Durham Heritage Coast

The cliffs here drop straight into the North Sea with a proper dramatic flourish. Durham Heritage Coast runs for about eight miles south of Sunderland, and it's the kind of place where you turn up expecting a quick look and end up staying for hours watching the light change on the sandstone. The walk itself is straightforward enough - you can pick it up near Peterlee and head either direction along the coastal path, passing through old colliery villages that tell you everything about what these communities were built on.

What you actually get is raw coastline without the pier-and-ice-cream theatre of more famous seaside spots. The cliffs expose layers of coal and stone that geologists get genuinely excited about, and in winter especially, when the wind picks up off the water, it feels properly wild. There are spots to stop and sit, though bring a jacket - it's windier than you'd think. Photography types will do well here, particularly around sunset when the light turns everything golden.

Walkers will find it manageable and rewarding. The Heritage Coast Discovery Centre in Seaham is worth a detour for context if you want to understand what the industrial heritage actually means. If you're staying at The Barn at Easington, just down the road, you're perfectly placed for a morning ramble before breakfast. Allow three to four hours minimum if you want to do it properly rather than just snap a photo and leave. Summer's busier but winter's more atmospheric. This isn't Instagram gold, but it's genuine and it stays with you.