Dark rain clouds are gathering over the harbour at Seaham – could this be the day the rain catches up with us?

But no, by the time we get to the small square in the town centre, patches of blue sky are slowly appearing, “enough to make a sailor’s suit” as my mother used to say. Not that the weather would bother this poor chap. An impressive monument, sculpted in steel, depicts Tommy, an exhausted foot soldier from the First World War. It’s a very moving sight.

We walk through the town, down onto the long concrete promenade – how many of these have I walked on over the years?

And it’s up onto the cliffs again – these limestone cliffs are really beautiful but also treacherous.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedn8ldvvqvo

We are now approaching Sunderland and the landscape flattens out as we arrive at Hendon Beach. Further up the coast, people sit in their cars watching the waves pound against the harbour wall .

From Hendon we muddle our way through the streets of Sunderland, avoiding the docks and heading for the river. At the entrance to a deserted, featureless park, stands a battered information board….

I stand and read of the plight of Sunderland’s poor in the 18th and 19th centuries, horrifying tales of life in the workhouse, desperate people carted off to lunatic asylums. The headline story is a harrowing tale of one woman who tried to escape her fate by murdering nineteen men, women and children whom she had secretly insured and then poisoned. The last two sentences are a bit unnecessary.

We move on………..up to the bridge over the River Wear.

Small colourful fishing boats bob up and down on the river….

And this is the bridge close up, and since the path along the riverbank is barred by a no nonsense metal gate we wonder how we get up onto it. “It’s behind you!” And it is, a narrow dark cobbled lane winds its way up the cliff and spits us out onto the busy main road.

Crossing the bridge and turning right, I realise that it’s not possible to follow the riverbank at this stage, but soon after the path returns to the river and we find a handy bench for a snack. It is now time to think about getting back to our BnB in Seaham, so we walk a little more, up to the National Gallery for Contemporary Art (which is closed) and set about finding a way back to our car. Back to London tomorrow and the next walk will be to join a few dots on the west coast of Cumbria.

Distance: 8 miles