I first visited this coast as a boy in the 1950's.  At first it was just Tynemouth and Cullercoats on the electric train from our home in Newcastle.  Later my father had a car which spread our wings considerably, and an aunt's home in Wooler gave us an easy base to explore the northern part of the county.

Except exploring wasn't actually what we did, which was to visit the same few beaches many times; mostly the same precise spots , sitting on towels with a picnic- sometimes just the three of us, sometimes with family or friends.  My exploring was limited to braving the freezing water and climbing around the dunes and rocks within a few hundred yards of where my parents sat.  And so I grew up with an assumption that with a car and two bases, I surely had seen all the coast had to offer. 

It took me many years, driven by a growing interest in photography and more time, to recognise that my childhood had barely scratched the surface, and that this rich and varied coast has a huge amount to see ; to visit places that don't have a sandy beach; places we have to walk to reach; or are simply out of the way.  Now, living hundreds of miles away, I'm enjoying Northumberland more than ever, and whilst I feel I know much of it, I'm sure there's much still to do.