Captain's Log

Damp Druridge Bay

The weather forecast predicted that I’d have rain all day. Rain splattered off my windscreen as I headed over to Druridge Bay. I was determined to get out though, even if it meant a soaking. I parked on the seafront halfway between Hauxley Nature Reserve and Druridge Bay Country Park. Today’s plan would be to visit the country park first, circumnavigate its lake and then head up to the nature reserve for a spot of bird spotting. At least I’d find some shelter from the rain in its hides. If time and weather permitted, I’d also visit a rather unusual WWII pillbox further south along the bay. This would require a 15 minute car drive to get there.        

The tide was well in and so I decided to walk along the top of the dunes to get to the country park. It was windy too and this blew the rain horizontally. It was very grey and a little misty. I came across a concrete structure in the dunes. I wasn’t sure whether it was some sort of WWII defence or something else altogether. It looked a bit like a concrete bus shelter. I found a couple of similar smaller versions further along the path. It was a bit of a mystery. I reached the country park much faster than expected. Today’s walk wasn’t that long. I crossed the road and joined a pathway that led into the park. 

Druridge Bay Country Park

Ladyburn Lake was at the centre of the park and was much bigger than I’d imagined. A small boat bobbled about on its moorings near the centre of the lake. I decided to take a clockwise route around the lake. There was a good path, but this was a distance away from the water, and so I just walked along the grass next to the lake. I came across a flock of Oystercatchers having their breakfasts on the grass. Their bright orange beaks were caked with mud. I tried to divert around them, but I got too close and they flew off with a cacophony of angry squawks. The lake was quite pretty. There were plenty of reeds and bullrushes around its edge. A Goldeneye kept diving for food. Sometimes it was under for so long, I got concerned for its welfare. The country park appeared to be quite popular, especially with dog walkers. I reached the western side of the lake and was quite surprised to find a long line of stepping stones to take pedestrians across a ford. It felt a bit like ‘It’s A Knockout’ making my way across them. Some of them were a bit wobbly and took me by surprise. I managed to reach the other side without getting a soaking though. I continued around the lake and it diverted away into some light woodland. This brought me back to the same point where I’d started the circumnavigation. It hadn’t seemed long to walk around given the lake's size. Maybe the distraction of the birds and stepping stones made time flow faster. I headed back towards the sea. 

Hauxley

The sea had gone out a little bit during my inland excursion and so I made my way down to the beach and started heading northwards. Given the conditions, the beach was surprisingly busy with walkers. Gulls struggled to make headway in the strong wind. I came across what I thought was a limestone outcrop, but turned out to be a brick construction. The sea had worn the sharp edges of the bricks smooth giving it a natural rock appearance from a distance. There were a couple of smaller examples of similar brickwork nearby. Another unidentified construction claimed by the sea. The route up ahead was blocked by rocks and sea and so I climbed back up the dunes to the road. This brought me out near to where I parked my car. It was tempting to get in the car out of the bad weather, but I hunkered down and continued heading northwards along the road. There wasn’t that much of a view, but it was easy walking. The road turned into a path and one of the lakes of the nature reserve came into view. I reached a curious brick sculpture that depicted the lower half of a tree. A fingerpost directed me inland to the Hauxley Nature Reserve visitor centre. The Captain’s Log of my visit to the nature reserve can be found in Hauxley Nature Reserve. 

Return

I made my way back to the sea front. The sea had gone out even further and I crossed the  dunes to the sands. It was still a grim day with a strong wind and rain in the air. Looking north, I could just make out the lighthouse on Coquet Island. There were still quite a few hikers and dog walkers about. I spotted a small Cormorant standing near to the water’s edge. I approached it to take a photo. It did spot me, but didn’t take flight. I wondered whether there was something wrong with it, although it did seem to look okay. I left it looking out to sea. A little further south, there was a steep drop-off from the dunes to the beach. I wondered whether I’d be able to make my way back up to the road. At the first opportunity I crossed some rocks and climbed back up to the top of the dunes. From the top, I could see that I wouldn't have had a problem continuing along the beach right up to where I’d parked the car. Never mind; I walked along the road instead. The weather closed in again as I reached the car and I was lucky to get my boots off before the rain hit hard. 

Pillbox

It was about a 15 minute drive to the unusual pillbox further down Druridge Bay. The structure was along the coastal road on the peak of a hill and there wasn’t safe nearby parking. I had intended to park my car at a carpark a quarter of a mile away and walk along the road to visit it, but the rain was too heavy now, I knocked that idea on the head. The road had actually been closed near the carpark due to flooding further south and so I turned around and headed back to the pillbox again. Given that I knew nobody could be driving behind me along the flooded road I parked near to the pill box on the top of the hill to grab a few photos. The pill box was unusual in that it had stonework built around it to make it look like a cottage. This was intended to deceive the Germans in case they ever invaded. It does make you wonder why they only used this method on this one pillbox; I can’t think of any other one that has been disguised like this. Photos taken, I headed back to my base at Alnwick.    

It had been a wet and windy day. At least I got out and enjoyed the exercise. Druridge Bay Country Park had been prettier than I’d imagined and the lakeside walk was better than expected too. There were a decent variety of birds on the lake, although not quite as diverse as the ones that were housed at Hauxley Nature Reserve. This turned out to be a gem of a place with some good hides, a well constructed trail and a great visitors centre with a café.