The Geordie Tourist.

I had a Living Social voucher to use up for The Brownie Bar in Newcastle. So I dragged by brother along who was more than happy knowing he was about to get some free food.

The Brownie Bar is located in Eldon Gardens. They sell over 30 different flavours of brownie; have monthly specials, and new flavours coming out all of the time too. It was set up by sisters Sarah and Rachael cawkwell in 2010, who started off making brownies in their kitchen at home. Their aim is to bring the gooiest brownies in the widest flavours to the brownie loving public, or the ‘don’t really have a clue about brownies’ person like myself. As well as the shop, you can find them at markets and things too.

The voucher I had was for two to get a hot drink and two brownies each. I paid £6 which is really good value I think.

I had never been to the Brownie Bar before, but had passed it on a couple of occasions. I love the look of it. It’s like its own little island just sitting there. I love the mixture of the bright white counter tops and lit up signs mixed in with the dark woods on the floor and the other fixtures. They have little stools, making it an actual bar. You can see all of the gorgeous looking brownies waiting to be picked in the display cabinets too.

I managed to get a couple of photos (I took the majority of them at home), not many though as we got our stuff to takeaway. Sometimes I hate when you get discount vouchers and you aren't allowed to eat in. Fair enough I know you're getting it for a fraction of the cost, but it takes away from the experience for someone like me. Especially if I've never been to the place before. It was empty too, so we could have squeezed in somewhere.

We made thew mistake of getting our brownies as soon as we went to Town (we still had shopping to do) Not knowing that we would have to carry them around with us. I got a hot chocolate for my drink which I had to just bin. It was far too hot and after carrying it around for half an hour I couldn't go in any of the shops. It was a bit of a waste actually.

Since we had to take them home, we got to share them with everyone else. (every cloud and all.) It was a good job really. They were quite rich and there's no way we could have ate two full brownies each.

The flavours we went for were Millionaire, Pistachio, Crème Egg and I’m sure the other one was a mixture of Nutella and Peanut Butter. They were nice in small quantities, I just think brownies aren't for me, they're quite rich. I reckon if I had of warmed them up and had them with cream or ice cream it might have been a different story. You live and you learn though. 

You can order brownies online if you can't make it to the shop. If you want the shop instead, opening hours are Monday to Friday 10:00-19:00. Saturday 10:00-18:00, and Sunday 11:00-17:00.

What's you favourite brownie flavour from The Brownie Bar?

I realise a lot of posts on here recently are walks that I've took with Poppy. They usually consist of me going to some forest type area and dragging someone else with me for company. Then I walk around for a bit taking photos of plants and flowers and the odd bee/butterfly that I find. I also rope the dog into it too. I’m not talking putting her in funny outfits and making her dance, but still you know what I mean.

Anyways, I guess all of that was just a really long way of saying that this post is no different. I hopped in my mam’s jeep and my brother and I took Poppy out. (Shock)

It was about 6/7 o’clock and the sun was still shining. It wasn't really chilly or anything and it just seemed nice and calm. Across the road from where we parked you could see all of the sheep still out grazing in the fields.  It still surprises me how just five minutes away I can be totally in the countryside away from everything (I love it.)

We went around where we normally go, but this time we picked a different entrance. At the time I didn't know that it was going to lead us to the same paths that we normally take, but lo and behold it did.

It’s good in a way, because now I’m starting to find out where each little walk takes me to. I come across loads of little dirt paths, or openings in the trees and I’m beyond curious as to where they go. Now I can start finding out.

So we were walking and then we came across a pond/lake. I would say it was too big to be a pond, and maybe too small to be considered a lake, so I don’t really know where that leaves us. It was lovely just looking at the water. It wasn't the cleanest, but you couldn't really tell when you looked far out. There was a big tree trunk at the water’s edge and I felt like walking over it Dirty Dancing style. (I don’t have the balance for it though.)

Poppy went off by herself and got covered in mud. I had to keep throwing sticks into the water so she could go in for them and clean her muddy paws in the process.

There were fish too. You could just see the ripples in the water where they kept coming towards the surface. They were probably only tiny ones, but I’d definitely like to go back and have a little go at fishing. Maybe just putting a bucket in the water and seeing what happens. 

I think I'll check out a few other curious paths next time. Who knows, it might lead me on a familiar trail or somewhere else entirely...

Have any of you been walking anywhere nice recently?

Yesterday when shopping at the Intu Metro Centre with my mam and my friend Nic, we needed to make a little pit stop, grab some food and try to sort out our foul moods. We were shopping for funeral and wedding things, not a great mix to start with. That coupled with the fact that none of us actually like shopping, well, you can see where I’m going with this…

So anyways, we decided to try Ed’s Easy Diner. Having never been before, and always seeing it’s welcoming flashing lights as I walk past, I thought it was a good a time as any to finally see what it was all about.

Ed’s reminds me of 50’s America. (Not that I was present for that.) I’m guessing that’s the look they were going for. It’s got check black and white floors. Lots of shiny silver metal work about, and cool red retro looking seats and booths. There is also a bar area where you could sit and drink mega milkshakes. It just looks the part. It just works.

There are miniature jukeboxes about too and you can pick between classic hits from years gone by. There’s nothing quite like sitting in silence one minute, then taking a bite of your burger to the sounds of Elvis loudly playing in the background. There’s a great atmosphere to the place and it just looks like a great replica of what you would find back in the day.

For food we each went for the classic cheeseburger. Then we got portions of coleslaw, fries and chicken dippers to share. I also got a chocolate and mint milkshake too. I mean there was no doubt I wasn't going to get one. I’m definitely a big kid at heart.

The cheeseburger was ok. I wouldn't say it was on par with Gourmet Burger Kitchen (My all time fave.) But then again, it is just supposed to be your classic burger, so none of the other fancy ingredients and things. It came in a nice paper burger bag thing, which was a great touch. The coleslaw was amazing and I’m pleased we got three little portions, or there would have been fights. The fries were fries, and I thought the milkshake got better the more that I drank. I can’t really comment more.

The star of the show was the chicken dippers though. I guess I was expecting something resembling a McDonald's chicken nugget. I couldn't have been more wrong. They were battered and crispy, and just tasted, quite frankly amazing. They came with BBQ sauce and sweet chilli too. Honestly I could have just ate them and nothing else and been more than satisfied with my visit.

It came to about £44 for the three of us. We did seem to order a lot of food and it was £4.50 alone for my milkshake. The cokes had free refills which was good. You can sign up to Ed's Club and they normally have promotions and things. I have a voucher for 50% off food at the moment but it was for a different time to when we were eating. 

Ed's also have a loyalty scheme where you can earn credit and get money taking off your next visit.

Did I mention how cool the toilets are too. They are just separated into individual cubicles which I've never seen before. You have your own little sink and mirror and everything. Think porter loo with more class, and those 50's tunes playing in the background.

I think I would go back to Ed's again. I'd go when there are less screaming kids about. I'd get a booth with a jukebox so I can pick some music and I'd try lots of new things on the menu. Bring on next time...

Have any of you been to Ed's Easy Diner recently?

What's your favourite thing on the menu?

I managed to take Poppy out for a quick little walk today before the storms came and the rain descended. I’m so pleased that 1. I wasn't out in it because I’d look like a drowned rat, and 2. That it’s actually raining. It’s just so humid at the moment and the air is so muggy (if that’s even a word.) We need a nice bit of downpour to cool this place down. Am I right? Well, enough of the weather talk.

My car is in the garage at the moment so I thought we’d just go for a wander next to where I live. I've said before that I live on a nature reserve. I wish it was the kind that had badgers and otters, or any other kind of wildlife, but it isn't really. Or maybe it is but they just stay nice and hidden, so that I don't go chasing them with my camera. I've spotted the odd squirrel and deer a few times, but the likelihood of seeing them on your average dog walk is quite slim.

We walked the fields for a bit. I ran ahead taking photos of pretty much every flower/tree/shrub we came across. Poppy followed behind and took treats every so often.

After I kind of exhausted that activity we crossed the road and headed to Lamesley Reedbeds. The reedbeds are basically a scheme that has been put in place to try and clean the river Team amongst other things. I don’t know the whole story, but the reeds are used to help sustain the water. They also house various wildlife. (my fave thing) I managed to just read a snippet on the board that was there. Most of it was burnt.

The place hasn't really been looked after. Maybe when it was first started it would have been great. There are viewing platforms and things, but everything is overgrown so you can’t see anything. There’s a lot of vandalism too. I just went over for a little look though and despite certain parts being a bit unkempt I still liked the walk. There’s a bridge bit going over the river, which is always a plus .Poppy was more than happy to play in the puddles too.

We sat for a bit on the graffiti stained benches and just thought about things for a while. Well I did, Poppy was just wondering about her next treat. It's been a bit of a hard week and there's patches when I just want to sit by myself and reflect. There wasn't another soul in sight which was great. Poppy never fails to cheer me up either, so it's all good.

Have any of you been walking recently?

It’s been a while since I've ventured into Ousbrough wood. The last time I went was around January and it’s amazing to see how different everything looks now that summer is here. You can check out my other post here.

Ousbrough is right next to the other nature walks that I tend to go on these days. I seem to be going on them more and more, I guess with the warm weather and it being free. I've skipped on Ousbrough for a bit though and thought it about time I checked out the eerie woods once again.

I went with my pal Nic, and Poppy. Who was fine getting into the car, (Poppy that is) but somehow managed to scrape her paw on the five minute drive to the woods. Luckily I found a sock in the car (I’m not really gross and leave socks lying around, but there was one there.) She hated it to start with, but soon forgot about it and started walking instead of point blank refusing.

It was funny though, as she was going in the stream and in all of the puddles she could find so it started to stretch out to the point where she was practically dragging it behind her. I laughed for a good ten minutes and then took it off. (I’m joking I’m not that cruel, there were giggles though.)

Ousbrough is such a unique place. It’s like going from the real world into an enchanted forest or something. The light just seems to evaporate. There are so many huge clusters of trees. There’s a massive stream going in and amongst everything. There’s low walkways, bridges and just random paths going any which way. You get these little parts where there’s a gap in the trees and the sun can get through and shine down on a little spot. It really seems magical. I don’t know if I’m just a weird nature freak, but I can’t get enough of places like this. I think I just like the feeling of being free and not being bothered by people, being able to just enjoy the simple things and not get bogged down. I think more and more people feel like that these days.  

It’s just a lovely place to go for a walk. I always find a different route that I’ve never explored before.

Everything changes and there’s always something new to find. We passed fungi that I've never noticed before, managed to get a photo of an actual bee. Then on our way out we spotted a little frog/toad (delete as applicable, I can't tell the difference.) 

I'm all for looking at pretty flowers, but seeing actual wildlife is a whole other ball game. Just call me Russell the wilderness explorer...

Have any  of you spotted any wildlife recently?