HISTORIC CLIFFS BY FIONA CUMMINGS

A Blogget and friend has asked me to write a poem about his place he feels the happiest. He visited this place year after year, and then after doing some research; found out, he has family from here. XX

 

Historic cliffs

By Fiona Cummings

It’s so beautiful here

Walking along the pier

Sitting on the wall

 Compared to the ocean I am so small

An yet feel like I own this place

Can’t get rid of the smile from my face

I have a sense of belonging here

Never felt like this about anywhere

When I am here no tears

As the salted air kisses my brow

I smell the breeze so fresh. Wow

It’s as though I am being looked after

Happy ever after

I look at the rocks and cliffs

Is this a fairy tail or a myth

The ships go out

Horns they shout

Off to Holland

For them a new land

But for me I belong here

Good atmosphere I feel

In a place called South Shields

Where inside a cliff I can take a drink or a meal

The pirates were here once I can tell

History I can smell

Ghosts from the past

This beach is so vast

I always wondered why

I feel like I’m being watch from the sky

So I did some research and this is what I found

Way way back many years before me

This wonderful place stamped my roots you see

As I found out my Grandfather walked these paths

This was his place of living

No wonder I felt so much loving

Each time I return I feel him smiling from heaven

This is my homeland

A place I belong

Put right all that is wrong

I catch a train

 knowing I will return again

 

The Marsden Grotto is well known for being the only restaurant and bar in a cave in the whole of Europe. Known to the locals simply as ‘The Grotto’, it is situated in the cliffs of Marsden’s coast in South Shields in Tyne & Wear.

The history of this curious place dates back to the 18th century and is filled with tales of smugglers, skeletons and ghosts. It was then that the Grotto was first used to bring food and drink to locals and a slew of sailors who preferred to avoid the law. Since its early days, the original cave has been greatly excavated and now, with recent refurbishments, it prides itself on retaining a sense of its colourful legacy while bringing diners the kind of culinary delights which only the sea’s freshest catches can inspire.

 

Incredibly, the caves have been excavated to a two-storey height. Upstairs patrons can hire a unique room overlooking the sea for that special occasion.

 

For a more convivial or family type meal, the downstairs bar and eatery specializes in a wide variety of delicious Gastro pub food and will appeal to young or old with a love of the almost mythical maritime history of the Grotto, captured perfectly by the decor. The ideal spot for scrumptious Fish and Chips either inside or on the outside deck, maybe a great sandwich to eat at the water’s edge or just a quiet drink to watch the sun go down. The beach is splendid in its own right and the Marsden Grotto has gone to great lengths to make is a special place for kids to play and enjoy themselves in this old pirate corner www.marsden-grotto.co.uk