I have a lot of memories of that bus station from when I was a young boy in the early 1970s. I used to go in to Newcastle with my mam on a Saturday afternoon to get shopping. My mam was a very religious Catholic and our first stop after getting off the bus was always St. Andrew's Church across the street to light a couple of candles!

I also remember the queues at the end of the day, especially if there had been a home game at St. James' Park! The other thing I remember is the starlings gathering on the buildings along Pilgrim Street. The sky would look black with them and the noise of their chirping was tremendous.

There would always be a couple of men with either Westler's or Keegan's carts selling hot dogs and hamburgers close to the bus station, and it would be an occasional treat to get one.

Quite sad to think that it's all gone now.