Scarborough Bay

Today on Watercolour Challenge, Fern heads to the North Yorkshire coast to conjure up the magic of the traditional British seaside holiday. Scarborough was Britain's very first spa resort, with the upper classes going to ‘take the waters' as early as the 18th century. By the early 20th century, it was the go-to seaside escape for the hoi polloi. 

The four artists set up their easels on the promenade in South Bay and take in the sweep of the shoreline from the Victorian-built Grand Hotel to the 12th-century castle on the hill, all the way over to the historic harbour. It's a vista packed with pitfalls for any artist, let alone four amateur painters. 

Judging the final painting today is army veteran and professional painter Ady Wright. He is on hand to guide the artists through this complex scene as well as offering a top tip on dramatic sketching using raw watercolour pigment. 

As the artists tackle this complex view, Fern learns how Scarborough became known for its healing waters — both for quaffing and bathing. We also hear the story of another painter who once painted this exact view, perhaps the most influential watercolourist of all time — Joseph Mallord William Turner, whose paintings of Scarborough are just part of his incredibly legacy to the art world. He's a hard act to follow — will the painters crumble?