The Couple - Ebb and Flo

Two bronze figures stand frozen mid-embrace on the promenade at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, their forms catching the light as the tide shifts around them. This is 'Ebb and Flo', a sculpture by Sean Henry that captures something genuinely moving - a couple locked in an intimate moment, fully clothed and utterly human, waiting on the beach as if for a boat that may never come.

It's the kind of public art that stops you dead. Henry's work has this uncanny ability to make the familiar feel strange and tender at once. The figures are cast in bronze but rendered with such detail you can almost read their expressions. They're life-sized, which means you'll stand beside them, not above them. The piece shifts depending on the light and the tide - sometimes they're reflected in pooling water, sometimes half-buried in wet sand.

This works brilliantly as a quick detour if you're staying at one of the nearby parks - Church Point is barely a ten-minute walk away. Bring the kids if they're old enough to appreciate something a bit different from the usual seafront attractions. Younger children might find it a bit odd. Allow twenty minutes to really look and absorb it; don't just snap a photo and move on.

Newbiggin's promenade is genuinely pleasant for a wander, with decent chip shops and a proper working harbour. Check the website for opening times and admission before you go - these details weren't clear - but the sculpture itself is outdoor public art, so you can view it anytime.