I had mixed luck with the weather while I was up in Northumberland. One afternoon, it poured with rain and I had to cancel my trip to Hadrian’s Wall. That hit me hard, as it was one of the favourite locations I had researched. Another morning brought wall to wall blue skies and sunshine, which left no hope of taking photographs with a bit of atmosphere.
My trip to St Marys lighthouse brought plenty of cloud, although it was also bitterly cold. Situated on a tiny island, just north of Whitley Bay, it was exposed to easterly winds and was supposedly only accessible via a short causeway at low tide. I had done plenty of homework and wanted to photograph the lighthouse as the causeway started to be revealed by the receding water. I had possibly been overcautious by planning to arrive a full two hours before low tide, but I thought I could sit in my car until the tide was perfect. Arriving on time, I parked up to see a few people heading down the slope towards the causeway, which was already high and dry! I watched as they crossed to the island, 90 minutes before it was officially open.
It turned out to be a theme during my trip and I wondered if I had chosen to visit during a period of exceptionally low tides. I will never know. There seemed to be little point in waiting though, so I grabbed my gear and explored some of the seaweed covered rocks that had been exposed. My favourite image can be seen below.
Two days later, on my final full day in the north-east, I found myself photographing a sewage outfall pipe on Cambois beach. The beach itself was massive, stretching from Blyth to the Wansbeck estuary. There were literally a handful of people around, possibly due to another biting wind. There was one lady with two dogs, who, in spite of having miles to exercise them, decided to repeatedly throw a ball directly in front of my camera. I was set up to take a long exposure and I lost count of the times I had to waste the shot while I held my hand in front of the lens to protect it from water splashes. The tide was fairly low again and I had waded out some distance, leaving the dry sand a good ten metres behind. I couldn’t understand why she would do this and in spite of a polite request to call her dogs off, she continued. I knew this would be a special image though, so I bit my tongue until she eventually got bored and moved away. The image is featured at the top.
Sid
16 Dec 2021Hello! Stunning shots ❤️
I would have liked to live in that lighthouse, it’s incredible!
The first photo is so impressive, the sea, the beach and the pipe: nature against humanity.
A lady with dogs: sometimes people are so lonely they need to put themselves in contact with the rest of the world somehow; sometimes they are simply nasty!
Have a wonderful day 🙂
Sid
Zooey
16 Dec 2021Hello my friend! I hope you are keeping well. I have an even better house for you. It was a bit further north up the coast. I did visit, but that was during the terrible rain I blogged about. I met another photographer on the rocks and we got chatting. Getting back to the car park, we just stood in the rain and carried on talking. He was a bit nicer than the dog lady! Have a look for the Bathing House at Howick 🙂
Sid
21 Dec 2021Oh my! Yes, the Bathing House is MY house! Enchanted place, wonderful resort: love it, love the style, love everything 😜
Christmas time is a busy period but I will survive it ✌️
Have a great, joyful and peaceful and healthy Christmas, you and your entire family 🤗❤️
Sid
Zooey
21 Dec 2021It is rather special. I climbed down on the rocks to get closer. At high tide, their garden is bordering the sea. I didn’t know how it looked inside until I found that link for you. Happy Christmas to you too, my friend. Our little family has grown again. I may tell you about that on Christmas Day 🙂