Ditched In Newcastle..
- Shaan Wray
- Jun 29, 2019
- 5 min read
Newcastle, What can I say, it's my favourite place to go in the UK I love it with a passion, not just the city but the atmosphere, the people and the scenery. It is a beautiful place!
The first time I went I was with my work colleagues at Chillisauce.. it was a FAM (Familiarity) Trip. Which is a trip that they do for us as colleagues to go out and experience the activities we offer in the hope that it is easier for us to sell it to customers.

SO, Day 1: We left the office at about 1.30 to make our way to kings Cross station. Everyone was over the moon as for about half of us it was our first ever Fam trip! There was a group of about 15-20 of us some new some very old but all excited for a FREE weekend trip away. Who wouldnt be?
We got to kings cross at about 2.45 leaving just enough time to go toilet, grab some sncks, alcohol and go. 3.15 were sitting on that virgin train.
Virgin Trains: 4/5. They are absolutely lush, the seats are like heaven, very cushy for the derriers. Theres enough support for your back AND head. There are 2/3 charger ports per table which is amazing; sharings a little bit easier as for 3 1/2 hour journey its enough for all 4 peoples phones to be sufficiently charged. Theres FREE WIFI. Which is everyones dream and an onboard shop. sandwiches, drinks, crisps, alcohol and more!

We arrived in newcastle at about 6/6.30 and went straight to our hotel for the weekend. The Jurys Inn! We arrived to the hotel with strict instructions to check in, get dressed and be bak downstairs within the hour. Obviously that was a no no for the girls who wanted to strighten their hairs aand put on a full mask of makeup. First night we stayed in jurys in Gateshead, second night was jurys inn newcastle. Personally I prefer the newcastle one due to the location it was in, it was very close to all the pubs, bars and nightclubs.(But gatesheads food was better).

Jurys Inn: 4/5. ooh I Love a jury's Inn. Before I even talk about the rooms I have to talk about the breakfast. OMG. Full english buffet breakfast, sausage, scrambled egg, bacon, hash browns, beans, melon, cereal. Anywhere I stay has to offer me a full english breakfast because waking up in the morning to a full english breakfast after a night out is the best thing ever and jurys inn breakfast is a 5/5. Now to the bedroom, mattress 5/5, pillows 5/5. Jurys inn beds are very comfortable, great nights sleep and enough space to roll around and not fall off lol.
First night we were blessed with a trip on the toon. We experienced the geordie shots bar crawl, we started in a small pub called The empress. (Pretty quiet, very hidden, but great cheap drinks). After about 45 minutes at the pub we went down the hill to have a look at a beautiful bar/club called Livello which Is apparently owned by cheryl cole.

(STORYTIME): Now we stayed at Livello for about 45 mins unsure of whether the 'tour' guide ws going to tell us its time to move on or time to stay for a little longer. So, I decided to go to the toilet because when i drink the urge to pee is ridiculous and constant. So ive gone upstairs to the toilet, used the loo, come back downstairs and just my luck my whole group was gone. YEP you guessed it, Shaan was lost again. I walked out the club, looked left, looked right and noone was anywhere to be seen. I stood still for a good 5 mins, i'm cold, im drunk, im lost in a city i had never visited before that day. what do i do? After a good half an hour of walking up and down trying to find my group a light sparked into my head #Lightbulbmoment. The wristband I was given for the tour had the names of the clubs we were visiting in order. Drunkenly I tried to read the band, Mistaking 'S's for 'E's and all sorts. So we had been to the empress, and Livello, next stop Floritas. By this point I was tired, drunk, and wanted to take my heels OFF. I walked back up the hill for the 5th time and asked all these random people where Floritas was. After another further 20 minutes I finally made it to the club. Got through secutrity and searched the club.. THEY WERENT THERE! So I went through the doors to madame koo and low and behold they were standing by our booth. drinking their souls away and didn't even notice I werent there! Story of my life.

Second day we were up by 8 and after a night of full on drinking, a jury's in breakfast is the best thing you could ask for. That day we had a 5 hour activity planned ahead of us, and oh was it a day. Ever heard of gorge walking?
Gorge Walking: 3/5. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. I hate water, I hate the cold and i hate wetsuits. That picture above is actually one of the things that I had to do. I cant swim for nothing so when theres an activity that involves water I literally have the biggest heart attack. If you like water, a lil adrenaline and can swim you will love it. It was a 5 hour trek. 5 HOURS. The whole journey was against the current, trekking up walls and watershoots, using the current as a slide, partner work and jumping from a ledge into the river. I mean if it wasnt for the water it would definitley be a 5/5.
After a day of absolute HELL we were dropped back off at the hotel and given an hour to freshen up, we went out for a NICE CALM MEAL, and then it was back out on the town for us. Second night we were almost given the oppotunity to explore on our own, and it was great. As i said an always will say, newcastle is the BEST night out.

Last day which meant the last day of activities :( but it was the best day of the weekend. Karting northeast is absolutely amazing and i would recommend it to anyone. It is better if you drive because it is slightly in the middle of nowhere but once you get there it'll be the best day of your life, thrill seeker or not.
Karting Northeast: 5/5. I loved karting northeast, the best karting track I have ever been to. Not that i’ve been to very many, BUT it’s a whole load of fun. Karting Northeast don’t just do karts, they do rage buggies, paintballing and off road 4x4. Now let me tell you something.
Rage Buggies; 4/5. I loooove these things, i’ve now done them about 4 tones and they are absolutely great. It’s a good way to experience something out of your comfort zone with a whole load of adrenaline. Even typing this now the adrenaline is pumping. Defo something to try if you haven’t already.
Off road 4x4; 5/5. This is officially one of my favourite things it’s amazing. you are given the opportunity to drive a land rover on what is classified as an off-road track. That is pot holes and more it’s basically a just this road that you drive down and hope for the best. It’s bumpy as hell, like BUMPY. to the point where a helmet is recommended. It's basically mud, ditches, and more, but it's absolutely amazing, if youre a thrill seeker, that is definitley something for you, 1000%.
And then it was back home on our virgin trains, and the Fam trip was over.
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*None of the imagery used in this blog post are owned by myself. I own none of the copyrights to these images as they are taken from google.*
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