Quite up-lifting!

Saltburn's Victorian masterpiece - the Cliff Lift - is celebrating a record number of passengers as it prepares for the end of the season.
Despite a complete lack of acknowledgement or celebration of the lifts 125th anniversary this year by Redcar and Cleveland Council a bumper total of 120,223 people have enjoyed the journeys, from Good Friday, April 14, to Sunday, September 27, on what is Britain's oldest remaining water-balanced lift.
It will now revert to weekend openings, from 10am-1pm and 1.30pm-5pm, through October until the school half-term holidays, when it will be open daily, with a final closure date for the year on November 1.
Council Cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism Councillor Sheelagh Clarke said: "This has been a remarkable year for the Cliff Lift. We had a good year last year, with just under 100,000 passengers. The best year was back in 2001, when over 112,000 people used the lift.
But that year it remained open until December to compensate for access problems because of the foot and mouth outbreaks and difficulties with the town's bankside footpaths. This year has definitely seen a massive influx of visitors to Saltburn. (Could this have anything to do with winning 'Pier of the Year' and a book recently published being set in the town we wonder?) Although the weather has not been memorable, the visitors have been flooding into the resort and this has been very good for the local economy. Now we're looking forward to more of the same for next year!"
The Cliff Lift has certainly continued to attract the attention of Saltburn's visitors - now that is up-lifting!

Northumbria in Bloom

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council has praised communities across the Borough for their blooming good efforts in the annual Northumbria In Bloom awards.
The results of the 2009 Northumbria in Bloom competition were announced and presentations made at a ceremony in the Freeman's Quay Leisure Centre in Durham City on 14th September.
Over eighty entries reached gold standard in their class this year with judges looking for much more than pretty flowerbeds in spring andsummer. These days floral excellence is vital but not enough and permanent, sustainable planting involving trees and shrubs, conservation projects, cleanliness and year round community effort are all included in the final marks.
This year Saltburn was awarded the gold medal and Amberol Trophy for the Best Seaside Resort. Best conservation project and Gold Medal was awarded to Saltburn Valley Gardens. Best railway, bus or metro station: Saltburn Railway Station. Saltburn Gold Club was awarded a Gold Medal as one of the best kept sports premises. An RHS a Neighbourhood award was given to Laurel Road.
Locally Stanghow received Gold for the Best Small Village and Eston was awarded the Best Urban Community Award with Lingale being recognised as the most improved entry.
Both Stanghow and Eston have been selected to represent the North East in the prestigious 'Britain in Bloom' national competition.

New School Campus Opens

The new Saltburn Primary School opened its doors to pupils today. As the school’s Upleatham and Marske Mill bases completed their move to the new site at Saltburn Learning Campus, shared with Huntcliff Secondary School, headteacher Janet Richardson said she was delighted. She said: “Some of us were here in January 1992 when the infant and junior schools amalgamated, and we’ve been in two buildings ever since. So you can imagine our excitement at moving on to a single site.”
The school has also unveiled a new logo featuring Saltburn Pier, a compass, a book and the sun. It was designed by former pupil Thomas Chisholm, 11, now a student at Huntcliff School.
The school's new playground includes an amphitheatre and a pond with its own bridge, to allow for environmental studies.
The scheme is part of a £60m Government Primary Capital Funding programme that will see schools throughout Redcar and Cleveland updated. Redcar and Cleveland Council’s Cabinet member for children’s services and education, Councillor Ian Jeffrey said: “We are providing 21st century facilities for our children.”

Ravine rescue drama...

A Nunthorpe man whose dog fell 20 feet became the subject of a dramatic search and rescue operation himself after falling down a ravine in Saltburn Woods.
The 45-year-old, who made an emergency call from his mobile phone after falling, had been walking his dog in Valley Gardens when it fell down a steep slope and into a small ravine. He tried to get down to retrieve the dog but slipped himself and fell about 30 feet, sustaining serious injuries.

He landed in the shallow water of the beck that runs along a footpath close to Valley Gardens and Saltburn Woods. Cleveland Search and Rescue team, along with the Great North Air Ambulance, an RAF Sea King helicopter and Cleveland Police attended the scene after receiving the SOS call.

The Search and Rescue team used a stretcher to move the man to a suitable point where he could be safely winched into the helicopter. The team were up against considerable tree coverage in the Valley Gardens and gusting winds, but an effective winch was carried out and the man, who suffered back and leg injuries, was quickly airlifted to the accident and emergency ward of the James Cook University Hospital.

Plea to help clean up Saltburn beach.

Saltburn is being targeted as one of six key UK beaches in a surfers' clean-up tour.
Surfers Against Sewage and Barefoot Wine want people to roll up their sleeves to help make British beaches Barefoot Friendly! The SAS Barefoot Friendly Beach Cleaning Tour will visit Saltburn on August 2 as part of their tour which also includes Newquay, Croyde, Bournemouth, Llangennith and Brighton.
This year's campaign builds on the success of last year's effort, in which more than 400 people helped remove litter from Britain's coastline. SAS campaign officer Andy Cummins said "Marine litter is a huge problem all over the country and this tour gives beach-lovers a great opportunity to make a real and positive difference. It's vital that people take an interest, but it's also really important that people have fun doing it. The beach cleans we organise are enjoyable, educational and a great way to bring local people from all walks of life together."
Starting at 3pm, the session will kick off with a full introduction and briefing. Volunteers will be given gloves and a rubbish bag.
Clean-ups will be followed by a free BBQ for all volunteers from 5pm to 6pm.
Afterwards, there will be fun surf quizzes and free Barefoot wine at the Community Room, on the Lower Promenade.
Ali Feest, chief Barefooter, said: "Last year's campaign highlighted how many people care about British beaches and enjoy being an active part of a campaign to protect them." There are limited spaces for each tour stop. To book a free place contact Andy Cummins at SAS on 01872 555950 or email andy@sas.org.uk. Alternatively, write to him at SAS Unit 2, St Agnes, Cornwall, TR5 0RD.

It started with a kiss...

Jay Preller, 51, and fiancée Hazel Costin, 39, of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, shared their first kiss on the town's Grand Pier back in 2007 and since then the couple have developed a love and fascination for one of Britain's most traditional seaside features.

So much so that they are now touring Britain to visit each of the 54 piers before getting married. The latest to have been visited - and kissed on - by the couple is Saltburn's very own award-winning pier.

Hazel, a teacher, said: "Of all the piers we have visited this is certainly one of the best. It's nice that it is so old fashioned. We've found that every pier is different - we're becoming real experts."

The couple met for the first time at the entrance to the Weston's Grand Pier, which was destroyed by fire last year. They started their tour a year later but once it has finished it won't be the end of the couple's pier antics. Next year, Jay and Hazel will be the first to get married on the re-built Grand Pier.

They will then sit down to write about their travels in a book.

"Neither of us have ever written a book or anything before so it will be a challenge," Hazel said."Hopefully in 10 years we will be able to tour them again - we have grown quite fond of them!"

Action plan for Sea Front

A meeting of the R&C council's Cabinet on Tuesday will be recommended to approve a two-year maintenance programme in a bid to get the Saltburn sea-front building, pictured above, fully operational.
The £212,000 action plan is yet another attempt to try and get the Lower Promenade building fully up and running, seven years after it was built.
The council took it over in 2002 after the community group that conceived it, the Saltburn Improvement Company, ran into difficulties.
The £600,000 building has two retail units - Charlie's Don't Surf and another which is currently under offer and hoping for a summer opening. It also houses the Seaview Restaurant, changing and shower rooms for surfers and a community room. Since its inception it has been dogged by damp problems, legal wrangling and allegations that it was turning into a "white elephant".
The council's Cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, Councillor Sheelagh Clarke, said: "There have been real difficulties with this development since it was delivered by the Saltburn Improvement Company and we need positive action. A lot of work has already been done in securing our control of the building and we believe its tenants appreciate we are moving forward with purpose. I am delighted we are very close to having the building fully let for the first time, but there remain problems."
A structural survey identified the building needs remedial works and an annual maintenance regime. It will cost £212,000 over two years. The first year will tackle structural issues, roof and damp problems. The second year's budget is earmarked for replacing shutters and tackling brickwork and decoration.
Cllr Clarke added: "The need for funding is paramount - if not, the building will remain in disrepair and with the limited maintenance budget currently available, the structural issues will not be addressed. The state of the building will inevitably deteriorate, so approval funding is essential to carry out the renovation to bring it back to an acceptable standard."

5 Pieces of Gold for Saltburn Biathlete

Charlie Pasco (pictured with coach Bill Cook, © Dan Hill) of Saltburn & Marske ASC, successfully competed in the 2009 Northern Region Biathlon and Triathlon Championships at Maiden Castle on 5th April. Charlie finished in first place in the Youth Group C category for both the biathlon and the triathlon, taking best shoot, run and swim all with personal best times (shoot 43, 100m swim 1.10, run 1000m 2.58). He has now qualified for the National Championships to be held in Macclesfield on 17th May.
Charlie is also a member of New Marske Harriers and takes shooting lessons from his granddad.

Singular and Unique - Freya North 'Secrets'

Best selling author Freya North celebrates Saltburn's uniqueness in her new novel:
Secrets. Would you share yours?

Whilst interweaving herself into the fabric of Saltburn both Tess and Joe explore their own personal growth and their developing relationship set against the enchanting house in which Tess and her daughter find themselves 'house-sitting'.

But don't be deceived. This isn't your usual 'set' romance. The book is full of sparky moments you'll find yourself re-reading. Individual, liberating, symbolic, a compulsive read. We all have secrets. Would you share yours?

"And now I mount above the sands,

And in amazement see

The mighty works now carried on

At Saltburn by the Sea.

I gazed delighted on the scene

And found it soon moved me,

To write a book, a little book

On Saltburn by the Sea."

John Farndale, 'A Guide to Saltburn by the Sea' 1862

Freya North gave up a Ph.D. to write her first novel, Sally, in 1991. For 4 years she turned deaf ears to parents and friends who pleaded with her to ‘get a proper job’. She went on the dole and did a succession of freelance and temping jobs to support her writing days. In 1995, throwing caution to the wind, Freya sent three chapters and a page of completely fabricated reviews to a top literary agent, and met with success: five publishers entered a bidding war for her books. In 1996 Sally was published to great acclaim and Freya was heralded as a fresh voice in fiction. Her next books, Chloe, Polly, Cat, Fen, Pip, Love Rules, Home Truths and Pillow Talk have all been bestsellers. She lives in London with her family. In 2008 Freya won the RNA award for ‘Romantic Novel of the Year’ with Pillow Talk.

http://www.freyanorth.com/

Rebecca Hilton

Saltburn Beach, April 2009

Pierrots? Christmas Day 2008

Pier scoops national award!

Saltburn's Victorian pier was today hailed the best in Britain. The pier - the last remaining pleasure pier on the North-East coast - beat resorts including Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight and Bangor in North Wales to scoop the Pier of the Year title.

It was runner-up in 2006 in the National Piers Society awards, and it has regularly featured in the top four from votes cast by the organisation's 600 members. This award comes hot on the heels of other successes including an award for the illuminations which light up the pier and cliff lift from dusk to midnight.
Friends of Saltburn Pier chairman Tony Lynn said: "A lot of work has been done towards saving the pier. It is something very dear to the heart of Saltburn people. It is so much part of Saltburn and we are so pleased to be recognised by the National Pier Society. They held their AGM here just after Saltburn Pier had been restored and the members were very impressed with what they saw."
The pier won the award due to its impressive design and unique features - simpilcity and quality restoration. An important feature is the lighting on the underside of the pier which reflects on to the waves and sand offering a unique experience for many people.
The pier itself has been plagued by misfortune since its opening in 1869 - incidents include the pier-end collapsing into the sea, a ship crashing through it in a storm and a section being removed to prevent German landings during World War Two, all of which gradually caused the length of the pier to diminish.

Norman Bainbridge - Saltburn's 'Mr Pier'

Norman Bainbridge, who died at the age of 83 in December 2005, was born and brought up in Saltburn and was the driving force behind the 'Friends of Saltburn Pier'. Ten years ago the future of the pier was under threat after it became apparent that it was in urgent need of reconstruction. When a bid for funding to restore it failed Norman, as founder member and chairman of the society, led a group of fellow enthusiasts to press for Government help as well as raising funds themselves.. He also worked closely with Redcar and Cleveland Council to lead the fight for survival and did much to help it win a £995,000 lottery grant to carry out the work that was needed to restore the pier.
Norman was very proud when the pier finally reopened to the public in July 2001 and was upgraded to a Grade 2* listed building. He was also proud when the pier lighting scheme was installed as the Friends had long pressed for this facility.
Five years later it won the annual Lighting Design Award for Transport Lighting following work under Redcar and Cleveland Council's Lighting Our Culture initiative. Norman was given the honour of switching on the lighting feature that illuminates the Pier, the Cliff Lift and the lower promenade.