Everyone is in festive mode. I thought to share some ideas with you guys if you want to go for a short tour to St marys Island of Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, England. It is a local nature reserve. Let’s discuss how to go there by public transport. I have started my journey from Newcastle Haymarket Bus station on a sunny day. From platform L Haymarket bus station you will get bus 308 towards Blyth or 309 Cobalt & Coast towards Blyth. You have to get off at the stop called The Links Cemetery. It will take around 45- 50 mins by bus. A round trip per person will cost return £2.70 by 309 which is run by Go northeast. And if you use 308 you might need to buy all day Blyth Plus Tyne and wear. It will cost you £6.40. There is a concession for students and children if you have a valid id. If you are going by Car the postcode is NE26 4RS. In trip advisor review it has mostly 4- 5 Excellent ratings. Please find the video on my youtube link- https://youtu.be/cWTqbBzGBDA
- Oh, one thing I did not add- going inside the island won’t charge you any money though. It is free for general people. Now, let’s go to explore some of the histories of this island. If you are lucky you may find some nice Seal’s on the island. They are just cute.
- History- The lighthouse and adjacent keepers’ cottages were built in 1898 by the John Miller company of Tynemouth, using 645 blocks of stone and 750,000 bricks. It was built on the site of an 11th-century monastic chapel, whose monks maintained a lantern on the tower to warn passing ships of the danger of the rocks. A first-order ‘bi-valve’ rotating optic was installed by Barbier & Bénard of Paris, very similar to the one they had provided the previous year for Lundy North Lighthouse;it displayed a group-flashing characteristic, flashing twice every 20 seconds. The lamp was powered by paraffin, and was not electrified until 1977; St Mary’s was by then the last Trinity House lighthouse lit by oil.
Since 2012 St Mary’s lighthouse has been grade II listed.While it no longer functions as a working lighthouse, it is easily accessible (when the tide is out) and regularly open to visitors; in addition to the lighthouse itself there is a small museum, a visitor’s centre, and a café. The cottage was upgraded with a wood pellet boiler in 2014.
In 2017 a renovation plan for the site (including roof-top viewing platforms and various glass-covered extensions) was rejected by the local planning authority due to environmental concerns. A new refurbishment proposal (to include rebuilding the original optic) was presented in 2018;however, the Heritage Lottery Fund later turned down North Tyneside Council‘s £2.1m funding application.
Another Victorian lighthouse may be found a few miles to the south of the River Tyne. Souter Lighthouse is also now decommissioned, and open to visitors. Souter Lighthouse can be seen with the naked eye from the top of St Mary’s Lighthouse.
Please Let me know if you have any questions and if I can be of any help for your future visit to our lovely north east of England. You will find my contact details on my blog menu. Or follow me on twitter- @abirhamid2017 . Also My youtube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_ScY32f5c6gAoAg3cYnnA/videos?view_as=subscriber . I wish and pray for you and your loved ones and family & friends a Happy Christmas and Happy New Year 2020._ Md Abir King.
