Current Time in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Newcastle upon Tyne stands in the northeast of England, on the north bank of the River Tyne about twenty kilometres from the North Sea. The city rises steeply from the water in a series of banks and stairs, facing its neighbour Gateshead across a gorge spanned by a famous collection of bridges. Winters are cool and often windy, summers mild, and the light off the North Sea gives the sandstone buildings a distinctive tone.

Around three hundred thousand people live within the city, with close to a million in the wider Tyneside conurbation. Once the world's greatest centre of coal shipping and shipbuilding, Newcastle now depends on universities, healthcare, digital industries, retail and a nightlife economy of national renown.

The Romans built the first bridge here and a fort called Pons Aelius at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall, whose route can still be traced through the western suburbs and out into open country. The modern name comes from the castle raised in 1080 by the son of William the Conqueror, and the surviving keep and Black Gate still stand beside the railway viaduct. Coal made the town rich from the Middle Ages onward, so much so that the phrase about carrying coals to Newcastle entered the language as a byword for pointless effort. In the nineteenth century the Tyne became a cradle of engineering, with Robert Stephenson building locomotives and bridges, Joseph Swan demonstrating the electric light bulb, Charles Parsons developing the steam turbine and Armstrong's works launching warships for the world.

The city centre is one of the finest in Britain. Grey Street, a curving classical thoroughfare built in the 1830s and often described as the most beautiful street in England, leads up to Grey's Monument, and the surrounding Grainger Town district preserves an outstanding ensemble of Georgian architecture. Down at the Quayside, the bowed Tyne Bridge of 1928 dominates the view, joined by the elegant Gateshead Millennium Bridge, which tilts to let ships pass. On the south bank, the BALTIC centre for contemporary art occupies a converted flour mill and the Sage concert hall curves in glass and steel, both easily reached on foot.

Newcastle is passionate about football, and match days at St James' Park fill the city with noise. The Great North Run, the largest half marathon in the world, starts here each autumn. The Geordie dialect and identity are strong sources of local pride, and the food scene ranges from traditional stottie bread to an acclaimed restaurant culture. Just south stands the Angel of the North, a vast steel sculpture that has become the symbol of the region.

Two large universities give the city a young population and significant research strength. The Tyne and Wear Metro, opened in 1980 as Britain's first modern light rail network, links the city to the coast and the airport, and fast trains reach London in under three hours.

Newcastle is celebrated for its bridges, its architecture, its warmth and its position at the gateway to Hadrian's Wall and Northumberland.