15 Photos, 1 Location EP.6 - Creswell

Cresswell is a small village on the Northumberland coast, known for its beautiful sandy beach and proximity to Druridge Bay. I believe its one of the rare less visited areas of the coast offering quite a peaceful escape. This particular episode of the 15/1 series had me heading back south ever so slightly from the last location due to the WW2 pillbox I had discovered a few days prior and wanted to photograph.

EP6 - CRESWELL

At first glance what appears to be an old derelict or run down farm building is in fact as mentioned a world war 2 pillbox. Better known as a bunker, these structures are present all up and down the Northumberland coastline as it was a heavily vulnerable area. Bunkers are normally built into the landscape or camouflaged with a lot a greenery, but due to how open and exposed this particular position was, THIS pillbox had to be camouflaged in its own unique way.

Despite its facade of being roofless and ruined, the structure is still fully intact with a water tight roof hidden below the deliberately broken stonework. Behind what appears to be windows are the loopholes in which firearms could be attached to. Built over 80 years ago, if anything is testament to strong craftsmanship it would be this extremely unique piece of history.

I knew after photographing the pillbox I’d have to hunt hard for the remainder of the 15 photos. I started with a short stroll along the beach and then wandered around a small boat club. Having to dig deep and look hard for photographic opportunities does have its up sides, it helps you become a more prepared photographer that can find photos anywhere. Despite enjoying the challenge it’s safe to say a lot of the frames I shot on this occasion were not quite there. However again I was reminded of how much value this photography challenge is giving me, as I did find some really interesting new spots (I didn’t photograph them at the time) but will definitely be eager to return in the spring.

Be sure to check out the video version and behind the scenes of this episode below, I’m talking about success rate in photography and the importance of not getting yourself bogged down when you have a ‘bad photography’ day.