Summer Walk No 6, St Marys Island - Tuesday 26th August 2025.
On the evening of Tuesday, August 26th 2025, a group of approximately 10 members gathered at Old Hartley
car park, located just north of Whitley Bay. They planned a walk south along the coastal path that runs along
the cliff top to the causeway that connects the mainland to St Mary’s Island.
St Mary's Island is a tidal island connected to the coast at low tide by a rocky causeway for about 16 hours a
day. The main feature of the island is St Mary's Lighthouse which was built in 1898 on a hazardous coast for
shipping and it remained operational until 1984 when it was superseded by modern navigational techniques.
The 126-foot lighthouse was built using nearly three-quarters of a million bricks, which are covered with a
cement render. It features a 137-step spiral staircase that leads to the service room at the top. The beacon
and the former keepers' cottages are now managed as a visitor centre by North Tyneside Council. The area
surrounding the island has been designated as a nature reserve, which includes the clifftop grasslands, rock
pools, a beach, and newly created wetland habitats.
As we walked along the cliff top, we enjoyed good views of the island and its recently repainted lighthouse
in the evening sunlight. Whilst on the cliff top and down by the shoreline, a few members, who had brought
tripods and neutral density filters, made use of the opportunity to experiment with long exposure times to
capture images that blurred any details in the water surrounding the island and movement in the clouds.
Glyn.
car park, located just north of Whitley Bay. They planned a walk south along the coastal path that runs along
the cliff top to the causeway that connects the mainland to St Mary’s Island.
St Mary's Island is a tidal island connected to the coast at low tide by a rocky causeway for about 16 hours a
day. The main feature of the island is St Mary's Lighthouse which was built in 1898 on a hazardous coast for
shipping and it remained operational until 1984 when it was superseded by modern navigational techniques.
The 126-foot lighthouse was built using nearly three-quarters of a million bricks, which are covered with a
cement render. It features a 137-step spiral staircase that leads to the service room at the top. The beacon
and the former keepers' cottages are now managed as a visitor centre by North Tyneside Council. The area
surrounding the island has been designated as a nature reserve, which includes the clifftop grasslands, rock
pools, a beach, and newly created wetland habitats.
As we walked along the cliff top, we enjoyed good views of the island and its recently repainted lighthouse
in the evening sunlight. Whilst on the cliff top and down by the shoreline, a few members, who had brought
tripods and neutral density filters, made use of the opportunity to experiment with long exposure times to
capture images that blurred any details in the water surrounding the island and movement in the clouds.
Glyn.