AN artwork, believed to be one of the longest public mosaics in the UK, has been unveiled on a North Yorkshire sea wall.

The Story of Bay – Footprints through Time, which includes 50 mosaic panels, was commissioned by the North York Moors National Park Authority to cover a 125-metre stretch of parapet next to a path that visitors follow to reach Robin Hood’s Bay.

In total, 50 square metres of mosaic have been created by North Yorkshire artist Ruth Wilkinson, who has spent 15 months designing and creating the panels using 300,000 tiles, known as tesserae.

Drawing on ideas contributed by residents of the village, visitors, local artists and historians, the footprint themed mosaic storyboard leads visitors on a journey through the village’s 190 million year history, starting with Jurassic dinosaurs coming out of the sea.

Other sections of the artwork feature notable points in history such as the shipwrecks, the heyday of smuggling and the development of the railway.

Village life, including the close-knit community created by fishing families knitting ganseys for the fishermen in days gone by, and the memories that people have of living in and visiting Robin Hood’s Bay have also provided a source of inspiration.

Emily Watson, of the park authority, said: “The mosaic will be a talking point for visitors, providing them with a snapshot of the village’s rich heritage as well as giving them a great insight into the sense of place and character of today’s Robin Hood’s Bay which they can immerse themselves in and enjoy.”