Rather English - Walk to St Mary's Island

Though visitors should always be careful to check tide times before venturing across, a causeway connects St Mary's Island - on the North Sea coast near Whitley Bay - with the mainland, offering a chance to explore its rockpools and see the lighthouse, which is open to the public in the summer and on select winter weekends.

St Mary's Island has had a number of failed careers, including playing home variously to a hermitage, a chapel, an inn called the Square and Compass, and a lighthouse, which finally ceased to function in 1984, but remains in place as a visitor attraction.

For more, see http://www.friendsofstmarysisland.co.uk/

_{^Picture © Chris Downer used under a Creative Commons license^
From November 2012 until January 2013, Tired of London, Tired of Life will briefly be posting as RatherEnglish.com and featuring interesting things to do in England}