Training: a tour of the city skywalks

Another very short run today as I had a limited lunchtime. Just over 4K, staying close to the office to allow me to cut it short at any moment.

The start of my run opposite Manors Multi Storey. Photo: Mark Pinder, The Guardian

Continuing my recent theme of, and interest in, Newcastle's short-lived but long-felt embrace of brutalism, I opted to take in every bit of the remaining network of skywalks that I could think of. The one in the picture above used to go further to the right before the demolition of the old Bank of England building saw it curtailed. Regardless, that's where I started, following its curve past the Manors Multi-storey car park towards the building site that used to be the Technopole (where I had my first job).

From there, it was up and onto the pedestrian bridge leading over the central motorway in the direction of the Laing art gallery. Rather than going the full way over the bridge, I descended the ramps to take me down to Market Street, then headed round to the increasingly dilapidated spiral staircase leading back up to the skywalks.

Avoid.

While none of the skywalks are particularly friendly places to find yourself, this next section has to be the worst of the lot. I remember the days when there was still a nightclub up here, but what I remember even more strongly are the nightmares I had about this stretch as a kid. Yep, literal nightmares. I would dream that I'd lost my parents and was being chased through this dim, claustrophobic section by space invaders (yes, really) that would ultimately catch me, kill me, and then I'd respawn only for it to happen over and over again. Honestly, compared to what it's like in real life, the photo above doesn't do justice to how intimidating and unpleasant the place is. 😬

Once out of that bit, I turned right at the mid-air skywalk junction, heading towards the Northumbria University campus. From there, it was a couple of hundred yards, under MEA House and through the Saville Place car park before ascending another ramp up to the skywalk deck where Supernatural used to be (now on Grainger Street). I really was milking every bit of concrete by this point, as I descended the well-hidden stairs before scooting round another dimly lit section and back up the ramp towards Supernatural-that-was and on over the skywalk to the tower block of Bewick Court (and Hustlers).

From there, it was back through the hellhole above and once more over the central motorway, this time using the ramp that leads down to New Bridge Street to complete the last of the main bits of skywalk. The only other elevated bits I could think of lay around two other former offices of mine: Cuthbert House and Cale Cross House. So off to Cuthbert House I headed, finding it boarded up, but at least the walkway above its car park — classic vertical city stuff — was still usable.

From there, it was through the underpass where the central motorway joins the Tyne Bridge and on to Cale Cross House and the decidedly sketchy steps, skyways and glue dens that would lead down to Side. Luckily for me, this was now fenced off, so I instead completed the run with a descent past Dean Street Multi-storey, across Dean Street itself and up Dog Leap Stairs to the Black Gate before heading back to the office.

Crazy as it may sound, I really enjoyed the run. Whether it succeeded or failed (hint: it failed, badly), I love the sense of optimism and the broad sweep of vision that brought these walkways into being. I mourn the loss of great-looking buildings I never even got to see, but I can understand and appreciate what the planners hoped to achieve. And after recently revisiting the glorious Barbican Centre in London, was the vision here really that different?

Oh, and before I go, I linked to it earlier, but I really do recommend reading this Guardian article: A brave new world: what happened to Newcastle's dream for a vertical city?