build up your wardrobe and look with.
You can keep it simple and toned down with darker colours such as dark greys, blues and black, or a great thing to do is to add some subtle colour to your look with a pastel colour knit.
You can be old with a young face, or quite young with an old face.
If you’re young and look even younger, this can be a problem getting into a bar, and even when you’re in you may look like a child. A lot of this can be determined by the way you dress.
There are a few tips which can go a long way, and a few faux pas when it comes to getting ready to go out.
When I go out in Newcastle I keep hearing people talk about Geordie Shore, or are asked by tourists and people who have come up to Newcastle where so-and-so bar is, or in general people talking about bars which are seen in Geordie Shore. Well here is a guide to Newcastle, and the bars featured in Geordie Shore.
Background
First of all if you are coming to Newcastle then you probably want to go to more bars than the ones featured in the show; You will probably be here for a whole night or two, and Newcastle has so many bars to choose from. Not only that, most bars are set in areas, the main ones being:
As you can see from the map, if you wanna do a Geordie Shore style bar crawl then you don’t have far to walk; All these bars are more or less on the same street, almost next door to each other. For the purpose of this I have included some other bars since some are similar, in the same area or just on because you should go to more bars! 😀
You’ll also notice it’s really close to the Central Station, so easy to get to 🙂
The Diamond Strip
It’s currently considered the cool and trendy place to go, and has bars such as Madame Koo, Floritas, House Of Smith, Perdu and Bijoux. Round a couple of corners you have Tup Tup Palace (nightclub) and Ohso. Geordie Shore were famously banned from Perdu and all the bars it’s associated with (The Fluid Group), but I have included it in this guide because it’s the same type of bar as the rest.
The Bar Crawl – Old skool style, no pre-drinking, this is Newcastle, go out for the whole night, not at 11PM!
Start Off – Union Rooms
Let’s make this easy, you can walk pretty much in a straight line for this bar crawl and have a great night. We’ll start at Union Rooms. The Union Rooms is a Wetherspoons chain and is usually a good place to start. It can be busy, but it’s a good place to get a couple of early drinks in, they are cheap, sell a big variety, and you can just chill a little bit before the real start of the night 😀 If you want to start with food, you can get it there, since they do meals. There is no music in this bar, it’s definitely a “meeting” or talking bar.
This is what Revolution looks like, on the corner, with the other bars just down the road
Inisde Revolution on the higher level, it’s pretty full!
Revolution – Cocktails, racks of shots, music, vodka
I love this place, the building is big and amazing, it was actually a former bank. Cool architecture, but let’s talk about the drinks. Revolution is typically a vodka bar, but it does sell beer and other drinks. They do racks of shots, where you can get 12 shots, as well as pitchers of cocktails for all your mates. It’s usually always packed, lots of girls, good music. Price is not the cheapest, but if you get a cocktail you WILL taste the alcohol in these. It’s almost always busy, sometimes it can take a while at the bar but this is a great place.
Walk past Madame Koo and you will find Floritas next door. Here you will be able to get more drinks, listen to the house music, dance, chill, talk, whatever floats your boat. Have a cocktail, get a beer, or if you wanna splash the cash get a bottle of your favourite spirit or champagne.
You can sort of see the queue for Perdu, this part of Newcastle gets busy at peak times
They banned the Geordie Shore cast from going here, but I have included Perdu because it’s a similar type of bar and in the same area. If you are going on a Saturday night at the end of the month expect to queue at peak times, and their door policy can be quite selective. The music is house, and the drinks are not the cheapest, it’s still a decent spot and can attract a good crowd. If you don’t wanna queue, head round the corner to….
Ohso
Just round the corner from Perdu is Ohso. Walk in and you have a choice to make; Go upstairs, for a slightly quieter experience where there is music, or to the larger downstairs. Be wary of the times you go, despite it being a bar and not a club they charge after a certain time to get in.
A favourite of the Geordie Shore lot which means it’s got a lot busier, Bijoux is down the street from Perdu/Floritas and across the road. It’s quite a small bar with a back area with seating, the main bar area has tables with a bit of a dancefloor, with a small VIP area. Book yourself a comfortable table which is basically on the dancefloor for an amazing night.
House of Smith, used to be Baby Lynch
Madame Koo, House Of Smith or Tup Tup Palace
It’s probably time to hit a club now, and the choice is yours. You can head back up the road to Madame Koo or House Of Smith, or check out Tup Tup Palace. Koos is a place for everyone, various music and a diverse crowd. Tup Tup and House Of Smith are the places to go if you are looking for a more upscale end to your night, with house music pumping at Kinky Disco in Tup Tup you can dance the night away. Both clubs embrace the “Dress to impress” statement, to fit in with the crowd you have got to be looking your best.
It’s probably 3AM now, so time to get something to eat and go home! 😉
Mimo, billed as a cocktail bar, just round the corner from Revolution
Other bars – Mimo Official Site
There are a few more bars I have added which are in the area. Mimo is just round the corner from Revolution. They offer a load of cocktails at a reasonable price, if you are looking for a drink or two early on it could be the place.
A late bar which can be good, The Empress is really jumping with loads of great music and a good crowd. The drinks are pretty good, it can take a while to get served depending on how busy it is, and there is usually some kind of offers on.
“A good night out is more about the people you are with, rather than the places you go. You can have an amazing night out anywhere with the right group of people.”
Have fun in my amazing city, Newcastle 😀 If you want to know more about all the best bars in the Toon, check out my Newcastle Bar Reviews which has the latest information and updates on Newcastle nightlife.
Credits Photography: Michael84.co.uk (iPhone/Sony HX5/Canon 600D) do not use this pictures without written permission.
