As a young lad, living in Saltburn, it was a short walk to reach the top of Huntcliff and the site of the old signalling station which has been almost completely lost but is marked by an information board.
Standing on the top of Huntcliff, buffeted by the wind blowing in from the North, I would look out to sea beyond the ships waiting for the tide to take them into Tees Dock and gaze at the horizon.
Feeling the solid mass of Huntcliff beneath my feet, tasting the salt sea air from the cold North wind and smelling the seaweed from the shores down below, I would look across the grey swell of the waves stretching as far as the eye could see and it was easy to believe that the possibilities in life were endless.
