Hartlepool

The Maritime Experience at the Marina is the top attraction in the area, along with the many restaurants around the marina. Other top attractions are Andy Capp and the Hartlepool Monkey.

The Train Station is situated in the town centre, close to Christ Church, one third of a mile walk to the Marina.

The image top is of Christ Church in Hartlepool centre, the most notable building that can be seen from miles around. The church was completed in 1854 and converted to an art gallery in 1996. The church is in the centre of West Hartlepool, on Church Street. Large Image.

The image second top is of the Grand Hotel situated a short walk up Victoria Road from Christ Church. The hotel opened in 1899 as a railway hotel.

The image third top is of the War Memorial on Victoria Street, in Victoria Square. The memorial was complated in the 1920s. The square and memorial are impresive for a town of this size, makes you feel like you are in a large city. Next to the memorial is the large Middleton Grange Shopping Centre .

The image fourth top is of the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool at the Marina, a short walk from West Hartlepool, formerly the Hartlepool Maritime Experience. This is one of the top attractions in the northeast of England, with the HMS Trincomalee being the top attraction. This is the oldest British warship still afloat, built at Bombay, India in 1817.

The museum also has a number of buildings known as the The Historic Quayside, showing what life was like in the 1700s and 1800s. Large Image.

Also at the mueum is a restored paddle steamer built in 1934 as a River Humber steamer named P.S.S. Wingfield Castle. She was operated as a Humber ferry from 1934 until the 7,280ft long Humber Bridge was opened 1974.

The image right is of the Monkey at Hartlepool Marina. The Marina has been developed from the early 2000s with hundreds of marina view apartments, shops and a large range of restaurants, a real scenic place to spend a few hours.

There are a number of boats for Sea Fishing Charters based at the marina.

The image right is of the Old Town Walls at the Headland area with a small sandy beach, known as the Fish Sands, where fishermen sold their catches. This is the area where the tail of the monkey took place.

Hartlepool Borough Hall is next to the walls. The Hall was built in 1865, now used for events such as the annual Horticultural Show, Heritage Festival, Hartlepool Beer Festival, Christmas Party Nights, and Weddings.

The Hall and Square in front, are quite impressive, looking as if they are from a much larger town or city.

Saint Hildas Church is next to the Borough Hall. The earliest parts of this church are beleived to have been built in the 1100s.

Close to the church is the Heugh Battery Museum for large military guns, uniforms and more. The museum is high above the shoreline where the Heugh Battery was erected in 1860 to protect the port of Hartlepool.

By the pier in the Headland / Old Town is a statue of Andy Capp, a character from a British comic and news papers, created by cartoonist Reg Smythe.

Andy Capp is a likable rouge from Hartlepool that avoids working. His main pastimes include pigeon racing, darts, snooker, and football.

The image bottom is of the Hartlepool Monkey at the Headland, across the road from the Andy Capp statue.

Information on this statue states:
In 1953, Ned Conran the Vistorian Balladeer wrote and performed the popular song " The Fishermen Hung The Monkey O!" The song is set during the Napolionic Wars when propeganda and nationalist fervour gripped the country, fuelled by the threat of a French Invasion in 1805.

At this time the bedraggled monkey, complete with red cap, was supposedly washed onto the Fish Sands. It was seized, questioned and tried by the townsfolk, as a French spy. The story is now part of Hartlepools cultural consciousness, and Hartlepudlians are known across the world as Monkey Hangers.

There is a good 3 mile walk or drive from West Hartlepool south to Seaton Carew with a vast beach all the way.

Seaton Carew is a typical seaside town with many cafes, restaurants, amusements, and ice cream shops. See the Beaches South Side link at the top.

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