Friday, 8 November 2013

Coastwalk

Whitley Bay → Blyth

st-marys-lighthouse.png Distance: 8.01 miles
Ascent: 70 metres
Duration: 2 hours 34 minutes

Five Hundred
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We couldn't resist returning for one more long weekend of coast walking this year. At the end of our previous walk we were just seven miles shy of a landmark: our first five hundred mile year. And so, in Ridley Park in Blyth, we crossed that threshold with delight.

seaton-sluice.pngBefore Blyth was St Mary's lighthouse (we didn't cross the causeway to the island) and then Seaton Sluice.

spirit-of-the-staithes.pngBlyth turns out to be a charming town. This is a surprise given a complete lack of places to stay the night. Like many other towns on the north-east coast it has a functioning port, but clearly much diminished from its heyday. Part of the harbour has been revitalised with a new board walk, curious artwork and motion-activated posts that deliver a soundtrack of aural history in thick regional voices.

Here we heard of submarines and ships, and our minds turned to this week's news from BAE Systems concerning the future of military shipbuilding in the UK. Coupled with our recent discovery of The Unthanks' album Songs from the Shipyard it was a poignant end to the walk.

Posted by pab at 18:43 | Comments will be back one day. Please email me instead!