Season: summer
Located south of Horden Point and looking out over Dene Mouth, Horden’s beach is made up of shingle and pebble. Once the site of dreadful pollution deriving from the nearby pits, the only evidence of this industrial heritage is a red hue of iron ore in some of the rocks on the beach, which has now been extensively cleaned. Most of the coal effluent has been washed away and this is now a recovered natural environment, now comprising two Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Dogs are welcome and this is now a fine beach for a healthy walk. The immediate backdrop is grasslands and cliffs. Shops are available in Peterlee.
With Anthony at Horden beach.
The revitalised Horden beach.
The beach that brings back childhood memories and reminds me of my working class origins is a beach that I was never allowed to walk or play upon.
In the 1950’s Horden Beach was the probably the most polluted stretch of coastline in the British Isles. Black sand, oily residue and, from the top of Fox Holes, an overhead gantry with buckets that continuously tipped coal black waste from the mines into the North Sea.
My Father, Grandfather and each one of my uncles worked in the local coal mines. Blackhall, Horden, Easington, Trimdon, Seaham; the names of the collieries are etched on my bones. The menfolk had no choice. They all left school at fourteen and, the day after their birthday, found themselves ‘down the pit’. Not even the Second World War altered the course of their lives. Coal Mining was a reserve occupation and my father was not allowed to leave Horden Colliery until 1952.
My generation of siblings and cousins were more fortunate. In those days education was a free gift for those who were intelligent and willing to work. We all went to university, gained degrees and two achieved PhD’s. It was scholarship that took us from our working class culture into the rapidly expanding middle classes.
As for the present day, the trend to charge students with costly fees together with the continuing lack of bursaries and sponsorship makes it impossible for many to continue further education. A move back in time for those not born into wealth and privilege.
Horden beach has been resurrected and I can only hope that the same will be said for learning.