Whitley Bay Golf Course

A view of the restoration of Whitley Bay Golf Course following the completion of opencast mining on the site, showing a man playing golf in the foreground and a crane on a spoil hip in the background. John Laing and Son Ltd had started opencast mining operations in 1942 to meet wartime needs. The work was expanded by the company after the war and in 1948 opencast coal mining took place at Golf Course Opencast Coal Site in the Monkseaton area of Whitley Bay. By 1953 the mine was closed and the land was reclaimed. Artist John Laing plc. (Photo by by Historic England/Heritage Images via Getty Images)