Just 10 minutes walk up the River Tyne from the Millennium Bridge, once the heart of Newcastle’s industry, now lays the Ouse Burn tributary.
The old Victorian warehouses and mills that stood in the Ouseburn Valley are being given a new lease of life by new businesses, such as the Biscuit Factory, which holds the title of Europe’s most extensive commercial art space, The Cluny, an innovative music bar and 36 Lime Street an artists group with studio space to harness creativity.
Let’s not forget Seven Stories on 30 Lime Street ( open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm, open a little later on Thursdays until 6:00 pm, a huge national center dedicated to children’s literature that is built across seven floors of an old converted river mill. They showcase a vast collection of unique manuscripts, artwork, and documents from authors such as Michael Rosen, Nina Bawden, and Phillip Pullman, including unique illustrations from the famous Charlie and the chocolate factory.
Inside Seven Stories are gallery display exhibitions exploring every area of children’s literature.
The best part of the Seven Stories experience is the interaction with books one receives once inside the building, whether its hands-on play, meet-the-writer sessions, workshops, the Storyboard, the multi-media story lab, and many more, it has to be seen to be believed, it is very child orientated, and one visit could create a lifetime love of reading for you little ones. It can be a wise idea to check the website before you visit as they do offer varied schedules and events and they also house a bookshop and café.