We'd been planning to spend time in Richmond- stroll round the Georgian streets and visit the castle; instead we dodged into a pub for a warm drink (it was full of young soldiers from the camp at Catterick)- then headed straight for the unflooded motorway.
Our hotel was a stone's throw from the Newcastle quays. The Tyne is fabulous at night, with its many bridges covered in lights- and the water on the ground and in the air just amplified the dazzle.