Blyth, England

North Sea could definitely be moody! And after our last rough voyage we weren't sure what to expect, on the way back. It turned out to be cold and damp, but just an "ordinary" amount of bumpiness and weather expected for the area.  After 2-1/2 days at sea we arrived in the northeastern corner of England, where we'd spend much of the next month. 

Our first port was the relatively obscure town of Blyth. The port had been a port for a thousand years or more, but the town really started developing during the Industrial Era, and was a center for coal mining and ship building. When those industries pretty much vanished the town went into decline, and recently began redeveloping itself with clean energy replacing the coal, though still a somewhat depressed area. We went looking for coffee and internet one morning at the local Wetherspoon's (think of something at the level of Olive Garden, but with a pub side with great beer selection along with all-day restaurant) and found people getting two-fers on beer. Jolting at 8 AM!

Definitely an Industrial-Era vibe around town. 

Apparently there was plenty of money around the town back in the day. This place was a pub and now a coffee shop.

Quite the elaborate entry door.

A local shipbuilding museum. They're always so gracious to us as crew of a visiting exhibition ship, we got a detailed private tour.

You can't really tell from this camera angle but the wind turbine is huge! I love the contrast between our ancient rigging and this modern use of wind power.