Easington Beach

The beach at Easington stretches out grey and windswept, backed by a strange industrial landscape that somehow works. There's a defunct colliery and old pit structures visible from the shore - proper industrial heritage that doesn't try to be pretty. You won't find soft sand and ice cream shops here. What you get instead is a raw stretch of Durham coastline, honest and a bit austere, where the North Sea does what it likes regardless of season.

It's excellent for walkers wanting to explore the Cleveland Ironstone Heritage Trail or just loose souls who prefer their beaches without crowds. The shale and mudstone foreshore reveals fossils if you know where to look, and birdwatchers get decent sightings depending on the time of year. An hour's amble is plenty unless you're genuinely into geological formations, which fair few people are.

There's no café or facilities to speak of - bring water and a sandwich. Free to visit, naturally. Best at low tide when there's actual foreshore to explore. You won't want to swim here, and the beach isn't for families after a donkey ride and paddling, but if you're staying at The Barn at Easington or Castledene Holiday Park nearby and want a proper walk with a bit of character, it delivers. Skip it if you're after seaside charm - this is more about understanding what happened to pit communities and the coast they inhabited.