If you ever get the chance to climb St Nicholas’ Cathedral Tower, go for it, but be warned - at the top it’s very dark and narrow and quite a squeeze. If you are tall, or generally big, you may find it hard to manage - but on the bright side, you may be slightly less terrified of falling out of the gaps between the walls at the top.

See the red clock? In 1890 when it was put on the tower it was the largest striking clock in England outside of London. An electric signal of some kind was sent from Greenwich to make it strike at 1pm every day no matter what the clock said; this replaced the one o’clock gun. It boggles my mind that this was possible in 1890.

When I visited Paris this summer, lots of guidebooks said that the view from the Eiffel tower isn’t all that great. It’s too tall, too far out of the centre of town. St Nicholas doesn’t have the same problem, and neither does the Castle Keep; you’re high up, but there are other tall buildings around, and you are right in the middle of everything.

For more information about the Castle Keep, unfortunately currently covered it net and scaffolding, click here. For more information about St Nicholas’ Cathedral, click here. And if you are in Newcastle for the Heritage Open Days next year, be sure to call into the cathedral - not just to climb the tower, but also to see the Hexham Bible and the silverware.

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Sorry about the late post, everyone; I had lost password issues. Thanks to Denton of Greenville Daily Photo for coming to the rescue. If you haven’t checked out Greenville Daily Photo before, you should; Denton is the generous guy who hosts this website and 17 others around the world.