#northtyneside

Used to cycle to St Mary's Island from Sunderland many years back, making good use of the pedestrian/cycle tunnels at Howden.
Probably would have been quicker (and shorter) using the Shields Ferry, but for some reason, it never occurred back then.
Just north of Whitley Bay, this small tidal island was variously called 'Bates Island', 'Hartley Bates' or even 'Bates Hill'.
This was because it had been once owned by the Bates family who were quite prominent locally.
However, it seems that in the 19th century, there used to be an inn on the island and in 1895, after numerous complaints about rowdy behaviour by those frequenting the inn, the landlord, evicted the tenant from the island, putting an end to such nusiance!
#england #northtyneside #whitleybay #lighthouse, #coast #august #summer #landscape #photography