Summer Walk No6, Hartley Bay - Tuesday 17th August 2021.

    

After recent outings to both town and country locations, Morpeth Camera Clubs summer programme continued
on Tuesday 17th August with a visit to the coast. Situated between Old Hartley & St Mary's Lighthouse, Hartley
Bay was the venue for walk number six.

Another fine evening saw members meet in the clifftop car park and we headed south on the coastal footpath
that runs past the huge radio communications masts. After a few hundred yards we climbed down the cliff steps
to the rocky foreshore where the low tide had left this rugged bay exposed. Conditions were perfect for close-up
shots and we were soon spread out along the base of the cliffs where rockpools, seaweed, fossils and shells were
among some of the items photographed at this interesting location.

Moving on, the group then returned to the clifftop path and continued our walk through the dune grasslands with
occasional stops to peer over the cliffs to the rocks below. This route offered great views across Hartley Bay and
the coastline leading down to St Mary's Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1897 out of bricks covered with
cement render & painted white. It is 35ft in diameter at the base, it has an internal staircase of 137 steps taking
you up to the lamp room, and stands 120 feet tall. Decommissioned in 1984 the lighthouse is a tourist attraction
but it is now a discoloured and rather tired looking landmark.

As we arrived at the causeway, warm evening sunlight from the west illuminated the area and transformed our
views of the lighthouse. Some of the group crossed to the lighthouse where the surrounding area is a designated
nature reserve where curlew, lapwing and heron are amongst the resident birdlife and visitor restrictions are now
in place to ensure the safety and habitat of the large number of seals to be found on the rocks. As the evening
came to a close members enjoyed a gentle walk back to our start point after a good session of photography.

  

Davy Bolam.