Cliff Walking

Just like yesterday, I could see a ferry making its way along the horizon towards Newcastle. It felt a bit like deja vu. There were some wonderful sea arches and caves along the cliffs near to the lighthouse. The tide was in and so I couldn't get down to them. I decided to take a closer look on my return if the tide had gone far enough out. The cliffs weren't huge and they gradually reduced in height the further south I walked. At one point I heard a cough behind me. Turning around I couldn't see anybody on the path  but looking inland I noticed somebody sat looking out of the window of a hide. It was a good job I hadn't stopped for a pee. A little further along, large embankments had been created in the fields next to the path. I'd seen on the OS map that this was a firing range and a designated danger area. There were horses in the field and so I don't think much shooting would be done today. In fact, it had the air about it that it hadn't been used in a long time.

Whitburn

After the fields, a housing estate appeared at Whitburn. A row of domestic garages separated the houses from the sea. Some of these looked like they were falling down. It seemed a bit of a waste having garages there since a house would have had a wonderful view of the sea. A modern School Academy was next door to the estate. It must be great for the kids to sit in a class and look out to sea all day. Probably for the teachers too. Next door to the school was the gentrified section of Whitburn. There were no derelict garages here to block the views of the sea. The houses had picture windows and some had balconies with seating. Some steel erecters were working on the roofing on one of the houses. The cost of living crisis was obviously not applicable to some lucky people. 

Whitburn Sands stretched out before me and the path dropped downwards to meet it. Before I diverted off on to the sands I spotted a Toney Minchellas café next to a carpark. That would be a useful stop for a caffeine hit on the way back.

Seaburn And Roker

Whitburn sands was busy with dog walkers; our canine friends chasing tennis balls for their pottering owners. The tide was in and I wasn't able to progress very far before I had to divert up on to the promenade. The sun was spending more time out than in now and it had turned into a really nice day. I quite liked the promenade run in to the River Wear. There are a few amusement arcades, but it doesn't fell over the top.

At Seaburn I came across the Old South Pier Lighthouse. It's called the Old South Pier Lighthouse since it is old and used to be positioned on the south pier at the mouth of the River Wear. It was moved here when the Old South Pier was demolished in 1983. The lighthouse was built in 1856 and is unusual in that it was one of the first to be made out of cast iron. The light was originally powered by Kerosene which shone for 3 miles. That doesn't seem a great distance  to me. It was converted to an electric lamp in 1903.

Not far away from the lighthouse was Bede's Cross. It had been inscribed upon within an inch of its life in the style of Anglo Saxon stone carvings that were prevalent when Bede was being his most venerable. There are pictures on the cross that represent the many parts of Bede's life, including his work, his friends, his interests and his visits to the northeast's brothels (I made up the last one). The cross was crowdfunded by the locals in 1904 for the sum of £300. That must have been a fair sum in those days.

I noticed a sign across the coastal road for Roker Park. That name was quite familiar to me in my pre-teen days of collecting football cards and chewing that awful gum. Presumably Sunderland Football Club's old ground must have been positioned around here before they moved to the Stadium Of Light. I decided to have a wander in to investigate. I didn't find any old turnstiles or goalposts, but I did find some nice tree and grass areas. There was even an old bandstand and a pretty little lake. In fact I'd have almost have described it as idyllic if it hadn't been for the druggie sat on the park bench rocking himself to oblivion.  Later research revealed that the old stadium used to be a little further west of the park. I headed back to the coast.

River Wear

The last time I was here I walked out to the lighthouse on the Roker Pier. It was all blocked off today. Last October's storms damaged the lighthouse and railings and until the council can find £300,000 to sort the damage out, it will remain shut. Some elderly ladies pottered across my path from the carpark to the stony beach and then squealed like teenagers as they entered the water. They were in bathing costumes, of course. I'd reached the River Wear now and the England Coast Path took me inland towards the Wearmouth bridge. There is a fairly large marina here. Oddly enough, I've never seen anyone go out on one of these boats, either this time or the previous time I was here. There is a rather mysterious sculpture trail along the north bank. One of the most intriguing is known as the Red House and consists of a sandstone representation of a partially demolished house. At the time, I didn't really know what to make of it, but a later internet trawl revealed it to be a memorial to the nearly 300 people who were killed in Sunderland during the German bombing raids of World War II. There are plenty of other puzzling sculptures along the north bank. They do keep you entertained.

University of Sunderland buildings are positioned on the north bank. In one of the carparks, I walked past half a dozen police minibuses, about the same number of police cars and some police motorcycle riders. I thought that the carpark must have been for a police station in the vicinity, but I couldn't see one though. I then noticed police walking around the university campus, checking the ids of the students and for a moment I wondered if there was some sort of lockdown incident taking place. It was only when I saw a large number of black Range Rovers in a nearby carpark that I realised that it was probably a Royal or political visit. Given they were Range Rovers, my bet was on politicians. It took me about 15 minutes to walk up to Wearmouth Bridge (my turning point for the day) and then return to the Range Rovers. As I arrived, Sunak and Hunt (Prime Minister and Chancellor) were departing from the building causing a flurry of activity for the waiting police. Apparently they were up here to visit Sunderland University's media centre as a plug for the £37 million funding for the proposed filmmaking complexes further up the Wear. I guess a few  thousand of that would now have to be allocated for the police security operation used during the visit.

Near to the marina I heard some loud rustling in a nearby bush. The leaves were so dense that I couldn't see within and given the extent of the twig snapping I thought there might be something as big as a fox in there. I stopped and waited to see if anything materialised from the vegetation. Eventually two blackbirds rolled out in a blur of feathers and feet. Their beaks were so interlocked that they seemed to have each other's head in their mouths. They were oblivious to me standing there until they almost rolled into my boots, at which point they released their death grip on each other and flew off to continue their fight at a nearby spot. Nature is both wondrous and horrific.

Return

The day really warmed up as I made my way back northwards along the promenade. Roker, Saltburn drifted by and then I reached the Toney Minchellas café just before Whitburn. I'd promised myself a coffee and so I stopped for one. It was a lot busier than this morning, but I managed to get a seat. Dog's sniffed around each other's bottoms as their owners chatted, oblivious to their investigations. After the caffeine refuel, I headed up the path on to the cliffs. I noted that the steel erecters had finished putting up the steelwork for the roof; it doesn't take them long. I left most of the potterers when I reached the end of the houses at Whitburn. The man in the bird hide had had enough fun scaring people this morning and he'd departed; all the hide's  shutters were closed. The tide was going out now and I spotted a couple of fishermen who had walked quite away out on those slippery rocks to conduct their business. Near to Souter Lighthouse I found a gap in the cliffs that allowed me to get down on to the shore. The caves at the base of the cliffs were huge.  It reminded me a little of the cavities on decayed teeth. With all this undermining from the sea, I didn't think it would be too long before the whole lot came tumbling down. I shivered. I wouldn't want to be around when that happened. 

I made my way back to the carpark at Souter Lighthouse. It had been an amazing day. There really is a great variety of walking on this route with plenty of distractions to take you off-piste if you have the time. It also ticked another leg off my England Coast Path Venture. The bit between the Tyne and Wear had now been completed over the last two days. Very enjoyable it was too.