Tuesday 30th August 2022
Today we traveled to the small town of Saltburn-by-the-sea. We took the more coastal road through a large industrial area and past the Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station and the Hartlepool Docks. That whole area prompted many questions which I started researching now but my story is about Saltburn. A recent bit of trivia is that "In May 1999, the colour of the water in Saltburn Gill turned orange overnight..." Rising water in a nearby abandoned mine was the cause and in 2016, fish returned to the area.
I didn't know this during our visit today.
Our walk took us down the steep cliff stairs to the beach and Pier area which had a nice number of people enjoying the last few days of the English school holidays. It was 16°C and I had bare shins, lol! It felt very much like an English seaside town but I was fascinated with the Tramway.
The Saltburn Cliff Lift is one of the world's oldest water-powered funiculars being built in 1869. The Pier was meant to be a tourist attraction but the developers realised that the steep incline back up to the street would deter visitors. They were right. My niece and I boarded the car with fellow passengers and two dogs and enjoyed this novel experience. I did a video of the 65 second trip which is run by friendly volunteers which you can watch here via Facebook.
We took a stroll past some unusual buildings that were built for the wealthy on the 'Jewel' streets and found a coffee spot out of the wind for a latte.
Another surprise of a day on this wonderful journey.
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