At first glance, a beach in County Durham looks more like the surface of an alien planet than a stretch of North East coastline.
Famous for its blackened sands, towering cliffs and striking red and orange pools that can appear among the rocks, blast beach south of Seaham has become one of the North East's most photographed landscapes.
Its otherworldly appearance has even earned it a place on screen, with director Dave Fincher using Blast Beach for the opening scenes of Alien 3 in the early 1990s.
More recently, the beach also appeared in Netflix's historical drama The Last Kingdom, standing in perfectly for the coast of Iceland with its dark shoreline and unusual colours.
Those distinctive colours are part of what makes the beach so memorable.
Blast Beach, Seaham.
(Image: Third Eye Traveller)
Locals and tourists describe the landscape as almost extraterrestrial, particularly where the red and orange-coloured pools contrast against the darker rocks and sand.
The colours can be traced back to the coastline's industrial past, with iron-rich deposits leaving behind red and orange hues.
The beach takes its name from the industrial activity that once dominated the Durham coast.
For decades, waste from collieries and heavy industry was deposited along the shoreline, leaving behind a heavily polluted landscape that was once regarded as one of the most environmentally damaged coastlines in Britain.
By the late 20th century, Blast Beach was a prime example of the environmental impact of mining.
However, things changed when the Turning the Tide project, a major regeneration programme, was launched in 1997, running until 2002.
The scheme removed huge quantities of mining waste, restored natural habitats and helped restore the coastline into the natural attraction seen today.
Now part of the Durham Heritage Coast, Blast Beach has transformed from a wasteland into an unmissable North East destination.
Wildflowers cover the clifftops during summer, coastal paths attract walkers from across the region all year round, and the shoreline provides spectacular views across the North Sea.
Seaham is also famous for its sea glass - bringing thousands of visitors to its beaches every year to hunt for unique shapes and colours of glass emerging from the sea.
Sea glass comes from generations of discarded glass from Seaham's former bottle-making industry that have been worn smooth by the sea, creating colourful pieces that look more like rare gems rather than bits of old glass.
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To get to Blast Beach, there is a short but steep walk from Nose's Point - where you can sit and enjoy the views from above before heading down to get a closer look at the water.
Along the way, visitors will find reminders of the area's industrial heritage and its natural recovery, from old mining features to limestone habitats that now support wildlife dotted around the coastline.
Few places demonstrate the transformation and history of the North East coastline quite like Blast Beach.