Northumberland: Blyth to North Shields 5/7/2006**

 

"Spirit of the Staithes"   Seaton Sluice   North Shields Ferry

We saw a different face of Blyth today when we walked east from the centre to the shipping terminals past the new shopping centre and local government buildings.  The old wharf area had recently been reconstructed with boardwalks and art-works celebrating the old “staithes” or wharves where coal was unloaded.  One of the large sculptures was the “Spirit of the Staithes” by Simon Packard 2003.  Unfortunately there was no infrastructure to support this development, so the whole area seemed empty and bare.  Moving south we crossed a large park with two bowling greens, several play facilities, and a putting-green – at least a relief from road-walking.  We soon found a way through to South Beach, which had a few shells.  The sun was obscured by a fog coming off the sea, which was to last all day and keep the temperature down while sirens continually droned from invisible ships offshore.  We came across a series of groynes to stabilise the beach, so we walked the narrow line of dunes above, squeezed between beach and main road.  These were protected and contained a good variety of plants as well as the familiar birds of this habitat – linnet, stonechat, skylark and meadow pipit.  There were also many goldfinches around.  This was the first time we encountered sea bindweed on this coast, while bloody cranesbill and lesser meadow-rue were very common, and we saw early marsh orchids.  We kept to the dunes as far as Seaton Sluice, where a brief rock outcrop broke the coastline and we had to use roads to circumvent Seaton Burn.  After this the path kept to the cliff-top until we descended to the tidal causeway to StMary’s Isle, housing a tall white lighthouse and attracting a stream of visitors despite the lighthouse not being open at this time.  After visiting the lighthouse we resumed the cliff path, very low approaching the former resort of Whitley Bay.  Just past a mini-golf course we crossed the coastal grassland to the road to get lunch at the Briar Dene pub, which had a wide range of real ales on offer.  It was named after the neighbouring meadow, preserved for its plants, although when we descended into this steep valley we found it largely overgrown with huge butterbur leaves and the only less than common plant was a monkey flower in the stream.  We returned to the sandy beach to reach the centre of town and then continued along concrete esplanades where many commercial outlets – shops, hotels, pubs – were boarded up.  This had obviously once been a popular seaside-town for Tynesiders, but the loss of the area’s economic base meant there was no longer any money to support it.  The front was therefore bare, although many people still walked by and used the beaches.  We passed the small community of Cullercoats, now merged into Whitley Bay on one side and Tynemouth on the other.  Although still evidently depressed there was more going on at Tynemouth, while the old ruined castle and priory on the final rocky headland were attractive.  The cliffs housed kittiwake and fulmar and for the first time on this coast we saw alexanders growing with wild cabbage and fragrant orchids.  Below the headland the North Pier stretched into the North Sea, protecting the entrance to the Tyne.  The next headland overlooked the river itself and marked a significant stage in our journey, for from near here a ferry crosses the river to the South Pier at South Shields.  It thus just remained to follow cycle ways and streets along the edge of the Tyne to North Shields passenger ferry terminal.  We passed a little rocky beach where various people were apparently collecting crabs by hand from the rock-pools and in the estuary itself.  Beyond the old boatyards was the Fish Quay where fresh seafood was landed and across the road a whole series of fish and chip restaurants, although even here many businesses were closed and many areas wasteland with Indian balsam, perennial wall-rocket and eastern rocket.  An area of newly cleared ground had a specimen of dense-flowered fumitory.  As we reached the ferry terminal crowds of office-workers arrived from across the river and others came from buses to make the opposite journey in the daily round of commuting.