Child playing on an otherwise empty beach
CBWC,  Coast & seascapes,  England,  Monochrome Madness,  Photographic techniques,  Travel galleries

Gallery: seeing the English coast in black and white

August 24, 2023 / 54 Comments

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside

Oh, I do like to be beside the sea

John H. Glover-Kind, music hall song

It’s August, so where better place to be than the English seaside? Although truth be told I like our coastal areas much more in the winter months and maybe even more so in spring and autumn.

Nevertheless, this seems a good time of year to share some photos taken in some of my favourite coastal spots. Pulled mostly from my archives, they represent all seasons and locations from Cornwall in the south west to Northumberland in the north east. All have been converted into black and white with Nik Silver Efex, and are shared for Leanne’s Midweek Monochrome challenge.

I’ve added the time of year to the caption so you can see how varied / frustrating / unpredictable our weather can be, and sometimes how glorious too! My feature photo was taken on the North Shore of Holy Island (Lindisfarne) in Northumberland and is an August shot.

Pebble and sand beach overlooked by houses

Low tide, St Ives Bay, Cornwall

(taken in October)

Man on a pebble beach holding a surfboard

Surfer, Lyme Regis, Dorset

(taken in October)

Large beach at low tide with solitary figure

Lone walker, Brean Beach, Somerset

(taken from Brean Down in September)

Ripples at the point where sea meets sand

Wave patterns, Brean Beach, Somerset

(again, from Brean Down in September)

Tall wooden buildings and boats

Fishermen’s net-drying huts on the Stade in Hastings, Sussex

(taken in April)

Fishing boats moored by a sea wall with wooden huts

The harbour at Whitstable, Kent

(in March)

Speckled sea birds on a groyne

Young herring gulls, Whitstable, Kent

xx

(another March shot)

Two people on a pebble beach with groynes

Walkers, Whitstable, Kent

(March again)

Two people on a wall overlooking the sea with a nearby gull

Sea watchers and gull, Whitstable, Kent

(this one was taken in October)

Sculpture of a man looking out to sea with a passing ship

Another Time by Antony Gormley, Margate, Kent

(taken in October)

Large metal sculpture of a scallop shell on a pebble beach

The Scallop, Aldeburgh, Suffolk

(taken in October)

Wooden hut with boards advertising fish for sale

Fish shack, Aldeburgh, Suffolk

(also taken in October)

Beach with rocks and small house on a headland

Winter scene, Cullercoats Bay, North Tyneside

(taken on New Year’s Eve)

Seaweed on a long beach with distant walkers

Kelp and walkers, Druridge Bay, Northumberland

(taken on New Year’s Day)

Rocks and shells

Rock pool, Druridge Bay, Northumberland

(in January)

Beach with a dramatic sky and two people walking

Winter sunshine, Druridge Bay, Northumberland

(a December shot)

Large piece of driftwood on a stony beach

Driftwood, Dunstanburgh, Northumberland

(taken in August)

White lighthouse on a rocky cliff

The lighthouse on Inner Farne, Northumberland

(taken in August)

Postscript: I’ve just learned that Cee is ending her monochrome challenge, CBWC, so I’m editing this post to include a link to her Finale.

54 Comments

Do share your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you! And please include your name in case WP marks you 'anonymous' - thank you