Coast & seascapes,  Monday walks,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne

A walk on the last day of the year

January 6, 2026 / 52 Comments

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice.

T.S. Eliot

Last year’s words from me resulted in 161 posts published, of which 31 were ‘Monday Walks’. I took you from the depths of Death Valley to the peaks of the High Sierra, from small town California to the cities of London and Paris, from ancient Ortigia and the art of Florence to the wildernesses of Svalbard.

As we start a new year of Monday Walks I want to share one taken right at the end of last year, on New Years Eve. We were staying in Newcastle over the new year holidays with bright if chilly weather, perfect for a walk by the sea. So we took the Metro to Cullercoats and set off on the short but always lovely stroll to Tynemouth.

This is a favourite walk of ours, sometimes in this direction and sometimes the opposite, and I shared some photos of it a couple of years ago. But the weather was very different then, on a Misty Day in Tynemouth.

Cullercoats

Cullercoats is sometimes eclipsed by the better-known Whitley Bay to the north and Tynemouth to the south. That’s a shame, as it has a pretty, sheltered bay (though not so sheltered today!) overlooked by an attractive Victorian lifeboat house, still in use by the RNLI. The piers are popular with fishermen in all weathers, and on this very cold day I was surprised to see a few people swimming here!

Views of Cullercoats Bay

Tynemouth Long Sands

Following the coast south we come to the much wider sweep of beach known as Tynemouth Long Sands. The waves were crashing on the shore and throwing up lots of spray, and the low sun created beautiful backlit effects. The distant ruins of Tynemouth Priory looked mystical in the mistiness of the spray. Beyond them the two lighthouses of Tynemouth and South Shields guarded the entrance to the Tyne.

Looking towards Tynemouth Priory and the mouth of the Tyne from the Long Sands

We dropped down from the road to follow a path closer to the beach, with views of rocky promontories where birds rested between their swooping flights to find food in the waters below. People walked their dogs on the sands, children played and as in Cullercoats, some brave souls swam.

Long Sands, Tynemouth

At the southern end of the bay we looked back to see the sands glowing in the low winter sun. There is a surfing centre here and a few people were out trying to catch the waves though without much success.

Long Sands, Tynemouth
Overlooking the Long Sands

King Edward’s Bay

Rocky Sharpness Point separates the Long Sands from the next cove, the much smaller King Edward’s Bay. Protected by high cliffs this is a popular beach with families in the summer, but those same cliffs meant that it was all in the shade today. So I restricted my photography to the views of the waves crashing on the rocks on the far side of the bay and the lighthouse beyond.

Tynemouth Lighthouses from King Edward’s Bay

We climbed the steep flight of steps back up to road level from the beachside path. It was time for coffee and warm cheese scones in a favourite haunt of ours (and of many other people), Mister Woods. Unfortunately perhaps I devoured the scone too eagerly to think to take a photo!

From here we walked up Tynemouth’s Front Street, lined with restaurants and independent shops, the Metro station from where we could catch our train back to Newcastle city centre. No time today to visit the Priory or pay our respects to local hero Admiral Collingwood, but no matter; we will be back, I am sure.

I visit Tynemouth regularly; these photos were all taken on my most recent visit in December 2025.

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