IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Flamborough Walk, SEAHAM, SR7 7WS

Detail of the sundial by the artist Craig Knowles Image

A sundial by the artist Craig Knowles created using blacksmith techniques, located as a centre piece in one of the main pedestrian arteries of the new East Shore Village housing development. It is hard to believe this land was once the Vane Tempest Colliery. The sundial is shown here Image

A new pub built as part of the East Shore development on the site of the old Vane Tempest Colliery Image

The newly created park above the shore road was created as part of the East Shore housing development on the site of the reclaimed Vane Tempest Colliery. The park is dotted with 34 cast-iron sculptures called 'Jewels of the Sea' Image and is provided with walk- and cycle-ways.

One of 34 cast-iron sculptures by Andrew McKeown, inspired by the marine single-celled organisms, diatoms. Most diatoms are unicellular, although they can exist as colonies in the shape of filaments or ribbons, zigzags, or star-shapes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatoms The sculptures are dotted around a newly created, small park, open to the sea in the east, part of the East Shore housing development on the reclaimed site of Vane Tempest Colliery Image

Viewed in this direction, towards the roundabout leading to a new housing estate, where the main gates of Vane Tempest Colliery once stood, Michael Johnson's sculpture shows the profile of the old colliery buildings which would have dominated the landscape. There was a tall central chimney flanked by the pit head gear above each of the two shafts, called Vane & Tempest, and the accompanying buildings which housed the winding gear and engines http://www.east-durham.co.uk/seaham/vanetempest/pages/image/imagepage4.html

Another sculpture by Michael Johnson on the Seaham time-line. It is located opposite the old Vane Tempest Main Gates, now a roundabout leading to a new housing estate. This one represents the skyline profile of the Vane Tempest Colliery buildings. Beyond the sculpture is a seat from where metal inlays on the ground represent the miles of tunnels that ran from the main shafts far below the sea-bed. Around the base are interpretive panels. There were once three pits in the immediate area: Seaham Colliery closed in March 1986, Dawdon Colliery in July 1991, and Vane Tempest Colliery in June 1993.

The metal inlays in the ground represent the underground roadways of 'C' seam worked from Vane Tempest Colliery between 1985 and 1993 leading from the two shafts descending, symbolically, from the seat. "You were working two, three miles out to sea. You were nearly an hour underground before you got started" "There were roads running all ways. Countless miles of roads. Add them together and they'd stretch to London"

Waves driven by winter gales have hurled some quite chunky pieces of shingle from the beach over the sea wall. The Promenade forms part of the England Coast Path.