Lucy Stephens enjoys an arty day out in Newcastle and Gateshead.

A cautionary tale to begin with.

When planning a train trip, remember to check that services are running as timetabled.

Then you might not make the same mistake as my husband and I when we strolled into York station confidently expecting to hop on a train to Newcastle, only to discover engineering works (which are now complete) meant we would have to get off at Darlington and catch a bus the rest of the way.

Instead, we trailed home to get the car.

Just over an hour and a half up the A1 later, we were safely parked in Newcastle city centre and making our way across the magnificent Tyne Bridge towards neighbouring Gateshead.

The trip is worth it for this view alone - to the left, you can see the graceful silver arc of the Millennium bridge, and straight ahead, the spectacular domed glass of the Sage music centre.

From the outside, the newly-opened Sage looks like a futuristic Star Wars palace. Inside, it's a buzzing music centre holding concerts ranging from folk and rock to classical.

You can listen to rehearsals on screens outside the concert halls and there's a funky high-tech section round the back where the musically-minded can have a go at some of their own composing.

Next stop was the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, built in an old grain warehouse on the bank of the Tyne.

When we visited there were several exhibitions on, of which our favourite was Julian Germain's moving photographs of an elderly man - on until June 5.

The joy of the Baltic is that it's been expertly designed so you don't have to spend time wandering around exhibitions you aren't interested in - and it's also well worth popping up to the roof to admire the gorgeous views of the Newcastle.

When we'd had enough culture, we had a bite to eat in one of the gallery's restaurants, admiring the antics of a jet-skier racing along the Tyne through the window.

After our lunch, we left the gallery and walked across the Millennium Bridge into central Newcastle, where we pottered around the attractive Grainger town area and the Central Arcade - which is like a smaller version of the trendy Victoria Quarter in Leeds.

On our journey back home, we stopped off to see Anthony Gormley's famous Angel Of The North, signposted from the A1.

It's a powerful sight close up, exuding a sense of peace despite the roar from the road nearby.

We couldn't have done this had we caught the train as planned - so the unpromising start to the day turned out well in the end.

Fact file

The Baltic Centre is open from 10am to 6pm on Monday to Sunday, and from 10am to 8pm on Thursday. Admission is free.

Telephone: 0191 478 1810.

Useful websites: www.balticmill.com, www.thesagegateshead.org

How to get there:

Either take the GNER train to Newcastle or drive out of York on the A59 and join the A1. Follow signs for Gateshead.

Updated: 16:18 Friday, April 01, 2005