retiredmartin

July 2026. Whitley Bay.

Tyne and Wear ticked for another year, I thought I’d best visit the Bay bit of Whitley, as I seem to be the only person not heading to the coast this summer.

Will the water be warm enough to swim in by September ?

Oddly, more adults than children on the sand, apparently sifting through seaweed, which I presume is used in Full Circle’s sour range.

Or possibly in the ice cream gelato at the Venetian, Whitley’s essential sight.

I’m not a sweet person (“we can tell!”), but will always stop here, across from Spanish City’s craft bar, for pistachio and something chosen at random.

£5 for two scoops does seem a little on the high side, but the friendly lady gives me a free scoop of soft serve vanilla,

and a posh ice cream in the sun on a bench being attacked by seagulls is as English as it gets.