Blyth to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea

As the crow flies, it is only about four miles from where we stayed in Blyth to where we stayed in Newbiggin, but we walked approaching three times that distance in getting between them. This is because we had several river estuaries to negotiate, each requiring a diversion inland to a river crossing, with the most substantial of these being several miles each way.  We hadn't expected much of the walk; the landscape looked mostly industrial and the weather forecast was for rain, though thankfully without Saturday's thunderstorms. Overall, the walk was a pleasant surprise.

Breakfast at the Commissioners Quay Inn was also a pleasant surprise. Cereal, fruit, yoghurt, toast, partries, tea and coffee are self service and you order your choice of cooked breakfast at the bar. We could have either small or large Eggs Benedict, but weren't sure what the sizes meant, but on the advice of the man who took the order (and given the price was included with the room), we chose the large version (two muffins, with an egg and all the trimmings). However, the order was somehow garbled and just one large Eggs Benedict arrived - one muffin, egg etc. each! However, the hotel's reaction to this was exemplary, with an immediate apology and another portion arriving shortly afterwards; we shared that too. 

From the Commissioners Quay Inn, we walked a short distance further along the quay, then we headed through shopping and residential areas so as to avoid another industrial area. At one point, the correct route lay down a road which was closed to traffic to allow the building of new homes. A sign implied that there was still a pedestrian walkway through, but if this was there we couldn't find it, so we had to find a (thankfully quite short) way round, joined in our mutterings and diversion by a woman with young children and a dog walker. The dog walker was still on the same route as we took a rough track which led down to the estuary of the River Blyth. We were very close to industry, but the estuary gave every appearance of being unspoilt, with boats and fishermen digging for bait on a muddy estuary.

We continued close to the estuary as it headed inland, at one stage taking a secondary diversion around another little inlet. It started to rain slightly when we'd stopped for a break, but it didn't come to much and (not for the last time today) we decided that it was best to keep going without waterproofs, rather than to put on our waterproofs and get too hot. As we approached the bridge which carries the A189 over the river, the landscape became less pretty, largely because a number of power lines were crossing above us on pylons. However, there was also some rather nice rural-looking countryside on the opposite side of the estuary. We climbed up steps to the bridge and after a somewhat complex route to get us to the northern side of the estuary, we took a narrow path back towards the coast, under the pylons.

Just before Mount Pleasant Farm, we turned away from the estuary and headed almost due north. We were now in the rural-looking countryside we'd seen from the other side of the estuary, and it did indeed feel very rural, as we passed close to a field of cows and then crossed fields where various arable crops were growing. Our path brought us to another estuary; this is Sleek Burn, a tributary of the River Blyth which is itself tidal to this point (a mile or so from where it joins the Blyth) and beyond. After crossing Sleek Burn and climbing above it, we came to the pleasant village of East Sleekburn, where there was a convenient bench. We joined and followed the road which leads back from the A189 to the coast at Cambois. This was not a particularly attractive section of the walk though, given that we were walking close to the site of a former colliery and power station, perhaps it was more pleasant than it would have been. There have been various attempts at regeneration, not all successful. We passed the site where a massive factory was planned by Britishvolt for the manufacture of batteries for electric cars. However, the company went into administration in early 2023 and, although the company appears to have been bought, the future of both it and the site remain uncertain. Further on, we passed a more positive development on what is essentially the northern end of the Blyth Docks; Here the constuction is underway of a plant where JDR Cables will manufacture subsea cables for the offshore wind industry.      

We'd hoped that we might be able to stop for a break around lunchtime and, as we approached the coast again, we passed a cafe. However, we weren't very hungry and it looked to be a "greasy spoon", so we didn't stop. We continued under a railway line and out to the dunes.  I made my way down to the beach. After several miles of walking, here we were just a couple of kilometres north of where we set off from this morning. I rejoined Richard in the little car park behind the dunes; from here, a sign indicated our onward route though the dunes. We were walking parallel with a row of cottages in Cambois, but our route wasn't either clear or exciting, so we made our way back to the beach and stopped here for a snack. There were a number of people walking along the beach so we decided to do likewise. It was a still drizzling, but it was otherwise pleasant enough. 

We reached a slipway to the beach where people were coming and going so, again, we headed away from the beach here. This was a busier area, with parked cars, and our route led past the "Shack at the Beach", a cafe next to Charlton's Bar and Restaurant. The Shack at the Beach was perfect for what we wanted; a cup of tea! We'd rejoined the route of the England Coast Path, now heading away from the coast again, alongside the estuary of the River Wansbeck. Richard realised that he'd stopped the recording of our route when we were in the cafe and forgotten to start it again (fortunately he was able to fix it later). We didn't have to go too far inland this time, and although we passed underneath the bridge taking the A189 across the River Wansbeck, we actually crossed it on a footbridge by a weir slightly further upstream. 

As we walked back along the northern edge of the estuary, there were pretty views across the estuary to Blyth sailing club and at one stage it stopped raining completely. However this was deceptive: we reached a caravan park and headed through it, but as we were doing so the rain came on more heavily and now it continued all the way to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. This was a pity, as it meant we couldn't fully appreciate the walk we had on the top of low cliffs. Soon enough we reached Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. In the distance, on the other side of the bay on Newbiggin Point, we could see St Bartholemew's Church. Meanwhile, out at sea there was a structure which it took us some time to work out; this is Sean Henry's sculpture "Couple", constructed on top of a breakwater. Opinion about the sculpture seems mixed, but I quite liked it and it was certainly memorable. 

We walked past The Old Ship Inn where we were staying, but we had some time to kill before our stated arrival time, and there was no sign of life within. We therefore walked along the main shopping street, considering our options for an evening meal. I liked the idea of a Chinese meal, but unfortunately the Oriental Chef is closed on Tuesday, but we also liked the look of the Italian Due Fratelli. At the end of the road, near the golf club, we headed back to the coast, past St Bartholomew's Church, to the Newbiggin Maritime Centre, where we had a cup of tea.

We learnt later that the Old Ship  is run by members of a family, and it was the granddaughter and an older man who were sitting in the bar waiting to welcome us. They were very friendly. We were shown to "Suite 5" which wasn't enornmous (and the en suite was distinctly pokey!) though it had sea views. However it was at this point that we were alerted to the fact that a band would be practising in the bar beneath us during the evening. Not great. We had a lovely meal at Due Fratelli, which was surprisingly busy. By this stage we had done some research and discovered that,  in addition to the "Couple" sculpture out at sea, Newbiggin boasts the "Land Couple", a smaller version of the same thing but on land, looking out to sea towards the Couple sculpture.  We hadn't found the little version yet so, despite the rain, after eating we walked back to the Old Ship along the promenade and there it was.  It's rather sweet.