Scarborough's New Sea Watching Station Prepares to Open

Scarborough's new Sea Watching Station on Marine Drive will be officially opened on Saturday with a free community event from 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM.

The launch will feature the unveiling of "Roman Mosaic c. 2025," a permanent artwork by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, created in collaboration with sculptor and mosaic artist Coralie Turpin.

The Sea Watching Station is the final addition to the Wild Eye Nature and Art Trail, a project by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Invisible Dust in partnership with North Yorkshire Council. 

Cate Holborn from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, says it's a great location for the new centre.

"the Sea watching Station is  located on Marine Drive. It was chosen as the location because of the regularity of cetacean sightings that have been seen from there. So cetaceans are Wales, dolphins and porpoise and they're regularly seen along the coast there. So in. 2024 alone, there were over 400 recorded sightings of bottle nosed dolphins, and there'd been minky whales harbor porpoise on a very rare occasion a humpback whale. But there are also lots of seabirds. So there are kitty weights that nest up in the cliffs, just above the station.

So yeah, there's lots of our lives to see and experience"

Located on Marine Drive, the station offers free telescopes, including accessible options, and comprehensive wildlife information panels.

Cate says there is also an amazing Roman inspired mosaic floor.

"The Sea Watching Station features free telescopes and also accessible telescopes for people who use wheelchairs.

There are  interpretation panels, so you can identify what you spot out with sea. And  also spanning a large area of the floor of is, a Marine mosaic by Turner Prize winning artist, Jeremy Deller,

 That's called Roman Mosaic circa 2025. Um, was inspired by Scarborough's Roman History, and also its exceptional marine  biodiversity, so it depicts a variety of marine. Creatures that you can see from the local area,  and it also features Scarborough's famous visitor Thor the Walrus who came along a couple of years ago on New Year's Eve.

 The artwork  provides a way for people to experience and have a deeper connection with nature, which. We know is a surefire way to help build care and protection for it in the future."

The mosaic has been developed in consultation with local scientists, conservationists, archaeologists, and community groups.

Jeremy Deller, the Turner Prize-winning artist behind the mosaic, said:

"Art is a way of staying in love with the world. It is also a form of magic or a cover version of reality. Here in Scarborough, we propose a new ancient work to be created about the sea and the creatures within it which also hints at the possibility of the past being still present, just beneath our feet and perhaps inclines us to think about what traces we will leave behind on the world".

The community launch event on Saturday will offer visitors the opportunity to "create their very own marine mosaic for free to take home". Volunteers from the SeaWatch Foundation and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will be present to help identify marine life spotted at sea. Attendees can also enjoy "free refreshments and sustainable seafood tasters by Yorkshire Seafood Kitchen".

Cate says that following the launch, the Sea Watching Station will be open for anyone to come along and use 

"the idea is that it's open for anyone to come along and use. It will just be open and accessible for everyone.

There's a wheelchair ramp for wheelchair users. And yeah it's not gonna close. It's just gonna be open so that, when we do have the occasional random pot of dolphins going past, everyone can flock to the see what she's station, grab the telescopes, and have a look."

The hope is that the new Sea Watching station will be a useful resource for local people and another pull for visitors to the town.

"Part of the aim of Wild Eye was to  of boost tourism for Scarborough, give another offer for what already exists in Scarborough, just, bring more people in for that sort of nature experience. And yeah, we're hoping the Sea Watch sensation will help to do that.

Because . Marine Drive is one of the best places on the English coast to see dolphins, paw po. Whale. And yeah, it's just a nice little hub for people to be able to to see those animals and also learn a bit more about them through the interpretation panels."

Cate adds that the Sea Watch station is the final part of a wider marine art trail that has been constructed in Scarborough.

"Yorkshire wildlife Trust and Invisible Dust Hub have  been working on Wild Eye for the past few years and they've been creating the wild eye nature and art trail across Scarborough, Whitby, and the Sea Station is the final part of that trail that's being launched.

There are five other sculptural living and augmented reality works that already exist. This is the last one."

Further information about the Wild Eye Trail and the Sea Watching Station can be found at https://wildeye.org.uk/project/seawatching-station-marine-drive-jeremy-deller/