For my third walk, I decided to join a guided walk organised by South Tyneside Council. It was free to join and all I had to do was ring up to book a place. The brochure said that the walk lasted from 10am to 5pm. Which route were we taking? Did I need a torch to find my way after sunset? In the event we had finished by 2pm.
Thirty one of us set off on a very cold and frosty morning from the Conversation Piece at Littlehaven. Steam was rising from the sea, that's how cold it was, but once we got into our stride we soon warmed up. I was wearing a massive amount of layers and although I maybe wasn't wearing the right gear for the keen ramblers, we were a mixed bag and so my trainers and lack of walking pole weren't particularly noticeable.
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| Looking over Marsden beach |
People were friendly too, and I fell into step and conversation with a lady as we walked over the Leas to Marsden Grotto. We stopped here for the toilet. It proved a long stop as we all had to queue for the disabled toilet. Marsden Rock is looking smaller and more vulnerable than ever but the view over the beach is still fab.
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| What's left of Marsden Rock |
Next up was Souter lighthouse where we made use of the outdoor classroom to eat our lunch.
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| lunchtime at Souter |
Then we followed the clifftop path through Whitburn. By now I was in conversation with another lady who was telling me about the local walking group she belongs to. She made it sound so good that even I was tempted by the thought, although I've never really fancied the idea of joining such a thing.
We continued along the prom at Seaburn and did the final stretch from Dog and Cat steps to the pier along the sands which was a great way to end the walk.
By accident or design, we didn't have long to wait for the E1 bus back to Sea Road and our starting point. I really enjoyed this walk and I'm looking forward to doing the Millers Trail with South Tyneside later in the year. 
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