Although we cannot take leisure guests right now due to the lockdown, this is the start of our South Shields guide for inclusion in our new website so we aim to issue a blog a day this until the guide is complete.
It is being prepared to give our guests, and anyone else we can hep, my personalised insight to places I have discovered in my time living there and now visiting South Shields on our regular trips ‘home’.
After living in Aberdeen for 20 years, I have developed a strengthened passion for my old hometown of South Shields, and for the people from there; locally referred to as Sanddancers.
I guess there’s no place like home but the area really does have so much to offer which is maybe why you’ve decided to visit or are considering a trip!
And if you come here for work or any other reason I really hope that this personal guide helps you find some nice places to enjoy.
For me, the best part of South Shields is undoubtedly the coast and along the River Tyne, and its parks and beaches so that’s what we’ll concentrate on.
And obviously a little further afield there is Newcastle, Sunderland, Northumberland and Durham on our doorstep.
As you read this, if you can suggest anywhere I have missed or not discovered yet I’d really appreciate you letting me know in a comment or message and I will try to include it in a future blog.
Right. Let’s set the scene a little.
The BEACHES! And we are blessed with THREE decent sized beaches and loads of nooks and crannies in between.
To get to the beaches on foot from any of our 2, 3 & 4 bed self catering places I’d recommend either walking through Westoe Village then cutting along to Mowbray Road to get to the big or little beach. Or if you want a clifftop coastal paths walk then along to Marsden and Souter Lighthouse, head along Grosvenor Road, pass the college then down to The Bamburgh pub and walk over the Leas (fields at the top of the cliffs) and head either north towards the river or south towards Sunderland from there to explore.
The LITTLE Beach is the first place we will cover but that will be tomorrow.
But to give you an insight into the popularity of this amazing stretch of sand I ran a poll on a local Facebook group called South Shields In Old Photos. It created a fair response and some pretty strong views on what it should be called!
The poll result was a resounding win for the name the LITTLE beach with over 800 votes, then came the name I’ve always called it, Littlehaven beach with over 300 votes. Next came Herd Sands, which according to the Ordinance Survey map is the name for both the big (aka Sandhaven) and little beaches which are intersected by the South Tyne Pier.
And I cant wait to tell you all about it tomorrow!
I’d love to hear you comments if you have any.
Have a good Sunday night.
Colin.
