A local’s guide to Newcastle: creative havens, riverside bars and green valleys

A journalist shows us round his beat, from arts workshops and buzzy bars to a family-friendly community farm

I like taking a book and having a cuppa at Super Natural, a cosy veggie cafe near the station. It has comfy sofas, whimsical nature murals and a hand-drawn solar system with fairy lights on the ceiling. Food options, all meatless, range from sandwiches and jacket potatoes (I love the dal) to lasagne. I also like to wander the Quayside Market on Sundays, where food vans sell anything from Thai and Caribbean food to fudge and crepes. Under the Tyne Bridge on the Gateshead side of the river, is Träkol, a trendy nose-to-tail restaurant. Set in a rusty set of shipping containers overlooking the Tyne, its menu – called “outrageously good” by Jay Rayner – focuses on open-fire cooking and seasonal ingredients.