Seaham

 

A Morning at Seaham Beach

There's a lovely, quiet stretch of the Durham coastline at Seaham. I got to Seaham early, before most people were out, and the beach was completely empty. Everything was quiet except for the gulls and the sound of waves rolling in. I was going to drive up on the moors to take some photos of the heather, but since they were on fire, I decided to head north instead. 

Out by the rocks was a group of cormorants, wings stretched wide like they were posing for photos. Every so often, one would glide out over the water before they all took off together.

Then, just as I was leaving, the gannets showed up. I had no idea they were here at Seaham, having travelled all the way up to North Berwick earlier in the year to see them. They circled high above, then suddenly dove straight down, and I spent ages watching them dive into the sea.

Further along, the sand gave way to pebbles, and bits of sea glass glinted in the light. At the end of the beach, there are stairs leading to the top of the cliff, which you can follow along to reach a viaduct and another little beach.