Walk 70 Whitley Bay to Blyth (Northumberland)
(First leg of English
coastal walk – Broadstairs in Kent to Berwick at the border with Scotland)
Difficulty: Fairly easy
Terrain: footpaths and pavement
Access: Parking at both ends
Public transport: Metro at Whitley Bay – buses from Blyth to surrounding towns and Newcastle.
Join the cycle path route at Whitley Bay.
Whitley Bay is a holiday resort that is particularly popular
with the Scottish. Its popularity was increased with the arrival of the loop
railway which is now part of The Tyneside Metro. The town was known just as
Whitley up to 1890 but was often confused with Whitby. This even caused a body
to be taken to Whitby for a funeral by mistake. Whitley Bay is now a popular
destination for stag and hen parties – the notices in some of the
B&Bs/hotels make it clear that such groups are welcome. Bearing this in
mind, the boisterous night life in the town is not surprising.
Along the front is an attractive building called The Spanish
City Dome. This was part of a permanent fun fair established in 1909. When I
was there it was being converted into a hotel and leisure centre. Famous residents
of Whitley Bay include/have included the actor Robson Green and Ian Le Frenais
the writer of The Likely Lads and other comedies.
The walk continues out of Whitley Bay and alongside the road
for a couple of miles to St Mary’s Lighthouse on St Mary’s Island - it can only
be reached by a causeway at low tide. The lighthouse started working in 1897
and was decommissioned in 1984. It is on the site of an old monastery where a
sanctuary light would have guided ships.
It is now run by the Friends of St Mary’s Island and can be visited most
weekends and during school holidays.
Close to St Mary’s Island is Curry’s Point. On the 4th
September 1739 Michael Curry was executed for the murder of the landlord at the
Three Horseshoes Inn, Hartley (a nearby village). His body was hung in chains
from a gibbet at this point within sight of the scene of his crime; ever since
this gruesome event the headland has been known as Curry’s Point.
The coastline is rugged from here to Seaton Sluice.
Seaton Sluice was once a thriving industrial area which saw
the production of coal, glass, ship building, bricks and salt. Coal mining
began as early in the thirteenth century and continued until a disaster at
Hartley Hew Pit in 1862 killed 200 men.
There was an artificially constructed harbour built at Seaton to
service the old industries. As can be seen, this has now silted up and is now
only suitable for small sea boats. The decline of its industries, the coal disaster
and the development of ports in the 19th century at Blyth and
Tyneside all combined to diminish the importance of the town. In the early 20th
century an attempt was made to turn Seaton Sluice into a tourist area but this
failed with the outbreak of the First World War.
I walked to Blyth on the beach – a pleasant walk on a calm,
cold winter day. As you arrive to the south of Blyth there is a curved brick
wall. Guns were housed on here during both World Wars when it was known as the
Southern Gun Emplacement and Blyth Battery. After the war they were adapted as
shelters with seats.
A wind farm is clearly seen to the north as the walk
continues along Blyth promenade. Blyth dates from the 12th century
as a port but major expansion didn’t happen until the early 1800s. The main
early industries were coal, ship building salt and fishing. Nowadays the port
is importing paper and pulp from Scandinavia and aluminium. Two white buildings
sit on the dunes; these were searchlight emplacements used during World War 1 –
sliding steel shutters exposed the light when needed.
Continue the walk on to Blyth quayside. This has been regenerated with the old power station being removed and the decline in industry. The large brown silos are used to store aluminium unloaded from ships. The ‘pointy’ sculpture called Spirit of the Staithes was unveiled by Princess Anne in 2003 to mark the regeneration of the harbour.
Back behind the shore near to some houses is the oldest
building in Blyth. It is the High Light Lighthouse the first part of which was
built in 1788
Pictures show: Spanish City Dome, Whitley Bay; St Mary's Lighhouse; Curry's Point.
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