Newcastle Clean Air Zone Explained

Tyne Quayside, Newcastle

Launching on 30 January 2023, the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will cover most of the city centre.

Private cars will be exempt but older taxis will be charged £12.50 per day and non-compliant lorries, buses and coaches will have to pay £50 each day.

Under the CAZ, only some older, more polluting commercial vehicles will be subject to daily fees to drive into Newcastle city centre.

It is important to know that coaches which are non-compliant, will be required to pay a new £50-a-day tolls. Non-compliant smaller mini coaches and taxis will be charged £12.50 per day.

Here is how to check whether your vehicles need to pay the toll:

Petrol vans and taxis that meet ‘Euro 4’ standards are exempt, as are ‘Euro 6’ diesels, so it is important to check what class your vehicle is in. All HGVs, buses and coaches must be of ‘Euro 6’ standard to avoid the toll.

Newcastle and Gateshead councils say that, as a general rule, the following vehicles should meet the minimum standard, therefore be exempt from tolls:

  • Taxis – Diesels registered after September 2015, petrol cars registered after 2005;
  • Vans – Diesels registered after September 2016, petrol after January 2006;
  • HGVs, buses and coaches registered after 2014.

The first set of tolls will begin on January 30, 2023 and will apply only to taxis, private hire vehicles, buses, coaches and HGVs. Vans and light goods vehicles will not face charges until July 2023, with extra time having been afforded due to a national shortage of vans making it harder for people to upgrade to newer, cleaner models.

The toll zone is in Newcastle city centre only, including the routes in over the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges. Earlier versions of the plans included a much larger CAZ that would have also included parts of Gateshead, a stretch of the Coast Road, and up to Gosforth, but the scheme was scaled back. Councils also ditched the idea of halving the number of lanes on the Tyne Bridge in order to deter car journeys.

Once the charges begin on January 30, 2023, affected drivers will be able to pay online via the Government website. You will also be able to pay using an online contact form or by calling a hotline on 0300 029 888, open from Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm. Taxi owners licenced by Newcastle, Gateshead, or North Tyneside councils can also apply for a seven-day permit at a cost of £50, instead of the standard charge of £12.50 per day.

Once the charges launch, drivers will be able to pay up to six days before their journey or six days after. Payments cannot be made before January 30, 2023.

Exemptions include:

  • Disabled tax class or disabled passenger tax class;
  • Certain types of agricultural vehicles;
  • Historic vehicles;
  • Military vehicles;
  • Ultra low emission vehicles;
  • Vehicles retrofitted with technology accredited by the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS);
  • Specialist agricultural and similar vehicles such as tractors, gritters, snow ploughs, mowing machines digging machines, road-rollers, mobile cranes, mobile pumping vehicles and steam-powered vehicles.
  • Emergency services;
  • Showmen’s vehicles registered to the business of travelling showmen that have been specifically modified or constructed to be used to provide the performance and are permanently fitted with a special type of body or superstructure forming part of the equipment of the show, and are used solely by that person for the purposes of their business;
  • Non-commercial vintage buses aged between 20 and 39 years;
  • Vehicles awaiting replacement or retrofitting, where evidence is supplied that a compliant vehicle has been ordered or proof that the vehicle has been accepted for retrofitting by an approved supplier and is awaiting work to take place;
  • Taxis and private hire vehicles subject to an ongoing finance agreement;
  • Wheelchair accessible taxis/private hire vehicles;
  • Motor Caravans;
  • Community Transport Vehicles;
  • Vehicles registered to businesses located within the CAZ;
  • Emergency rail replacement buses and coaches;
  • Bus and HGV driver training vehicles;
  • Breakdown recovery vehicles;
  • Hybrid vehicles;
  • Taxis and vans belonging to people living within the CAZ.

You can check if your vehicle is compliant or not by entering your registration number at gov.uk/clean-air-zones.

Vera Locations Tour 2023 Dates

Vera Location Tours North East England

Our Vera Locations tour is super popular – every year we team up with Brit Movie Tours to bring you the official Vera tour based on the drama of the hit ITV series!

Highlights of the tour include:

  • At least 10 murder locations from the ITV series Vera
  • Iconic sites around Newcastle & North Tyneside
  • Stop for a panoramic shot of Newcastle with its iconic seven bridges that are the backdrop to many of Vera’s episodes
  • Photo stops in Whitley Bay and Tynemouth
  • Get behind the scenes information about how the show is made
  • Coach tour experience with expert Vera tourist guide

We are super excited to announce the dates for 2023:

  • Saturdays at 1pm between April and October 2023

To book, simply visit Newcastle Tour Company Vera tour page and click “Book Now”!

Announcing a new partnership with City Explorer Liverpool & combo hop on hop off experiences

hop on hop off experiences

We have a fantastic new partnership to announce today! We are working with the fabulous hop on hop off sightseeing bus company City Explorer Liverpool and could not be more excited!

What this means is that we can combine our Vox City Walks (hop on hop off sightseeing walking tours) with City Explorer Liverpool to create combined hop on hop off experiences for guests on foot and wishing to hop on (or off) the sightseeing bus! You can book these here on our website!

The combined tickets include:

  • 24 hour hop on hop off Liverpool City Explorer plus 24h Vox City Walks Liverpool experience including 2 guided circuits, 4 self-guided walks and a 24h pass for the city centre sightseeing bus
  • 48 hour hop on hop off Liverpool City Explorer AND Beatles Explorer plus 48 hours Vox City Walks Liverpool experience including 2 guided circuits, 4 self-guided walks. The bus route includes the city centre but also easy access to the suburbs for Penny Lane and Strawberry Field
  • 72 hour ultimate experience to include all City Explorer Liverpool busses (city centre, Beatles and Anfield Explorer) and gives you access to all walking routes for 72 hours, too – there are no excuses now not to explore to the max!

Looking After Our Planet – Our Sustainable Story

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Responsible travel is part of our DNA. We care deeply about the places we travel to, and we work hard to ensure your visit has a positive effect.

Since the beginning, we’ve strived to work with local people and businesses within our destinations. Not only do we feel this gives you the best experience, it also brings benefits to local communities.

Climate change is arguably the world’s biggest issue and we want to ensure that we are doing our part – our workforce offsets their carbon footprint and we plant trees on a regular basis as well as for every booking we receive. Therefore, you, our customers, can be part of our sustainable story.

Our philosophy here is simple: Make your mark, leave less of a footprint behind.

We work close with many organisations within Northern England, Wales and Scotland. We have a direct contact with all the attractions, venues, people we work with so we can create a more bespoke experience for our guests.

During our tours, we generally emphasise the use of local hotels, restaurants and produce where possible and believe in making a difference to the local economy. We love the regions we specialise in, therefore we feel it is our duty to protect these and ensure local people benefit.

In our office we adhere to the overall approach of reusing, recycling and reducing the usage of printed paper, packaging, water and electricity.

We are committed to bringing you closer to fine food that is locally sourced. Where possible, use only regionally owned coach and minibus operators for our tours.

Since 2020 we have partnered with the brilliant guys at Ecologi to become a Climate Positive Workforce – this means that every employee at Experience North offsets their total carbon emissions. We also plant trees on a monthly basis and take part in several reforestation projects around the globe. You can make an impact by adding to our forest right here on our Ecologi page.

New Tour Alert: Newcastle True Crime Tour

Newcastle True Crime Tour

We are super pumped and can’t wait to share with you our latest tour from Newcastle Tour Company!

The Newcastle True Crime Tour (bookable from today!) takes you on an evening walking tour of Newcastle dark side! Explore historic tales of crime, murder and intrigue in some of the city’s most famous places such as the architectural gems of Grainger Town, old Newcastle and the castle areas, the historic Quayside and some hidden gems along the way!

Your tour is hosted by one of our great storytellers and will take you on an exploration of the cities darkest crimes.

Tours begin at 17:30h in winter and 20:00h in summer – you’ll start in the light and it will get darker as you move into the night.

All tours in 2021 will be private tours for just you and your family and/or friends. All tours adhere to strict COVID-19 guidelines and maintain social distancing where required. From 2022 this tour will turn into a public tour running each weekend – all tours start at Grey’s Monument in the heart of the city and end by the river Tyne around 1.5 hours later.

Come join us and book your tour! Or why not check out some of our other Newcastle tours within this site.

Plan your Corporate Travel with Liverpool FC Tickets

Destination Management Company Northern England Liverpool FC Tickets & Anfield Stadium

We are super excited! Why? Firstly because we have the privilege to serve a fantastic part of the UK and get access to things not many do…

One of those things is access to all areas Liverpool! We operate some fabulous tour product here such as Liverpool Tour Company or Fab 4 Taxi Tours and have access to some of the fantastic venues and back-stage locations within the city.

But this announcement is about something slightly different. It is about the sights and sounds of the world-famous Liverpool Football Club, the magic of Anfield Stadium, the hair-raising moment when you hear 50,000 people sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and the sheer passion that the football club & lovers of LFC bring to the city.

We are proud to be a part of this magic at Anfiled and offer a wide range of products surrounding the football club: stadium tours, museum visits, guided walks around Anfield and Stanley Park, meet & greets with former players & Liverpool legends, a football match with a local supporters club and so much more.

However, the big reveal is that we now also offer Liverpool FC tickets to Liverpool FC for our corporate guests, incentive tours & team building events. Our partnership with the biggest names in our city of Liverpool is built on years of trust & working complimentary together.

We are extremely excited to be able to offer you official matchday tickets in corporate hospitality for you and your group or clients…Talk to us about your next incentive or corporate visit to Liverpool and include Liverpool FC tickets for an experience of a lifetime!

New Partnership With Vox City Walks

Vox City Walks

Experience North has not stood still during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020/21. On the contrary, we have invested in our consumer facing brands, Liverpool Tour Company & Newcastle Tour Company, as well as focusing our attention to new opportunities within the regions we love to serve.

And with this, we’re thrilled to be starting this week with a fantastic announcement:

From Summer this year (2021), we’ll be bringing you Vox City Walks to the great city of Liverpool! We are partnering with the fantastic Vox GroupVox City to bring the concept of hop-on-hop-off walking tours to the city!

We are extremely excited to work with Vox Group and to bring bring this new concept of city exploration to the market in Marketing Liverpool!

We are teaming up with several local partners so watch this space for more announcements!

Safe Travels Accredited by World Travel & Tourism Council

Good To Go Book With Confidence

It has been a difficult & strange year for us all…

We have, aside from the financials, taken a highly positive approach to the pandemic.We have taken the time to change systems, build new relationships and partnerships, create new product and services as well as take an in-depth look at how we do things.

One major part has been to update & maintain our high health and safety procedures.

We are proud to now also be accredited by the World Travel & Tourism Council, the worldwide body for international travel & tourism as operating under “Safe Travels” guidelines.

This is in addition to our Visit England “Good To Go” accreditation!

It has been tough – we can’t deny that! But, we are ready! And we can’t wait to welcome our visitors back to Northern England and onto our fabulous tours and journeys very soon!

We are officially Good to Go

Good To Go England

We have been given the Green Light by our official tourism authority Visit Britain & Visit England to restart all our tours & services for you!

We have gone through a rigorous process of creating new protocols, sanitation procedures & new health & safety details to keep you, our staff & suppliers safe.

We very much look forward to welcoming you all back to our beautiful North West, North East, North Wales & Scottish regions whenever you are ready!

Our new protocols to keep you healthy during our tours include:

  • flexible booking options
  • self-check checklist before you travel
  • full sanitisation/cleaning of all our vehicles used
  • social distancing rules
  • Visor equipment for our guides (to keep you safe but also be able to see the smiles on our guides’ faces)
  • complete staff & guide training to implement new protocols

The result is a sanitised attraction but certainly not a sanitised experience! You are here to enjoy our fabulous regions, discover new places & experience an authentic destination. We believe that our new introductions to hygiene/cleaning will allow you to enjoy your visit to the max.

Visit our site to discover what we can offer you on www.experiencenorthdmc.com!

Covid-19 Update (June 2020)

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We hope that all our friends, colleagues & clients past & present are remaining safe & healthy during the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In the last months our small team have worked tirelessly in assisting our booked clients to make new arrangements. We would like to thank our clients who have shown both understanding and compassion as we have worked with you to reschedule your travel plans.

As of today, the UK is slowly reopening businesses, retail & some tourism sectors. We are back in our offices to take your enquiries & can’t wait to speak with you!

We politely ask that anyone who is scheduled to travel beyond the end of July 2020 to remain patient until we are in a position to contact you with further information on your booking arrangement. It is with great sadness that many of our clients are unable to take their trips as planned but we would like you to know that we look forward to welcoming you to Northern Britain as soon as this situation passes.

The safety & health of our guests are of paramount importance to us – we are implementing policies during all our tours & trips to keep you & our staff safe. As before, our focus is on quality and enriched experiences for you in an authentic and sustainable way. This position is strengthened by the outbreak in 2020 and, moving forward, plays an even stronger role in all tours we create for our customers. We are constantly updating our protocols following the health crisis in 2020 and will keep you informed throughout your enquiries and booking. Further information will follow.