The heritage harbour town with coloured sea glass and a historic spa resort
Flying under the radar between Northumberland’s sand dunes and Yorkshire’s coastal villages, Seaham is the jewel of Durham’s Heritage Coast – 13 miles north-east of the city of Durham, and six south of Sunderland, its beaches are ideal for walking.
Seaham flourished in the early 20th century following investment in its harbour by the 6th Marquess of Londonderry, whose statue stands at North Terrace.
Names such as Chemical Beach and Blast Beach point to its industrial past. A clean-up operation a quarter of a century ago saw local beaches become part of the Durham Heritage Coast, linked by a coastal footpath, between Hartlepool and Sunderland.
With food stalls, cooking demonstrations – including by MasterChef presenter John Torode – and family entertainment, Seaham Food Festival takes place on the weekend of 2-3 August. For more, see durhamheritagecoast.org and thisisdurham.com.
How to get there and around
From Durham Bus Station – a 10-minute walk from the railway station – No 65 takes around an hour to reach Seaham. Go North East’s X6 “Peterlee Purple” bus from Sunderland Interchange reaches Seaham in 40 minutes.
Where to stay
Seaham Hall has an illustrious history (Photo: Charlie Coleman)
Lord Byron married Anne Isabella Milbanke in the drawing room of Seaham Hall. Built in 1791, the country house is now a luxury hotel and spa. The breakfast menu features Craster kippers from Northumberland, while the Dining Room serves Mediterranean-inspired dishes, and Ozone has pan-Asian choices. Dog-friendly suites, a wheelchair-accessible room and self-catering lodges are available. B&B from £299.
A boutique guesthouse, No 16 occupies a building constructed in the 1850s for the manager of Seaham Colliery. It has five bedrooms from £77.50 a night.
Day one
Up with the sun
Appreciate the sun rising over the North Sea at Nose’s Point. From there, follow the steep path to Blast Beach and stroll its length to the Second World War pillbox that stands between eroded limestone stacks. Gaze at the cliffs and you will see stratification and nesting seabirds, including kittiwakes. Oystercatchers frequently wade along the shoreline and seals are known to rest on the beach, which was a location for the filming of sci-fi movie Alien 3.
Souvenir hunting
Seek cut-price branded clothing, homeware and toiletries at Dalton Park, the outlet shopping centre a 10-minute drive from Seaham (bus 65 runs from Seaham). Alternatively, browse the gifts at Seaside Chic, one of the shops at Seaham Harbour Marina.
Enjoy rummaging? From March to October, car-boot sales take place at weekends in fields off the coastal B1287.
Seaham beach looking north towards Sunderland (Photo: Dennis Barnes/Getty/Photodisc)
Don’t miss
Seaham has three works by artist Ray Lonsdale, whose rust-crusted steel sculptures brilliantly capture expressions and body positions. At Terrace Green, the most prominent is Eleven O One – known locally as Tommy – depicting a slumping First World War soldier gazing at the ground.
The Coxswain depicts a lifeboat skipper in a sou’wester pulling against a ship’s wheel. At Seaham Harbour Marina, the work honours the work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution at the harbour. It is mere paces from East Durham Heritage and Lifeboat Centre, where RNLB George Elmy is displayed. Now restored, the vessel capsized in November 1962 while assisting a fishing boat, costing nine lives.
Lonsdale and his son Sam collaborated to create Then Gone, which was unveiled in May at North Terrace, outside Bells fish and chip shop. Almost 10ft tall and nicknamed “George”, it depicts a sombre-looking miner with a helmet lamp.
Time for a sundowner
While in this former mining town, why not head to The Pitface? The cosy micro-pub at 73 Church Street has a fireplace and framed photos of Seaham Harbour in bygone times. Sunday evening busker sessions mean live music to accompany a pint. If you prefer wine, head to the dog-friendly Cork and Coffee (closed Mon/Tues) on North Terrace. Grazing on a sharing board while sipping bubbly is a good alternative to dinner.
Dinner reservation
Two miles away in Dalton-le-Dale, The Fox and Tree is a highly rated gastropub. Dinner options include steaks and vegetarian dishes such as gorgonzola and wild mushroom tart.
Day two
Time to relax
On Seaham Hall Beach, ruminate about the meaning of the sign that ambiguously reads “Famous Moles” beneath another pointing to its car park. It’s yards from another sign proclaiming the presence of “Seaham & District Mole Sanctuary” next to a field dotted with molehills.
Lunchtime
Chemical Beach got its name from the former Seaham Chemical Works (Photo: Getty/iStockphoto/David Head)
The Lamp Room is a welcoming café, with views of Seaham’s war memorial. The menu features Panackelty, a local stew, and parmos, a cheese-topped chicken dish first made on Teesside.
Hit the beach
Sea-smoothed pieces of coloured glass frequently wash up on Seaham Beach. The sea glass is a legacy of the town’s Londonderry Bottleworks, which made up to 20,000 hand-blown bottles a day between 1853 and 1921. Waste glass was dumped at sea and also washes up on Chemical Beach – named after the produce of a nearby Victorian factory.
A final treat
Bite into a cheese scone at Black Truffle in Barclay House in North Road. Along with the adjacent buildings on Bath Terrace, the former bank building was designed by John Dobson, the celebrated architect whose works include Newcastle Central Station.
Three things you might not know about Seaham…
1) Ramsay MacDonald, one of the three principal founders of the Labour Party, was Seaham’s MP from 1929 to 1935, when he also served as prime minister.
2) The Church of St Mary the Virgin, a Grade I listed building, is one of 20 churches in the country whose origins pre-date Norse invasions.
3) The stratified magnesium limestone at Red Acre Point, at the North Harbour, shows deposits in what was the Zechstein Sea more than 250 million years ago.
