Whitley Bay is a town in North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the North Sea coast and boasts a fine stretch of beach of golden sand forming a bay stretching from St. Mary's Island in the north to Cullercoats in the south. Whitley was connected with the Crusades when Pope Nicholas IV granted to Edward I the first-fruits and tenths of all ecclesiastical possessions for six years to defray the expenses of an expedition to the Holy Land. From the late 19th century and into the 20th century the adverse effects of the decline of local coalmining and dependent industries in the area were ameliorated by the emergence of Whitley as a seaside holiday resort. Its popularity with holidaymakers was helped by the opening of the North Tyne Loop railway line in 1882, connecting the coastal villages to Newcastle. Source : www.wikipedia.org.uk
Local Attractions :
Seaton Delaval Hall : http://www.seatondelaval.org.uk/history/seaton-delaval-hall.htm
St Mary's Lighthouse : http://www.friendsofstmarysisland.co.uk/welcome.htm
Blue Reef Aquarium : http://www.places2visit.co.uk/WTT/a/Blue_Reef_Aquarium_Tynemouth_Tynemouth_232d333051.html
Newcastle Racecourse : www.newcastle-racecourse.co.uk