Speciality Market and Christmas Lights Switch On

For the start of the Christmas season Saltburn will be holding a two day speciality market on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th November from 10 am to 4pm.
The markets sell locally produced, high quality foods and gifts and were initially started to draw local residents’ attention to the excellent wares available from independent retailers on Saltburn’s traditional high street and the surrounding areas. The main market day will be on Saturday when the town switches on the Christmas lights at 5pm.
The speciality markets will include the ever popular organic meats, organic vegetables and locally produced chocolate delights. There will also be locally made gifts, cards, jewellery and candles as well as fairly traded gifts and a wide selection of traditional Christmas items. The long list of products includes delicious honey, herb vinegars, game, gourmet hampers, wine, jams and chutneys. So come along with all the family as this is the place to start your Christmas shopping.
To celebrate the biggest market ever in Saltburn the BBC bus will be visiting the town centre. There will be many family activities including Specky the clown, Punch and Judy and several brass bands generously provided by Saltburn 500 Club.
During the day children can make Christmas decorations at the market with the help of the Friends of Saltburn Library, the decorations will be used to dress Santa’s Grotto for when he visits the town in spectacular style at 5.15pm.
The Saltburn Christmas light switch on has always been a popular, annual, family event. This year to encourage the older children to join in the family festivities the Saltburn Agora Partnership has secured funding from Tees Valley Community Foundation’s Local Network Fund for a free ice rink in the town centre on Saturday 10am to 8pm and Sunday 10 am to 6pm. The artificial ice rink will feature music, decorations, artificial snow and even a skate coach. Up to thirty people can be on the 8m by 9m ice-rink at any one time.

Saltburn hit by tidal surge.

Teesside’s coastline braced itself for the effects of a North Sea tidal surge caused by gale force winds and a high tide.
Saltburn was hit overnight on Thursday, with the coastline affected between 3am and 5am, but the flooding has now receded.
A clean-up operation began yesterday morning after the seafront was battered by storm waves. Rocks, sand, seaweed and other debris was tossed across the coast road by rough high tides.
The flooding subsided as the tide ebbed but the sea remained choppy. Catherine Scott, licensee at The Ship Inn in Saltburn, said: “We were really lucky as the tide came up the slipway but just to the edge of the entrance to the car park. The police and Coastguard were out all night, keeping an eye on the tide, to see how it was going. It has receded now, it has just left a lot of stones. Part of the road was closed during the night too, but that has reopened now.”
Saltburn Pier was also closed yesterday as a precaution.
The Humber Coastguard commented that they were aware of the floodwatch warnings in place and had taken the necessary precautions but stated that the worst of the surge had now passed.
The Environment Agency issued eight severe flood warnings, mainly in areas of southern England which were most at risk from the surge.

Pageant of Light

Saltburn woods were lit by flickering lanterns when 2,500 people walked in the annual 'Pageant of Light' at dusk on Sunday, October 29th to the Woodlands Centre.
“It was a great event and everyone was well behaved,” said countryside ranger Neil Thirkell.
Numbers were well up on last year’s 1,000 walkers with everyone celebrating the end of British Summer Time and clocks going back an hour.
The theme of the event, which was organised by Redcar and Cleveland Council and the Friends of the Valley, was the 'Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.' “Three ‘fire-sculptures’ by artist Derek Mosey were a prominent feature, the Orion scouts from Guisborough entertained people in the tea gardens and the Saltburn-based Earthbeat Theatre Company was well received,” said Mr Thirkell.
Saltburn WI provided refreshments at the woodlands centre.
The Butterwick Children’s Hospice, of Stockton, raised about £300 through selling glow-sticks.