Meet the Ogre: Cleveleys’ Most Unusual Beach Resident |
The hidden stone giant, the Sea Swallow legend and a seaside trail worth exploring |
Some of Cleveleys’ best-known landmarks stand proudly in full view, but one of its most memorable characters prefers to hide beneath the tide.
The Ogre is a large stone sculpture on the beach, where the changing sea reveals him and then covers him again. If you have walked the promenade and never quite spotted him, you are certainly not alone: his green coat of seaweed and algae can make him blend into the surrounding rocks.
A giant with a story to tell
The Ogre is part of Cleveleys’ Mythic Coast, a trail of public artworks inspired by the children’s story The Sea Swallow. The story blends imagination with local folklore, including the tale of Singleton Thorpe, a settlement said to have been lost to the sea in the sixteenth century.
In the story, the Sea Ogre threatens the coastal community, and the brave Mary sets out to save her village. Along the way, readers encounter mysterious waters and magical characters. The sculptures scattered along the seafront bring parts of that adventure into the real world, making a walk along the coast feel a little like stepping into a storybook.
Made of stone, shaped by the sea
The sculpture was carved from limestone by stonemason Adrian Wright and installed below the high-tide line. It is a substantial piece of artwork, but the clever location is what makes it special: the Ogre appears to emerge from the water as the tide falls, before disappearing again as the sea returns.
His appearance changes with the weather and the sea. At times he looks pale and easy to pick out; at others, sea growth helps him merge with the rocks. That changing look gives returning visitors a reason to look again.
Finding him is part of the adventure
To look for the Ogre, head north along Cleveleys promenade with the sea on your left, towards the area opposite Jubilee Gardens and Mary’s Shell. The sculpture sits at the seaward end of a stone groyne, and is best viewed when the tide is low enough to expose it.
Check local tide times before setting out, and keep safety in mind. Wet rocks can be slippery, and the sea can return faster than expected. Enjoy the view from safe ground rather than climbing over rocks or venturing into areas cut off by the tide.
Look out for the rest of the Mythic Coast
The Ogre is only one part of the trail. Nearby, Mary’s Shell makes a striking landmark on the beach, while the enormous Ogre’s Paddle sits on the promenade. Other artworks, including the Sea Swallow and the Shipwreck Memorial, add more chapters to Cleveleys’ coastal story.
Together, these pieces give residents and visitors something more than a seaside stroll: they offer a playful way to explore local heritage, public art and the coastline itself.
So next time the tide retreats, take another look towards the rocks. You might discover the Ogre for the first time, or see a familiar face in a different light.
Have you found the Ogre on Cleveleys beach? Share your photographs and memories with Cleveleys Now and help celebrate the unusual sights that make our corner of the coast distinctive. |
18 Comments
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I think Mary's Shell gets all the attention and the Ogre gets forgotten about. He's honestly just as impressive once you actually find him. More people should know he's there.
You make a fair point, Mary's Shell is hard to miss, but the Ogre's hidden nature means he often goes unnoticed despite being just as remarkable a piece of work. Hopefully more people will seek him out after reading this!
pauline_mCompletely agree. Mary's Shell is stunning but the Ogre has this eerie quality that you don't get from the others. The fact that you have to time it right and actually hunt for him makes it feel more special when you do find him.
Mary's Shell gets all the attention but the Ogre is easily the more interesting one if you ask me. Something about the way the tide covers and uncovers him just feels a bit eerie. Glad more people might go looking for him now.
That eerie quality is exactly what makes his location so inspired, the way he seems to rise from the sea and then vanish again gives him a presence that a sculpture on dry land simply couldn't match.
rach_fyldecoastThat eerie feeling is exactly it. Mary's Shell is impressive but it's just sort of there. The Ogre coming in and out with the tide feels more alive somehow. Walked past him loads of times before I actually knew what I was looking at.
Worth checking the tide times before you go because we turned up and it was completely covered. Came back two hours later and there he was. The seaweed really does make him hard to spot even then.
Steve BancroftGood tip about coming back later. We nearly gave up too but stuck around and it was worth it. The seaweed thing is no joke, we were staring right at it for a good minute before it clicked what we were looking at.
That's really useful real-world advice, and it mirrors what the article suggests, checking local tide times before setting out can save a wasted journey and make all the difference. Worth every bit of the wait, by the sound of it!
We walked past this so many times and had no idea it was there. Finally spotted it last summer when the tide was really low and my grandson was convinced it was actually alive. Brilliant thing to have on the beach.
Janet R.Ha, a kid being convinced it was alive is probably the best reaction possible. My daughter said something similar the first time she saw it. There's something about the way it looks when the water's just pulled back that makes it feel like it moved.
What a wonderful first sighting, and your grandson's reaction is exactly the kind of magic the Mythic Coast trail was designed to create! The Ogre's tidal appearances do have a way of making him feel surprisingly alive.
The rocks round there are seriously slippy even on a dry day. Good that the article mentions it. Seen a few people clamber over the groynes and it makes me nervous watching them. Just stay back and enjoy the view, honestly.
Terry BlackwellCompletely agree. I watched a lad with two young kids scrambling right out to the end of one of the groynes last summer and my heart was in my mouth. The view is just as good from the prom, there's really no need.
Wise words from someone who knows that stretch of coast well, the article's safety note is there precisely because wet rocks and a returning tide are a genuinely unpredictable combination, so the view from safe ground really is the best view.
I walk that prom nearly every day and never knew this was there. Went looking for it last Sunday at low tide and finally spotted him. Took us a good twenty minutes but worth it. The kids loved it.
Janet P.Twenty minutes is pretty much the standard I think! We had the same experience first time. Once you know roughly where to look it gets easier, but that first time it really does just look like rocks. Glad the kids enjoyed it, mine were the same.
Twenty minutes well spent, that sense of searching and finally spotting him is all part of the adventure, and it sounds like the kids got the full Mythic Coast experience!