Harbour at Seahouses

We have known Seahouses for a long time. We have called in to buy kippers from the Smokehouse, we have been many times for fish and chips, and we have stayed there on several occasions when making the trip across to the Farne Islands. But we have never really explored the place or known anything about its history.

Then StuartDB mentioned the North Sunderland Railway and I bought a book about lost railways of Northumberland and another one about Bamburgh and Seahouses (the Visitor Centre in Craster is selling off its books at much reduced prices).

I was intrigued by what I found out and we went to Seahouses today to explore. We followed a Heritage Walk – The Harbour and Old Seahouses Time Trail. This took us to different parts of the town where there were information boards telling the story of the place. It was all interesting and on the way round we called in at the Swallow Fish smokehouse to buy fish and at the Olde Ship Hotel  for a sandwich.

My photo almost tells the whole story. The row of houses on the left, on the edge of the harbour, were the original houses, built in the 18th century by fishermen from the nearby village of North Sutherland. They were fed up of walking all the way from the village to the sea, so they set up homes down by the harbour – North Sunderland Sea Houses – and hence the name of the current town.

The lime kilns on the right are a reminder that lime was once a major export from Seahouses, mainly to Scotland and the original harbour was built for this. By 1830 the herring trade was in full swing and the harbour would have been full of fishing boats bringing the fish in and then exporting barrels of salted herring, mainly to Germany. Although there is still fishing, the harbour is now mainly used for the boats that take visitors across to the Farne Islands. The new and converted houses and apartments are evidence that Seahouses is now a popular resort.

The North Sunderland Railway

When fishing at Seahouses was at its height in the late 19th century, local merchants and fishermen needed a link with the nearest main railway at Chathill, 3 miles away. When their request to the North Eastern Railway Company was turned down, they formed an independent company and built a railway from Seahouses to Chathill. It opened in 1898. It ran for around 50 years, before being closed down in 1951. The current main car park in Seahouses was built on the site of the railway sidings and station. And the trackbed of the dismantled railway is now a footpath and cycleway to North Sunderland.