St Mary's Lighthouse
St Mary's Lighthouse things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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St Mary's Lighthouse is on the tiny St Mary's Island, just north of Whitley Bay on the coast of North East England. The small rocky tidal island is linked to the mainland by a short concrete causeway which is submerged at high tide.
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St Mary's Lighthouse is on the tiny St Mary's Island, just north of Whitley Bay on the coast of North East England. The small rocky tidal island is linked to the mainland by a short concrete causeway which is submerged at high tide.
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The size of the Island, makes social distancing very difficult to achieve. It was great to see fellow visitors trying their utmost to keep distances. We don't have the answers for the problem. However, common sense prevailed and pinch points were treated with the caution they deserved. Not surprisingly, toilets were not available on the Island. It was a very warm day when we visited and the views back to Whitley Bay were stunning. We saw seals basking on the rocks below the Lighthouse. Its always a bonus to see wildlife that is expected to be seen. We can't comment on the shop and cafe as we didn't use them. The Island is well worth a visit all the same. The rock pools either side of the access road proved quite an attraction for many families. UPDATE APRIL 2023 Been some time since we've ventured up to WB and St. Mary's. There are no tide times in the area. We set off to cross the causeway but decided against it. The tide swiftly had the road covered and the island cut off again. I have photos to be posted. Will post them when sorted. As promised. New photos. Causeway blocked in less than 25 minutes. Be warned.
Tommy SuthTommy Suth
10
Lovely place for a visit!! Plenty of car parking if you want to drive, but also walkable from Whitley Bay. The causeway is covered at high tide so you need to be careful if walking across, and it's worth checking the lighthouse open times if you fancy the trip up to the top! If your lucky, you'll also see some seals - on our visit, one of the kids counted about 70 of them, and my gut says there was far more than this!! If you intend to go up the lighthouse, then tickets can be purchased in the shop. The shop is fairly little, but some loos can be found here if needed. On our visit, the lighthouse was also doing some activities, and we booked in for a rockpooling session, which was really interesting. This is a really nice spot, and watching the seals was great!! If it hadn't got really windy and started raining, I'm pretty sure we would have spent even longer here! (We were probably there for about 4 hours in total - that includes the rockpooling activity!)
Andrew CartwrightAndrew Cartwright
20
Lovely place to visit but don't get caught on the wrong side when the tide comes in lol. If your lucky you can see the seals swimming around or catching bit of sun, I was lucky enough to see them on my recent visit but you mustn't go and disturb them and get close, but look from a distant. You can drive and park right next to St Mary's lighthouse but a local bus service does drop you off right close by. If its sunny you can take walk down, like I did, catch the views on the way. The nearest metro is whitley Bay metro, I would say its a good 30-45mins walk away. I have visited this place quite often and now I often bring my Grandson. I have recommended to family and friends and will definitely be back.
Nicola KingNicola King
00
We had a really great few hours visiting St Mary's lighthouse. Parking was easy (weekday in june). The walk up to the lighthouse is brilliant with loads of rock pools for the kids to explore. We paid Ā£9 for a family.of 4 to go up the lighthouse, there are 137 steep steps so we took our time with the little kids, but it was only us there so we could relax. The view from the top is beautiful. You can see for miles and also it's a great vantage point to see the seals on the rocks below. The little gift shop was well stocked with nice little gifts. The vantage point to see the seals was good, great views of the seals in their natural habitat.
Nina VearnalsNina Vearnals
10
It's worth a visit here if you are near by.....as far as lighthouses go it's quite normal. Scaling the stairs was fun although my true fitness levels were exposed after reaching the top....š¤£š¤£ There is a small visitor centre and kind of museum that you can walk through to see various different historical bits of information related to the lighthouse and attached cottages. You finally end up in a small gift shop with all the usual bits you can expect to find. Good views out on to the sea and if you're lucky, you may get a glimpse of some seals.... Ā£3.50 admission for an adult....cheaper for kids and concessions..š
James FordJames Ford
00
This historic lighthouse that is in Whitley Bay. On the day we visited , it was free due to the open heritage weekend but otherwise you have to pay. There over 100 steps to climb and it's not for the faint hearted and if you're not good with heights, you may not be able to enjoy the amazing views from the top. It does have a small museum downstairs about lighthouse and the area. There is also a shop but for me the highlight of the visit was seeing the common seals behind the lighthouse. There only there a few months of the year so we were lucky to see the last few before they left for the sea š.
Aimee Van-AstenAimee Van-Asten
00
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+44 191 643 4777
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