Footpaths, cycleways and nature reserves mark a shoreline containing 92% of the UK's coastal magnesian limestone
The coast of the UK has been subject to all manner of intrusions, from caravan parks to wartime defences. But few stretches have been as drastically affected as the cliffs and bays between Sunderland and Hartlepool, which for years earned the nickname of the "black beaches" because of the spoil from coalmining. They became notorious as one of the most dramatic settings for the iconic Michael Caine film Get Carter, along with Owen Luder's brutalist car park in Gateshead, which was demolished last year. There was a campaign to save that, but no one wanted to keep the black beaches. A huge and partly voluntary operation called Turning the Tide saw 1.3 million tonnes of mining spoil and industrial debris cleared by 2002, and the Durham Heritage Coast partnership, an amicable team of 14 councils and agencies long aware of the "big society", has continued the job. Footpaths, cycleways and nature reserves now mark a sinuous shoreline which contains 92% of the UK's coastal magnesian limestone. In contrast to the dark past, the rock gleams, and ? through its easy handling by carvers and quarrymen ? provides at least 8,000 years of archaeology. The transformation has now been recognised by a commendation in this year's Council of Europe landscape awards, and very deservedly so. But the harder task, of regenerating some of the country's most deprived and isolated communities in an area which has never recovered from the collapse of King Coal, remains to be done.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/20/in-praise-durham-heritage-coast
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