ASA Excursions from Newcastle

To understand a country in greater depth, including its history and its culture, it’s important to head out of the big cities. We plan some excursions to help you do just that (and you’re welcome, of course, to venture off on your own during your breaks and weekends).

If you’re spending a semester abroad in Newcastle, you’ll have two day trips included in your program:  

Excursions planned for each program vary, but past terms have included trips to:

MEDIEVAL YORK 

(Day trip) 

Head back in time with a day trip to York! The journey takes about an hour by train from Newcastle. We’ll visit the magnificent York Minster, which is the largest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. Starting in 1220, it took more than 150 years to build! Another stop will be The Shambles, a street of traditional timber-framed buildings dating back to the 14th century. In Viking days, York was called Jorvik and it was the capital of a Viking territory so we’ll explore some of the sights, sounds and smells associated with those times.

York in the Middle Ages would have been quite a place to be. It was crowded with narrow lanes and lots of houses. It was loud and smelly from the butchers’ offal rotting in the ditches. There was a lot of filth and squalor, cess-pits and poor hygiene. But it was also beautiful in many ways, with orchards and gardens in the city and some impressive buildings with gilded halls and of course York Minster which still stands today. 

ALNWICK CASTLE 

(Day trip) 

You may recognize Alnwick Castle from the big screen. It’s been featured, among other movies, as Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films, Transformers: The Last Knight, Downton Abbey, Elizabeth, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Our day trip will take us just over 30 miles from Newcastle to see this 1,000-year-old castle which is one of the largest inhabited in England (home to the Duke of Northumberland’s family, the Percy’s, for over 700 years). It’s also served as a teaching college, a military outpost, and a refuge for evacuees.

At the castle, you can explore the different rooms and museums, try your hand at archery, and learn to fly a broomstick in the same place that Harry Potter did. 

SURFING AT TYNEMOUTH 

(Day trip) 

The long stretch of Northeast England’s Longsands Beach in Tyneford is one of the country’s best surfing spots and has produced some world class professional British surfers. Learn to surf or show off your skills and enjoy the consistent waves and surfer community here. People also come to paddleboard and swim.

Which adventure sounds like the most exciting to you?