Seal Sands on Teeside

Haven't posted for a while due to concentrating on my dissertation, haven't had any time to go out and take photos... until now, the Easter holidays! :D

Took the time off to visit Seal Sands near Hartlepool / Middlesbrough, and yes, there are actually seals there! (Guide on getting there below)​
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First visit

It was a slightly overcast day the first time round, didn't see any seals around, so we carried on down the road to North Gare instead. 

Quite surreal landscape, feels like a film set from iRobot or something

Feels like a scene from a post-apocalyptic film, the industrial infrastructure survived but not much else

Some birds joined us and landed nearby

A row of Wood Sandpipers as if they were chilling on a telegraph wire

A fluffy juvenile oystercatcher (I think...)

We got a little too close and they didn't like it, so we took the hint and left

​Second time's the charm

​Went back again a couple of days later when it was sunnier and found the seals! There was a lot more to see at Seal Sands than just seals as well, saw a variety of coastal / water birds whilst waiting for the seals to finish napping and swim back into the sea. Sat by the water for over an hour and it was rather therapeutic :)

A Little Egret fishing (thought it was a "white heron" but there's no such thing?!)

Seals napping on the mud banks!

Reckon they were actually looking at me? I was a good 200 meters away on the other side of the creek

It's all good here, back to sleep zzzz....

Iceland gull flypast when I was waiting for the seals to move from the mud banks

Some Greylag Goose flew past as well, so it wasn't all waiting for the seals and nothing else :)

The sun was beginning to set as I was waiting. See the seals on the other side of the water?

The seals wake up every now and then, shuffles around to get comfy again before going back to sleep ha

A geese or some other bird during take off, love its silhouette and ripples in the water against the setting sun

Suddenly this seal popped up out of the water and headed towards the banks!

This poor seal struggled to get on land aww... (it did manage in the end after lots of splashing around)

More geese

The tide had risen and this seal was sleeping half submerged, and still didn't wake up lol

Waited for over an hour by the water, only one seal had napped enough and decided to go home for dinner...

Beautiful sunset just as I was leaving

​Visiting Seal Sands

​Good news! Seal Sands is very easy to get to and would recommend for a great half day trip. Come off the A19/A689, onto the A1185 and follow the road east until a roundabout, take the first left onto the A178 (aka Seaton Carew Road or Tees Road). The car park is then only a few minutes drive down the road, on the left, see Google Maps / screenshots below. There is actually a hide overlooking the mud banks now as well.
Click for GoogleMaps directions to the car park
More information on Seal Sands walks on the BBC: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/naturescalendar/autumn/urban/seal_sands/seal_walk.shtml

Red pin is the car park for seals (click to expand)

Red pin is the car park for seals (click to expand)