Seaham Hall Beach

The stretch of sand at Seaham Hall Beach curves away from the old colliery village like a secret the area forgot it was keeping. It's a proper working-class coastline - no fancy promenade, no theme parks, just grey-gold sand, rockpools at low tide, and the kind of wind that reminds you why the North East invented the windbreaker.

What draws people here is straightforward enough: a mile or so of relatively quiet beach perfect for families who want their kids to actually get tired rather than glued to an arcade. The hall itself sits back from the shore, Victorian and austere, but the real attraction is the sand itself. Rockpoolers come for the creatures - the usual crabs, anemones, the lot. Dog walkers pile in year-round. It's not going to astound you if you've seen Cornwall, but that's not really the point.

Peterlee sits just inland, and Seaham Hall Beach works perfectly as a half-day stop if you're staying at The Barn at Easington a few miles away - close enough for a morning visit without it eating your whole schedule. Go at low tide if you want the rockpools; go when the wind's calm if you want to linger. It's free, it takes as long as you've got, and nobody's trying to sell you anything. That's worth something.