St James Park is unique in terms of that it is one of a dying breed in the upper echelons of modern football – a stadium that is slap bang in the city centre. From its position on top of the hill, it can be seen from miles around thanks to the height of the Milburn and Leazes stands. As a fan of both football stadiums and cities, the rooftop tour has been on my to do list for a while now, after an aborted visit last week as the tour was cancelled due to fog, this week the skies were clear, and the tour got the go ahead.
The meeting point for the tour is level 2 in the Milburn Stand, making sure I arrived the prerequisite 15 minutes earlier, I and fifteen other hardy souls were signed in and enjoyed a safety briefing and were then kitted out in hard hats and a high viz each.
After a quick shortcut through a plant room, we ascended a spiral staircase on the exterior of the stadium to the footpath on the roof. This is the point that one of our informative guides explained during the safety briefing was a point of no return for many a tour party patron, thankfully nobody turned back this time.
Once on the roof the tour begins at the corner of the Milburn and Leazes stands, with views over Barrack Road and across to Team Valley and Whickham, this was the windiest part of the tour. After stopping for an informative commentary from our excellent tour guide Martin we made our way across the walkway to the corner of the Leazes stand, high above the notorious away fans section. Taking in views across Leazes Park on our way. I must admit this point of the tour was one of my favourite parts, with breathtaking views stretching across Newcastle, with the Cheviot Hills on the horizon on the left all the way down to the Tyne Bridge at the right.
After stopping for another enlightening commentary from Martin, we made our way along the gangway to the corner of the Leazes stand, overlooking the pitch. This was the most dramatic part of the tour as the gangway no longer has anything structurally underneath it and it is a clear view through the gangway to the pitch and stadium below. The perfect spot for a photo but quite vertigo inducing. The guides do point this part of the tour out in the safety briefing, and they do explain if you are not comfortable with it then let them know and they will take you an alternative route.
After this we made our way back along to the rear of the Leazes stand and along the walkway to the corner where the Leazes and Milburn stand both meets. Again, this is an excellent spot for photographs and there is the optional opportunity to walk on a section of clear walkway should you desire.
We then headed along the rear of the Milburn Stand to the far corner overlooking the Gallowgate stand. Alongside another clear section of walkway and excellent views of the stadium, this was another showstopper, with views from the Redheugh Bridge across to the Tyne Bridge, directly overlooking the new St James Stack below.
This marked the end of the rooftop tour as we headed back along the rear of the Milburn Stand towards the spiral staircase, which I must admit was a bit more vertigo inducing on the way down. After going back to the safety briefing room to drop off our hard hats and high viz jackets and to pick up any belongings we headed down to players entrance for the chance to walk along the tunnel and grab some photos pitch side.
I would thoroughly recommend this tour to any football fan, although I would avoid if you are not a fan of heights, and it is easy to book through the club’s website. Please note the tours run Saturdays/ Sundays from April to October, at 10:00 am, 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm (excluding match days) and it is not available to anyone under the age of 16. It is also weather dependent and can be cancelled at short notice should the conditions dictate. Follow the link below to book your tour.
https://www.newcastleunited.com/en/st-james-park/stadium-tours/rooftop-tours
Check out more from our tour on the Football Devotion Instagram page, link below.
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