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The Spanish City
A magical place, but it’s a long walk home
Yeah girl it looks so pretty to me
Just like it always did
Oh like the Spanish City to me
When we were kids
Check it out
From Tunnel Of Love, by Dire Straits
The Spanish City used to be an amusement park, situated in the seaside town of Whitley Bay, on the north-east coast of England. The structure’s main feature, which dates back to 1910. is a huge white dome, which still stands today, and the building itself, originally a ballroom, is in use as a thriving wining and dining outlet. But when Mark Knopfler and I were kids (he’s some way older than me), a trip to the Spanish City was about as good as it got.
An Extra Thrill
Back then, no school summer holiday period would be complete without at least one trip to what we called the shows at the Spanish City. The name itself was magical to our young imaginations. Children from my town, who took the 308 bus to Whitley Bay, got an extra thrill, because that bus lumbered up a steady incline at Seaton Sluice, but then, on gaining the brow of the hill, the white dome came into view, almost glowing in the distance. On seeing our pure white destination, excitement levels on the bus went up…
