Up North contd By Steve Rudd

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The high street was almost deserted as in some vintage Clint Eastwood Western, yet the couple of pubs that I did pass looked to be packed. Walking past the harbour I noticed four men equally spaced along a fence that overlooked the harbour down below.

Clearly these men weren't together and didn't know each other, but all felt suitably compelled to simultaneously stare down at the few men visible, who were working on the docks and the few large boats in port (one of them somewhat exotically called the Ali Baba), as though the harbour was beyond them. Maybe these men used to work on the docks and had retired.

Maybe they used to work in one of the nearby coal mines, such as at Easington Colliery just a few miles south of Seaham. Unless I'd asked them I'd never know, but I didn't say a word to any of them as I passed because they didn't look as though they wanted to be disturbed. They were contemplating something, I could tell.

Some of the seaside towns and villages that inhabit the North-East coast, around Sunderland and Newcastle, are bleak places - especially in the throes of bad weather at the height of Winter. Since the coal mines gradually closed down, and the levels of unemployment rose, there seems to be a general air of sadness and disdain that cuts like a knife.

The small back-to-back cottages of Seaham are straight out of Billy Elliot, with lashings of litter swirling in the midst of things. Sure, there are relatively spectacular cliffs and eye-catching beaches down the coast that might impress walkers, but this area isn't really the type of place that most people would go out of their way to visit.

Having said that, if only more people would visit, given that the area desperately needs all the economic investment it can muster. Tourists armed with their disposable income could potentially have a massive impact on the area's economic growth, so why don't you head to Seaham and see what it's really like for yourself. You might be surprised...

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