Haha, is it the terminal greyness of everything, the baffling accent, the immunity to cold, or the plague pit that you recognise? (Also, eeeeee! You've been to my city! What brought you over here?)

It's a very literal city name, which kind of suits the people in a way. Not that the castle's new anymore (aside from the roof). New castle up on (the bank of the) Tyne (trans. "river" in local Celtish dialect).