How Is This Place Even Still Open? 

Totally apathetic attitude from the councils around the country. How hard would it be to offer the empty units, rent/rate free, for 24 months whilst you build your little business.

I think people like you who make videos touring the UK are doing really important work in drawing attention to the situation and getting us talking and thinking about what to do with it.

Somewhere in Newcastle there's a graffiti supplies shop that's doing fantastically well.

16:57 you missed a little gem being the Central Arcade, beautiful small glass roofed building cutting through two main streets Grainger Street & Grey Street

Eldon Garden was never a hub of shopping. An absolute fortune was spent to extend Eldon Square, and literally no-one ever went. Two problems are the cost of Newcastle's business rates, and the fact that we're all totally skint here :D

The flag at the end of the video depicts Britain. Worn out, fatigued and no more care. Great Britain should be renamed, Broken Britain and no government is willing to repair it as long as greed exists. "Scrap business rates" and those shops will be alive with trade, culture, meeting places, music shops and farm produce. Governments are supposed to care for us, not neglect us.

My lovely partner who recently passed away showed me her city. The city of Newcastle. As a Southerner I loved the culture character and buildings history of this great city.

I think it suffered because it was a weird little bit in the corner of Eldon Square. There is a flow through the rest of Eldon Square but you have to make an effort to walk off and around Eldon Garden and then come back into the main mall again if you're just generally shopping.

I saw an ad on TV about visiting Turkey last week and thought that'd be nice. As I was searching online and came across a nice hotel and flights included for 250pp, I had a call from a mate who wanted me to go into town with him so I could sit in his car so he can park close to where he wanted to go to avoid a ticket. Three parking attendants turned up in 15 minutes, and three times I went round the block and came back. Most of the shops were boarded up except a few, including one travel agent. When my mate got back, I went to it and found the same package for £489pp! Here's why I think the high street is dead. It can't compete with online experience, let alone parking fines of £100 for a few minutes over and their silly overheads. Impossible.

It's been a total White Elephant from day one. The worst thing is, they demolished the fantastic Handyside Arcade of 1906 to make way for this monstrosity.

It was always very quiet. It was an attachment to the Eldon Square centre and was mainly an access for the shop mobility and car parks over the road. Lakeland had one of the stores which pulled people down from the main centre. There was no footfall when that shop left. They can't really shut it as it is an entrance. It was never a busy hub down there.

The Eldon Gardens was put for sale in early 2023, which is why many of the few remaining shops have closed or relocated. The main Eldon Square shopping mall is still pretty busy, esp on a Saturday, as is Northumberland Street. (featured in the video). Basically cannot compete with the Metro Centre (15 minutes away by car) and Amazon. Shame ... it had some nice bars and restaurants when it first opened. The shops were too specialized though and pricey for typical Geordie shoppers. Just came back from a holiday in Valencia, Spain. All malls were vibrant (old and new) ... Spanish still love to shop and eat out. There are other factors at play here ... not just changing customer shopping habits. Sky high rent and rates, greedy landlords, apathetic councils etc etc. Great video ... thanks for posting.

You would be amazed at how many malls are gone and dying here in the United States. Developers built way too many malls in the 1980s and 90s…. It’s a mess and many properties are rotting away while homeless people are everywhere.

I remember when this first opened - it was filled with super-high end boutique shops, all priced way above your average geordie's means. I think their prime custom was WAGs of footballers and that's about it.

Glad you got to the castle I used to play in the castle when I was a child 1952 sixpence entry the dungeon was very spooky I have been all over the castle. I emigrated to Australia with my wife and children 1970 When I came back on holiday to visit my family I made a beeline to the castle and was sadly disappointed most of it was cordoned off, so thank you for happy memories

Excellent summary of the city's struggling retail industry. Balmbra's - still closed - was the iconic place mentioned in the famous Geordie tune entitled The Blaydon Races. Sad times indeed.

It would have been interesting if you went across the river to Gateshead. Absolutely miserable high street filled with the walking dead, scabby pigeons, and perpetually unemployed.

Im from Newcastle and went to live in Spain with my parents and never went back for 30 years and i returned in 2023 and stayed in the premier inn you saw: Here are my conclusions: First thing that shocked me: i got the metro from the airport to the city centre, it was the same rolling stock from when i left (1981) it was obsolete and the rails were not straight as it shuddered, then i traveled up the escalator to monument and walked to the hotel, i was then shocked by the amount of indigenous britons living rough asking ( politely) for money! Then i stopped at mcdonalds and was shocked to see two policeman on duty buying bigmacs in tatty worn out uniforms, im used to seeing the guardia civil in spain and how well turned out they are. All the shops on the highstreet are obsolete buildings, all they sold was junk food, no one sold anything. I hate to say it but the place is really run down, if anyone is ever in spain checkout the infastructure: the roads, pavements, metro, high speed trains, the bins, the police…. Everything is better. What shocked me the most was the war memorials, all those poor souls who paid with their lives for the country to end up in the state its in

Thankyou for featuring my city Newcastle! Love that you checked out the history and the cats!

My cousin had his wedding at the castle in Newcastle. It was class!

Good grief! I lived in Newcastle from 2007-2012 and remember going in there a lot, especially to use the toilets when out with the lads on a pub crawl. I find it almost hard to comprehend how it's gotten like that in just over a decade. 😱 I mean I know the answer, it's Amazon and online shopping in general, but it's still almost unbelievable how quickly things have died. Princess Quay in Hull will be like that soon, if it's not already - been many a year since I've been in, but the last time I did it was clearly on its last legs and the place was only built in the '90s at a massive cost. Pretty much a giant greenhouse on a dock, all glass and water. Impressive to look at.

Despite the similar names - Eldon Garden and Eldon Square are owned by two separate companies. Eldon Garden was due to be put up for sale last I heard in 2023.

From Newcastle and I remember when the giant building (7:04) used to be a Barclays Bank. Also used to work part-time at the cafe in the centre of Eldon Gardens (before it changed to Sambuca's), the area was deserted of shops even then (granted only around 10 years ago) - some businesses came, then left and their was a broken air-con/fan constantly making a noise.

I laughed when John said it was back in the day in the late 90s when he went to the night club. The night club was called Madison with Chassons in the mid 70s when it opened and we got in there. I actually got to dance with Hot Gossip in there. There were two dance floors. The main dance floor was for your mainstream disco music. But at the top end was a smaller dance floor for funk music and 12th inch singles.

Another issue is developers and councils will combine 3-4 shops into one massive shop. Nobody wants 2000-3000 sqft shops. Short sighted.

I visited Newcastle last year for the first time in 10 years and whilst it’s not the city it once (I lived close by 40 years ago) was the city centre is still very vibrant as you’ve shown. The quayside is such a nice place to visit in the summer too. The fact that the City still has John Lewis, Fenwick and a big recently refurbished M&S tells you there is still money there. FYI there is still a branch of Waitrose in nearby Jesmond. There are so many towns now as bad or worse, I was in Glasgow last year also and Sauchiehall St is desolate these days all the shops have pretty much closed now, even Buchanan Galeries shopping centre is almost empty, just John Lewis and a few small shops now. Looking at some smaller towns, Grimsby Victoria St has around 70% of the stores closed. I can’t believe the government think throwing these towns a few million to fix them is going to work, they need hundreds of millions to fix them and some out of the box planning too.

All those busy places were always busy. They’ve struggled to expand the centre though. Eldon Garden was always quiet even when first opened- load of designer shops no one was interested in. Great vid - taken me back home

I love your videos, you leave no stone unturned, great effort. Thank you.

I think a little bit of context is needed for this video those that don’t know the area. Basically there are two separate shopping centres, Eldon Square and Eldon Gardens, owned by separate companies. But they are connected, in that you can walk from one through to the other and form a complex that covers a lot of space right in the heart of Newcastle, by Northumberland Street, the main shopping area for the city (which is actually the most expensive location in the UK outside of London to own a shop). I think if you’d have started your walk from the Monument end of Northumberland Street and walked down in and through the busy Eldon Square to get to Eldon Garden it would gave given a very different impression of the area, with big stores like TK Maxx, Fenwick, John Lewis, and a very large M&S on your way to Eldon Garden. Also worth bearing in mind that there was a third mall connected to the other two, that was Monument Mall which was refurbished to become the large TK Maxx store along with other units alongside it. And with the Metrocentre (the UK’s second largest mall in terms of size) being only 15 minutes drive away and offering free parking you can see that there’s a lot of competition in the area.

I worked in the nightclub from 1987 until it closed ,largest in Newcastle , thriving every week ,,sad to see it like this ,,we were a great team ,miss all you madison staff ❤

First time viewer and really enjoyed the video, I’m from the North East and really really enjoyed it. I have some great memories of Eldon Gardens but it’s really sad to see now!! Keep up the great videos!!

i love going to the top floor of eldon garden with my friends when out at town, its a really nice place to get a quiet moment especially on really busy days

I'm surprised how clean and and tidy it still is...

The roof in Eldon Gardens that you liked, came from Handyside Arcade which was a bit further down from there, which was sadly pulled down 1980's I can remember the night club down that alley in the 1980's. A lot of pubs and night clubs no longer exist there used to be loads.

I had absolutely no idea Eldon Garden was still open! I really miss the food court they had in there. Great video, keep up the good work.

This was a good way to show how much needs to be done in Newcastle xx

As others have said, even when there used to be shops open, Eldon Gardens was always quite quiet compared to Eldon Square. In fact I can't actually remember ever going in a shop there. The only time I ever used to go in that part was to use the public toilets that were there.

The graffiti pedestrian street you showed never had shops on it. One side was a hotel, the other side a night club (Madisons, when I used to go to go in the 1980's). Great video mind.

I live in Newcastle, but I didn’t know Elden Garden is empty. Sad to see many closed shops. Thank you for showing me around.

this is such a shock, i left newcastle in 2014 only going back on uni breaks, but I never imagined that the city would be this dead, its a shame growing up here was amazing but I feel a lot of us like me didn't see any opportunities in the city and had to move elsewhere

The empty shopping center would be a great place for a film set. A remake of "The Langoliers" or something like that.

Eldon Garden is a small marginal offshoot of the Eldon Square shopping centre. It was never a "hub" of shopping and isn't a standalone shopping centre. Some of the previous shops have just relocated to elsewhere in town, eg Rohan. That Waitrose was not on the main footfall and that was its problem.

Newcastle's doing a good job with the city centre, I reckon. There's a lot of stuff out of their control but they're taking a very sensible attitude, making the best out of a difficult situation.

I remember shopping in Eldon Garden and the Newcastle Furniture Company, but it was 25 years ago. However, I just learned that my favorite cafe, Cafe Royal closed down in 2020.

I'm surprised that coffee machine hadn't been stolen from the abandoned centre.

Native here, great to see you do a video of the toon. I've lived here my whole life, I love the place. It's always been quite "edgy" but that's part of the charm. There's a lot of redevelopment happening / about to happen, so the city will look a lot better in a few years. If you ever fancy another trip, Gateshead would be my suggestion, dreadful place!

Wow. I just come across this video. In the 1970s, I remember when Eldon Square was just being built and opened up. I remember my mum shopping there. I was about 12/13 years old, my parents owned the Forth Hotel pub on Pink Lane, which is still there in 2024. On Saturdays I well remember wandering around huge areas of this newly built precinct. I even remember walking around a part where a leisure centre was taking shape, squash courts with overhead balcony type walkways, so you could look down at the players, huge rooms which were to be gymnasiums or dance studios. Nobody around, equipment and tools just left, no security or camera surveillance back then, we were just two schoolgirls exploring on our own. Hard to believe that fourty years on, you are walking around it now abandoned and empty. Very strange. Thank you for this hidden gem, and thank you to the the viewer that told you to investigate the area. You brought back so many memories. Good luck and success with your channel going forward.

I think they're planning to do work in Eldon Garden, because I keep seeing people with clipboards walking through and taking notes. Also seen them in little huddles pointing and discussing. It's been like that for quite a while, but it wasn't that long ago it was full. It's mainly there for the car park now lol.

Moved to Newcastle for uni and it’s crazy I’ve never seen these. As an interior architecture student you’d think our projects would be focused on the regeneration of those spaces. Not a big installation in grainger arcade which is already busy. It’s sad to see

I am in shock! My ex wife was from Newcastle and we used to shop there and the Metro Centre all the time. This year is the 11th year since the split. So say back in 2012, Eldon Gardens was still REALLY busy. More or less every shop open. That cafe in the middle was where we got coffee. The huge Jewellers shop that ran right around the corner was top end stuff and super pricey, but quality. There was a health spa in there, some pots and pans shops, high end clothes, a phone store and various other exclusive boutique style shops. It really was the expensive, upmarket classy part of Eldon Square that sold unique posh items. There was a custom pen shop that sold original fountain pens for example. All expensive, and all mostly things you did not really need, but stuff you bought if you had money. At Christmas the lights on the ceiling and the Christmas trees they had in there it was stunning, tasteful and classy. There was not one empty unit. Now in 2024 its more or less deserted. The fact that its basically a section of Eldon Square, that is not empty is really shocking as it still seems to me like I was there recently, even though its been over ten years. It proves a number of things. That the what they were selling was not necessary and vital to most people. That what they were selling was too expensive for most people. And that was simply due to rates on the stores are now too high, and the taxes. The owners could not make money off what they were trying to sell. All that is left is a nail bar, as people will always need nails fixing etc. I bet Covid and lack of footfall did it terminal damage as well. No one will go there now as there is nothing to buy anyway and it will be too expensive to open. If one or two places tried they would be shut in no time due to lack of interest. Newcastle is the capitol city of the North East. If you cant make a shop work there, then there is no chance. What can you do? Its sad, but all that sells now is food, cheap junk and takeaways. Things that you will need everyday. Nosh. Other than that its over...so sad.

I remember going to Eldon Garden in the very early 90's, not long after it opened. It was a kind of 'upmarket' corner add-on to Eldon Square, with more 'boutique' shops as they'd be called today. It was the place you'd go to find an expensive pen shop, or a luggage shop. Shops that sold specific products, but perhaps with more selection than was available in Fenwick's or Binns (Binns is long gone now, but was a very popular department store). It just never really got the footfall they expected.

Even the Gateshead MetroCentre, which is one of the biggest shopping centres in the country, has big parts boarded up. All of that happened post-covid.

Built in the late 80's, early 90's it was never busy still sad to see it so empty.

Love the chilled way you explain to the camera"a man there offering me a sausage" 😂

I used to work here! 20 years ago when I was a student I'd do this walk through the shopping centre hungover early on a Saturday and Sunday when I was working at the Eldon Square McDonald's (no longer there) inside this shopping centre. It was always quiet first thing in the morning and it hasn't changed much. I didn't realise they'd closed most of the shops! 😢

It really makes you open your eyes, truly by watching your videos. Really brilliantly put together material and in-depth research as always The Wandering Turnip. Such a sad and sorry state all our cities and towns are turning into. Makes me worry what will be left for my young children and by the time they have children. We need to get these greedy governments and councils out and start again with real people running them. ❤

I'm from North London. Brent Cross shopping centre has quite a few empty shops in it now. Sad cause it's was great in the 80s and 90s even into the 00s. Shops are on borrowed time.

Not from Newcastle but from the North East. The building that had the blue tarp in the windows, pretty sure that was a Barclays branch. The restaurant at the end of Stowell St. (Chinatown) was Mamak, went once and had one of the worst meals ever in there. They used to have ducks hanging in the window. I visit maybe 6 times a year, used to go all the time in my youth, and there’s some parts of the city I’ve never been to - The spray painted buildings where the nightclub once, never seen that street ever. Newcastle does have some beautiful hidden gems though, whether it’s shopping, bars, restaurants or entertainment, they’ll be institutions that will survive andnbe a cornerstone of the city! Great video mate.

If you're ever in Newcastle again, not too far away is Seaton Delaval and New Hartley. Lots of abandoned railway lines, mining buildings and remnants in the woods.

What have we done to England?? Sad..... 2024 We had the best golden years back then 1960 When England was great We had everything Ok no money But we had England ❤❤ Brtish values and common sense And good leaders kept England ❤❤ Street wise tal I was from north Newcastle 1960 Great happiness back then ❤❤

I was in Newcastle a few years ago and loved it!🇨🇦went to see the Fantastic Roman museum and excavation.Enjoyed a sandwich at Greggs sat in the park went up to Eldon Square loved the British History all around me.🇬🇧👍

It was never busy anyway, eldon square though has always been a great place to shop. Great memories of being a young lad shopping for clothes on a saturday.

I think one the things that keeps the space in limbo is that its the corridor between one of the main carparks and the still widely used Eldon square.

Eldon. Gardens was once the Side Arcade, a beautiful Victorian shopping arcade the was a haven for marginal shops - cool record stores, vintage clothes shops (this in the 80s) It was turned into an extension to Eldon Square, which wouldn't be allowed today, but there was never any reason for anyone to go across the bridge to go there - it was just the same shops as the rest of the shopping centre had. It took away from the character of the city, for no reason at all.

The flag at the end is very symbolic of the country as a whole.

Castle Dene in Peterlee. Lift broke down years ago, never repaired. Toilets closed more recently, never reopened. The entire upper floor closed off, never to be reopened. Now the ground floor units are shutting down. The management has mastered the art of deterring customers and tenants.

I think we need more spaces to do things. In nottingham when topshop closed they turned the shop into a roller skating rink (not sure if it still is), and in Durham they have ping pong tables in empty units.

Get yourself to Blyth, Northumberland quickly. The Keel Row shopping centre has been dying on it's feet for a few years now, and closes towards the end of this month, two shops left, very few others have closed down as the closure was pending. On this Eldon Gardens etc, the one just after Milligan's bakers was a Barclays Bank (taped up windows in blue). D

A potentially interesting shopping center for you to check out would be Castle Quarter in Norwich. Not even because of the impressive build and location, but instead the way it has reinvented itself over the last few years. I remember a few years back walking through and it was all pretty much empty. However management took over and decided instead of trying to fill the space with retail. They instead tried to get it full of activities! The whole mall now has a completely different vibe and is a great activity destination, both for young and old!

I'm from here, there was a very nice art dealer, a big and tall, a jewellers but they gradually faded away, there's a hair dressers still open and the nail place. Various fitness supplement places and brownie bars have tried and failed. It connects Eldon square to the gardens car park and a back door close to St James's Park. A sambucas restaurant lasted a while then turned to a coffee bar and failed.A lingerieplace was also a long laster but went not too long ago. It was never very busy. Tbh, it's all about footfall. There just wasn't the foot traffic to sustain them. It appears you've covered most of what I've written as I'm typing. Anyway, welcome to Toon. Enjoy your stay.

You think that's bad, you should visit Durham these days. Real heavy footfall in the centre, yet so many closed units.

I lived in Newcastle from 1979 to 1988. And again in the late 2000s. In the Eighties and Nineties it was a destination. Iconic. Buzzing. Lots of fun. Stag and Hen parties every weekend. The nightlife was amazing with several big clubs and many bars catering to all tastes. The clothes shops did well because people needed to dress up to go out. Lots of places provided take away food - kebabs, fish and chips, burgers - for those leaving the nightspots. You couldnt get into the bars at The Bigg Market they were so busy. The Tube was recorded there. Then its successor programme. Bands played at The Riverside and other venues. Then the city council started to fuck it up. Demolition after demolition for no obvious good reason. And disastrous decision making like the closing of the busy Green Market opposite Grainger Market. Of course The Metro Centre at Gateshead drained custom. But the visionless people voted in again and again were the true culprits for the commercial decline. (Northumberland Street wasn't busy, btw, not to my eyes, compared with how it used to be on week days and weekends.) The Toon, as it was known, has been criminally mismanaged. And your video proves that.

Keel Row shopping centre in Blyth, just north of Newcastle.

I was just there today. I remeber every bit of Eldon Gardens, the place practically raised me. It's just sad to see it now.

In my opinion, the other reason why shopping malls have declined, apart from online shopping is many of them are look the same. Eldon Square and the MetroCentre used to have have their own unique design, which, set them apart and gave them a warm inviting atmosphere, which, attracted customers. My favourite was the antique village in the MetroCentre.

Maybe the library was asked to move because it was being too loud

That’s so creepy. Sad. Wonder what they’re up to? Be safe sweet wandering turnip. 🙏🏻✨❣️

The arcade area where the snooker hall is. Is getting redevelopment to the largest tower in Newcastle called Gainford tower

Have you been to Newton Aycliffe? Small town centre not very far from Newcastle - maybe about twenty minute drive on the A1(m). It was renovated about fifteen years ago and is now a cluster of empty units and charity shops.

Not sure if a few of these things have been mentioned already, the big building with the temporary blue stickers was a Barclays branch. Another one of the empty buildings at the top of the high street was a NatWest (I think, but another bank) the area around the city wall / China Town is mainly business and call centres, the area with the abandoned club has been like that for a good decade and further away to that, we used to have a massive Warner Brothers cinema but all of that was bought by the university and they have a large complex just passed that area. The market is always busy, a lot of food outlets as well as the usual stalls and vendors. The Chronicle office is in the Bigg Market, that place is mainly full of bars rather than business and comes a live on the evening. But 100% right, in saying a lot of it has been condensed to make the high street the centre point as well as Eldon Square. Great video as usual.

Even in '89 through the early 90's Eldon gardens footfall was pretty light, we used to use it as a quick way to get through the crowd and to the match quicker. The area where the snooker hall was, had some banging clubs in the 90's, one i remember in particular was a small night called the hope village, doon the stairs, still got my membership card, very cosy atmosphere, great music, tons of life round there on a Friday and Saturday night, and loads of skaters on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Love the toon, Great video dude. Thanks 👍

Elden Gardens was a white elephant from the start and never really took off. The night Club area has been empty since I lived in Newcastle and the night club was the last place left apart from the snooker hall. Night club was NE1 but it was so quiet we used to call it Nee One. Newcastle city centre is pretty vibrant at main shopping areas. There's a newer Frankie and Bennies at Eldon Square. There's lots of redevelopment always going so some empty areas are for that. Grainger Market has really picked up over last few years

It was always seen as an add on to Eldon Square, never really got busy at all. I last worked in the city in the early to mid 90s and it was poor for shopping then. Never go the footfall of Eldon Square. Passed the entrance last month, never realised it was so empty.

The Premier Inn used to be CO-OP department store.

Newcastle was once one of the most fortified city's in europe due to all the battles the city had protecting England from Scotland

Oh man that is crazy...back in the mid 90s I was a student in Newcastle and I worked at the Early Learning Centre here and the place was buzzing.

A few friends and myself used to meet up every week at the “Marie Celeste”. cafe shown. One problem for Eldon Gardens was it seemed to have an ‘invisible barrier’ between itself and Eldon Square, as a whole. When a couple of places shut down there was an accelerating domino effect with businesses closing so quickly it was all over in a few months.

I remember Eldon Gardens when it opened, when I lived in Newcastle during 1988/89. Was one of the first of its type, very swish at the time and would become the norm across the country in the years to come. I remember it having a huge food court, full of food from different parts of the world, it was all new at the time, but no one could foresee the damage these type of places would do to the traditional High Street. I always thought Eldon Gardens though essentially another adjoining part of Eldon Square was detached and isolated, you never seemed to get led to it, but had to make a conscious effort to find it , maybe it was just me or maybe that helped in its demise. You could say that was around the time the UK decided it wanted to become the 51st state of America, and now it feels like it, with all the extreme contrasts of wealth and poverty in a divided UK, to be seen before our very eyes. It makes sense for the council to move shops to one place, rather than have two half empty shopping areas. The reasons for the decline are well known and documented, but I do think in the UK our decision makers made some bonkers decisions and still do today, where we built new shopping malls in towns, leading to more units than were actually needed, fuelled by deliberately allowing people to amass huge personal debt on credit cards etc, whilst everything suggested the High Street would suffer in the long term. Even since these videos started, things continue to get worse. In the North East in the last couple of weeks, Marks and Spencer's have said they are closing their Sunderland store. These flagship stores are the key to thriving shopping places, as I believe a lot of people initially head into town to go to these places, then may go into other lesser known shops afterwards. I was only in Waitrose recently and there was no indication it was closing. Too expensive for me, but I would go in there before I got the bus home, to see what was reduced. You used to get some quality food heavily reduced just before the closed.Not all doom and gloom though, I'm sure shuttering firms have done well over the last 20 years or so, similar to being a Glazier in Belfast during the 1970s.

I'm expat Geordie now an Australian citizen living in TAS...I remember the days in the 80's where you barely had elbow room to walk in Eldon Square due to the crowds. Eldon Gardens I am not familiar with.

Very interesting stuff -- To the best of my knowledge Eldon Garden has never had full occupancy in more than 30 years even though they tore down the beautiful Handiside Arcade to build it. Even Rohan, who had been probably their longest tenant opening in 1989 with the centre, moved to Hood Street a few years ago. I'm guessing the lack of any footfall must have contributed to it.

That area "Eldon Gardens" had the foot fall. There is a multistorey carpark that services Eldon Square connected to it which is still in extremely heavy use. In order to stay in doors and out of the hideous NE weather you would walk through the entirety of Eldon Gardens. Before COVID, every unit was in use. However, most of the stores were very specialised and "boutique" in nature. There was even a fine arts shop and high end jewellery shop. It is very weird walking through there now but personally, I avoid city centres as much as possible these days.

terribly sad too see , we are losing so much so quick

Top video here, thank you. I couldn't help it, the flag at the end seeing better days, put me to tears. Powerful symbol there. Godspeed UK, the world still needs you, but you've got a lot to sort out.

Wow I'm from Newcastle, I was there 1 year ago. It was jammed, can't believe this.

I came to Newcastle by train on a Saturday from Glasgow in 2005 for the great north run, I had a broken arm, which is why I didn’t drive.I walked around the city centre, and when I was in here, it was a very busy, bustling place.

Wow, I cannot believe this video. The last time I visited this shopping centre in 2010, it was busy with shoppers, although not as much as Eldon Square, and the units were occupied. Apparently it's up for sale now with a £4.95m price tag

So as a company who trades in gateshead but is moving to newcastle i would like to shed some light. Eldon gardens is still open to applications however expected rents are anywhere in the 60kpa region most of newcastle is unfortunatly similar price. Then business rates are a sdimilar insane price it means small businesses struggle to open in the city so it becomes what you see in eldon square which is many many chains. Back in the day (2008ish) my aunt had a makeup stall on ground floor of eldon square and our friend had a independant game store upstairs. Its simply insane now

You should check out blyth in northumberland. The council have just had to buy the keel row ahopping centre as there was no occupiers. The market centre is a building site. Nothing left on the high street.

Just came across your channel. I am a new subscriber. I love your videos. I am living here. In Northern California. I am a big fan of England East Anglia Blackpool thank you buddy for your hard work love you channel. I have a lot to catch up on peace and God bless.🙏💙🇺🇸

It's crazy how long Eldon Gardens has been open but almost absolutely empty. The shops have been mostly empty for as long as I can ever remember. To think they demolished the Handyside for it...however it has NEVER been (nor was it intended to be) a "shopping hub" it was just an extension to the still going strong Eldon Square shopping centre.