Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Tag: beach

  • Skinningrove Jetty

    Skinningrove Jetty

    The old jetty at Skinningrove dominates the uncommercialised Cattersty Sands. It was built in the 1870s when the first two blast furnaces were built on the hill overlooking the little fishing village of Skinningrove. Later the works were enlarged to include five blast furnaces, with four in continuous operation. At this time the iron-smelting industry…

  • Howick Haven

    Howick Haven

    One of the many small sandy bays along this stretch of the Northumbrian coast between Boulmer and Caistor. At the turn of this century, an amateur archaeologist spotted some worked flints protruding out of an eroded sandy cliff just beyond the far side of the bay. He reported the finds to Newcastle University who investigated…

  • A pluviose start to the day.But it turned out nice in the end.

    A pluviose start to the day.
    But it turned out nice in the end.

    And there’s a couple of seals in the bay.But neither are wearing an orange swimming hat. But neither are wearing an orange swimming hat. One thing I was very uneasy with is the number of spring traps throughout the island. They seem to be everywhere, I counted three on our 3km walk down to the…

  • Cattersty Sands

    Cattersty Sands

    The container ship that’s currently stuck fast in the Suez Canal reminded me of a photo from the East Cleveland Image Archive I have seen recently.‌ This was the SS Sylviana which went aground on Cattersby Sands, Skinningrove on 18 December 1902 after losing her propeller. Now I know that at 360 feet (110 metres)…

  • The Hunter’s Blue Moon

    The Hunter’s Blue Moon

    Well, I just had to post this. I won’t get another chance for two decades. The second full moon of the month, so it’s a blue moon, it’s October so it’s a Hunter’s Moon and it’s Halloween. The last time these three lunar phenomena coincided was 1944. So a rare occurrence indeed. And it’s a…

  • Saltburn quiz question

    Saltburn quiz question

    What’s the connection in this photo between: the final resting place of a king of beasts World War 2 espionage the disgraced presenter of the TV show ‘Jim’ll Fix It’ the great-great-grandfather of the Duke of York Scroll down for the answer. The answer is Teddy’s Nook, the two-storey stone ‘cottage’ perched high on the…

  • Port Achadh an Aonaich

    Port Achadh an Aonaich

    About a mile south of the distributed settlement of Smirisary near Glenuig. Along a very rugged but well-defined path. Port Achadh an Aonaich is at the path’s end and known locally as “White Sands”. Smirisary is a fascinating place. Most of the old cottages have been renovated and made into holiday homes but with no…

  • Camas an Lighe

    Camas an Lighe

    Still on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Camas an Lighe is more commonly known as the Singing Sands although I am not sure if that is a literal translation. But they didn’t sing for us. We had expected a coral beach that does ‘sing’ indeed when you walk on it. Carraig Fhada on Islay is a good…

  • The Sea-Man of Skinningrove

    The Sea-Man of Skinningrove

    Skinningrove again. Second day in the row. The cool sea breeze was so refreshing after heat of the day. I was reminded of a tale I once read about when the fishermen of Skinningrove found a merman or sea-man on the shingle beach, which would put it below Hummersea Point, the cliff opposite in the…

  • Cattersty Sands, Skinningrove

    Cattersty Sands, Skinningrove

    When I first came to the North-East in the 70s, I worked on the fabrication yards on the Tees. Well actually I worked in the offices but I had to regularly go on site. One of the pleasanter nicknames for incomers from East Cleveland was a ‘Grover’. This I found out later meant someone who…