Mash Guru is a bar with attitude, eclectic, electric and unexpected on every front. A blend of New York Speakeasy, Berlin underground and 70s Porn Lounge, shaken not stirred.

Pippin’s Corner is a family-friendly cafe bistro in the leafy Liverpool suburb of Aigburth and is an ideal base for exploring Lark Lane’s independent shops and the magnificent Sefton Park.

True North is the perfect neighbourhood style family restaurant. The sort of place you can rely upon for a warm northern welcome and consistently good food.

The Owl is a wonderful little independent gift shop and gallery surrounded by similar independent retailers. The building itself used to be a stable for the old George next door and is full of historical touches.

Inside Eldon Square shopping centre, within the Eldon Garden wing, you will be able to find the North East Art Collective. Founded in 2010, the North East Art Collective is a fantastic venue for discovering local art on any trip to Newcastle or the North East.

Walking down Northumberland Street, the main shopping street in Newcastle, you will eventually pass Fenwick’s. Fenwick is Newcastle’s famous and home-grown department store and a fantastic retailer to visit on your trip to Newcastle.

In the heart of Newcastle on Grainger Street can be found the Grainger Market. This covered market was the largest covered market in the world when it was built and still holds a special place in the heart of many in Newcastle.

Situated behind Central Station in the Stephenson Quarter, you will be able to find the Crown Plaza Hotel. The Stephenson Quarter is named for George and Robert Stephenson, the famous father and son inventors who built the Rocket Steam engine and designed many of Britain’s railways.

Jesmond Dene House can be found in the fantastic Victorian pleasure park of Jesmond Dene. The hotel itself is independent of any larger chains and so the quality of the experience that you have is down to the owners, staff and their expression of the North East of England’s hospitality.

When it comes to central Newcastle, you cannot get more central than Motel One in the heart of the city centre. Motel One’s building has been refurbished into a modern affordable hotel with all that one would expect for a comfortable night in the city centre.

A short walk away from St. James’s park is the Earl of Pitt Street. The Earl is a fantastic pub and restaurant in the centre of Newcastle. It sits opposite the old Newcastle Brown Ale brewery site – now the Newcastle Helix owned by Newcastle University – and is the last remaining pub in the area connected to the old brewery.

Blackfriars restaurant has gone from strength to strength. Andy and his wife, Sam, founded it in 2001 and developed it in the following years, so much so that they have come to use more and more of the old monastery buildings for baking lessons, wine tasting and cookery courses, all bookable through their website.