Seaham to Whitburn Bents

(Our overall day number 63 - Part of The KC3 ECP Leg 56b and 57 - Seaham to Amble)

Seaham to Whitburn Bents

4th October 2024 | Miles 11.2 | Elevation gain 698ft

Just over 11 miles from Seaham, initially along the beach and then low cliffs, eventually reaching the urbanisation of Sunderland, dipping inland along the harbour to cross the Wearmouth Bridge, back to North Pier and then onwards up the coast for a bit, never far away from housing and industry, to finish the walk at Whitburn Bents
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Getting there and back
We parked at Whitburn Bents car park PayByPhone 802947 £6 all day (30 minute drive from Tynemouth), and caught the E6 bus to Sunderland from East Street Newark Drive 0.2 miles/ 4 mins from the car park - these run every half hour. In Sunderland, we connected with the Northern train to Seaham (every hour) - It’s a two minute walk from the bus stop to the station in Sunderland, and then a ten minute walk from Seaham station to the front. There is an Asda near the start of the walk in Seaham, providing the opportunity to stock up on sandwich and snacks if required. From Seaham we, walked back to Whitburn Bents
Weather conditions
Sunny early October day, perfect conditions with a light jacket required
Walking difficulty
Easy - not totally flat but no ascents or descents of any difficulty and quite a lot of street walking through Sunderland

The story of our day in photos

Catching the bus at Whitburn Bents
Getting off the train at Seaham
Second breakfast at Seaham before the walk
Heading north out of Seaham
We were able to walk about half a mile on the beach near Seaham
Looking for treasure?
Back on the cliff tops, approaching Ryhope Dene
Entering Sunderland?
Sunderland awaits!
Bit of road walking on the A1018
Heading up the south bank of The Wear to find the bridge
That's the Wearmouth Bridge, we will be crossing it a few minutes
Crossing the Wearmouth Bridge
View from the bridge back towards the coast
More Wearmouth Bridge
Back down the north bank of The Wear towards the coast
The lighthouse at Seaburn - near Parson's Rocks
Back on the beach for a bit at Whitburn Bay, and the final stretch to the car park
Useful links
Little Lobo, Tynemouth
Awesome little place serving Mexican food, so good on our first night that we returned later in the trip for a second go!
Hidden on the Harbour, Seaham
A coffee each here before setting off for the first morning's walk
Barca, Tynemouth
We had a pre-dinner drink here on Friday, and then again later in the week. As the website describes, a quirky, cosy bar. Very good craft beer but the wine wasn't up to much.
Allards Lounge, Tynemouth
We had dinner here on Friday evening - a tapas sharing dish type place. This came with recommendations (and a discount code!) from our airbnb host, but Allards must have been having a bad day in the kitchen as, when it eventually arrived, the food was well over done and not particularly enjoyable. We'd been waiting a long time by then so we just put up with it. Oh well.
Michael's Cafe, South Shields
Not far from the ferry on the south bank of the Tyne, we had very welcome second breakfast here on the way to the start of our second walk. Not fancy and unexpected chips with our sausage butties - which went down very well! Ridiculously cheap and extra sausages for dogs.
Fishnet Tavern, North Shields
A pub in North Shields on the coast path near to the northern side of the ferry. A welcome cheese and ham toastie and a pint - looked like there were fancier places to dine on that road, but this did the job for us towards the end of a long day.
Iztuzu, Tynemouth
We ate here on Saturday evening - tasty Turkish food and welcoming service
The Beach House, Whitley Bay
The destination for breakfast, around a couple of miles into Sunday's long walk north from Tynemouth. Dog friendly and good food.
Castaways Tea Shop, Seaton Sluice
A quick coffee break here before walking up the beach towards Blyth
Lola Jeans, Tynemouth
Sunday night burgers here to recharge after our very long day's walking!
The Drift Cafe, Cresswell
Location for second breakfast on Monday morning, en route to Amble. Dog friendly and classy breakfasts.
Cafe Needles Eye, Newbiggin
Looked nice inside but not dog friendly so we sat outside in the semi-rain for a quick coffee and snack. Bit of a shame.
The Grand Hotel, Tynemouth
After dinner drinks here on our last night, after our second visit to the fabulous Little Lobo Mexican.
Crusoes, Tynemouth
Breakfast cafe on the beach, very close to our accommodation, highly recommended by our hosts. We'd been looking forward all week to leisurely breakfast here before the long drive south, but in the event it was a bit disappointing - might have been something to do with the 40 mile an hour gales lashing the beach, but the staff were less than welcoming, and the food was overcooked :(
National Glass Centre, Sunderland
The coast path runs right past this, we popped in for a little look and it would have been worth spending longer here
Shields Ferry
Timetable for ferry across the Tyne to link the coast path south to north