Beyond the conference; Music and the Body in Greek and Roman Antiquity; Newcastle University

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Beyond the conference

Newcastle

Great North Museum, located on campus only a short walk from the Armstrong Building (campus map ref. #34). Free entry. Contains Roman antiquities, including Hadrian's Wall exhibit (ground floor), Greek and Egyptian antiquities (first floor), and natural history collections.

Laing Art Gallery (map). General admission free; admission charge for special exhibits.

Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (map).

Sage Gateshead, next to the Baltic (map). Home of the Royal Northern Sinfonia (final concert of the season on 28 July at 19.00 (Mozart)). Also: Samling Academy Opera presents Ravel, L’enfant et les sortilèges(fully staged, 31 July at 19.30).

For those visiting Newcastle with children, the Discovery Museum (free admission; map) is particularly good, as is the Great North Museum (above).

Hadrian's Wall

General information
Bus from Newcastle to sites on the Wall
Close to Newcastle:
     Segedunum Roman Fort, Wallsend (with special exhibition from the British Museum)
     Arbeia Roman Fort & Museum, South Shields
A selection of other Hadrian's Wall sites:
     Vindolanda
     Chesters
     Housesteads
If you have a few days, you can walk the length of the Wall on the Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail (84 miles from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway). More information here. You can even have your baggage transferred for you, so you only need to carry a rucksack.

The Coast

If it's sunny and you have only a few hours to spare, the North Sea Coast is nearby. Here are some possibilities:

• Take the Metro to Tynemouth. If you go on Saturday or Sunday, visit the Station Market. Walk east down Front Street and visit the Tynemouth Priory and Castle. Head north along the sea front. There are several beaches between Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay (which all have Metro stations). Tynemouth Long Sands is often good for surfing.

• Take the Metro to Whitley Bay or Monkseaton, and walk north along the sea front to St Mary's Island (accessible via a pedestrian causeway at low tide), where there is a 19th-century lighthouse and small museum. A lovely spot for a picnic on a sunny day. Distance from Whitley Bay Metro station: approximately 2.5 miles.

• Take the Metro to Cullercoats. Rent a bicycle and ride along the seaside (part of the Coast and Castles Cycle Route, and the North Sea Cycle Route). Or rent a kayak and go for a paddle on the sea.