Seaham (early March)
Seaham is not the most attractive place on the North-East coast, but it does have some nice parts (provided you stick to the north of the docks). The first harbour at Seaham was built in 1828 by the Marquess of Londonderry to rival nearby Sunderland. The current harbour was built in 1905 to cope with the volume of trade, particularly coal from the area – Seaham itself had three pits by 1928 (all were closed by 1992).
More pictures of the beach to the north of Seaham.
Seaham harbour.
Bowes Museum (end of March)
Lambing shed at Mainsgill Farm, a good farm shop with large cafe on the A66 between Scotch Corner and Barnard Castle.
(L) Gallery and (R) furniture at the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle. Not the world’s most exciting museum if you’re not into fine art or French furniture.
Staircase at the Bowes Museum, vaguely reminscent of the Escher’s print Relativity.