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Hiking trails & Routes

North East England

Durham Heritage Coast – Blast Beach, Seaham loop from Seaham

Hiking trails & Routes

North East England

Durham Heritage Coast – Blast Beach, Seaham loop from Seaham

Easy

4.8

(4)

87

hikers

Durham Heritage Coast – Blast Beach, Seaham loop from Seaham

01:56

7.24km

80m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: May 15, 2026

Waypoints

A

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

1

250 m

Chemical Beach

Highlight • Beach

2

366 m

View of Blast Beach

Highlight • Viewpoint

I always prefer walking down the bank onto the beach and going up the stairs at the other end of the beach. Rather than the reverse.

Tip by

3

571 m

Durham Heritage Coast

Highlight • Natural Monument

If you're familiar with the film Alien 3 then this breathtaking view is in the opening scene.

Tip by

4

1.06 km

Blast Beach

Highlight • Beach

Blast beach was once described as one of the most polluted beaches in the world. The waste and effluent from the local mines was dumped straight onto the beach up to the 1980's giving the area an almost alien look. So much so that local boy Ridley Scott remembered the place and actually used the location in a scene from Alien 3 to represent an alien word with a penal colony where the heroine Ripley lands. Since then the beach has been cleaned up and transformed and is now a local tourist spot and is part of the National Trust. Interesting to visit for fans of the Alien film franchise and also for the spectacular sea views. Best done on a gravel/MTB as you can access the off road tracks that run along the beach.
Just to continue the film world connections, Blast beach was also used in the 1970's British gangster film Get Carter.

Tip by

5

2.50 km

Hawthorn Hive

Highlight • Rest Area

great spot but careful crossing the railway line

Tip by

6

3.24 km

Hawthorn Quarry

Highlight • Natural

7

5.54 km

Blast Beach, Seaham

Highlight • Beach

were open scene of alien 3 was filmed

Tip by

B

7.24 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

3.38 km

2.70 km

1.14 km

< 100 m

Surfaces

3.04 km

1.38 km

1.08 km

918 m

692 m

121 m

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Elevation

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (70 m)

Lowest point (10 m)

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Weather

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Friday 3 July

21°C

14°C

-- %

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