We start the walk from this Bansky looky likey piece of art – not quite sure what it means…a vision of life on earth when we have polluted ourselves out of existence? Life on a distant planet?

Anyway. we walk on for a few minutes and then I have to walk back as I realise I am clutching only one glove, the other is lying in the middle of the path waiting for me…..there is nothing so forlorn. In the words of Piet Hein, the Danish scientist, poet and resistance man: “Losing one glove is certainly painful, but nothing compared to the pain, of losing one, throwing away the other, and finding the first one again.”

There is a fierce wind blowing as we pass the foot of the ugly, decaying jetty and jump down on to Cattersty Sands, a long stretch of sandy beach reaching out to the cliffs in the distance.

The video tells you all you need to know about the wind…………

We now can’t decide if we should walk along the beach or take the path through the dunes which will be more sheltered – we decide on the dunes. As we near the end of the beach the path climbs upwards to the top of the cliffs where we get a taste of what one of the locals we meet describes as “a bit blowy” Ha!

I stand waiting for Damian (it is usually the other way round to be fair), blinking back cold wind tears, one of the many delights of the ageing process I’m told.

It is actually not too bad up here and there is a wide clear grassy path to follow. But what is that up ahead?

Richard Harrington named his sculpture The Circle but it is locally referred to as the Charm Bracelet. Made of steel it stands as a homage to the local smelting and metal working industries, the inspiration stemming from the charm bracelets of local women. Sadly the original sculpture was destroyed one night in 1996 under the cover of darkness. It was a deliberate act using power tools to unfasten the ring from the base, then the sculpture was rolled into the sea. – no one was ever prosecuted. However, this was not the end of the story since the circle was later reclaimed from the sea, along with several of the charms. A new bracelet was then produced with a new thicker circle – it was re-installed and much more firmly anchored. Hooray!

The wind has now dropped and it’s turned out to be a decent day. It’s easy walking along the top of the cliffs – we make good progress, but are then stopped short by a series of sad testimonies to what I can only presume are attempts at suicide.

Over the cliff…………………….

It reminds me of walking past Beachy Head all those years ago – another favourite spot for desperate people.

Saltburn and its pier appear in the distance……….

We decide to take the cliff lift up to our accommodation ……………..it’s time for lunch.

And here we are at the top ………..the pier stretching out to sea like a stairway to heaven.

Or if you’re thinking steady on….here’s a bit of computer generation.

Distance: 4 miles