Mini Rough Guide to Middlesbrough

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THE MINI ROUGH GUIDE to TEESSIDE THE MINI ROUGH GUIDE to TEESSIDE THE MINI ROUGH GUIDE to TEESSIDE Credits Author: Linda Blackburne Senior Editor: Ros Walford Designer: Nicola Erdpresser Factchecking: Stuart Forster Proofreading: Alex Whittleton Cartographer: Ed Wright Senior Prepress Designer: Daniel May Production: Olivia Jeffries, Stephanie McConnell Account Manager: Michael Stanfield Publisher: Keith Drew

Teesside University contributors: Editorial: Michelle Eaves, Laura Haveron Photography: Judy Hume, Rachel Lonsdale

Middlesbrough Council contributors: Editorial: Rachel Grey, Yaffa Phillips

This second edition published 2016 by Rough Guides Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL

Maps © Rough Guides Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database rights 2014

002–299429–Jun/16

ISBN: 978-0-2412-8689-0

Published in association with Teesside University and Middlesbrough Council

The publishers and authors have done their best to ensure the accuracy and currency of all the information in this book. However, they can accept no responsibility for any loss, injury, or inconvenience sustained by any traveller as a result of information or advice contained in the guide. Contents

Introducing Teesside 4 Highlights of Teesside 4 Map of Teesside 6 Teesside’s history 8 Captain Cook 10 Did you know? 12 Who’s who 14 Cultural events 16 Teesside University 18 Green spaces 20 Galleries and museums 22 Sculpture trail 24 Sports 26 Outdoor activities 28 Walking and cycling routes 30 Children’s activities 32 Around Teesside 34 Middlesbrough 34 Map of Middlesbrough 36 Stockton-on-Tees, Preston Park and Yarm 42 Darlington 44 The River Tees 46 By the sea 48 Beyond Teesside 50 Things to do 52 Shopping 52 Music and entertainment 54 Theatre, cinema and comedy 56 Where to stay 58 Where to eat 60 Drinking and nightlife 62 Picture credits & resources 64

Canopy by Martin Donlin 4 INTRODUCING TEESSIDE TEESSIDE

mima; leafy Albert Park; Middlesbrough Football Club Highlights of Teesside

Teesside is known for its eclectic mix of Driving alongside the River Tees through industry, culture and striking scenery. the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton- From the working docks of the Tees on-Tees and Yarm, you’ll come across Estuary to the area’s vibrant towns and two top attractions that are inextricably glorious countryside, this is a place linked to the region’s industrial past: the where old and new, urban and rural, iconic Tees Transporter Bridge, one of and culture and commerce converge. only a few bridges in the world to use a gondola for transportation, and the watersports haven of the Tees Barrage. While these remnants of Teesside’s maritime past are preserved for posterity, industry is still in full swing at Teesport, the UK’s third-largest port, which handles 40 million tonnes of cargo a year. In Middlesbrough, a regeneration Centre Square, Middlesbrough project has transformed the dockyards Middlehaven at dusk area, known as Middlehaven. Here, Parks and nature reserves punctuate you can eat at fine-dining restaurants Teesside, which lies only a stone’s beside the waterfront and the gigantic throw from the heritage coasts of sculpture Temenos, by Anish Kapoor. Northumberland and North Yorkshire. The town is also home to one of the UK’s Middlesbrough’s Albert and Stewart leading contemporary art galleries – parks offer lovely open spaces, while Middlesbrough Institute of Modern the Teesmouth National Nature Art (mima) – as well as the much-loved Reserve, located between Hartlepool Middlesbrough Football Club. and Redcar, is home to many rare plants The town is a burgeoning business and some 20,000 migratory water birds. hub. The Boho Zone attracts creative Roseberry Topping, known as the companies, while the regeneration “mini Matterhorn” of the North York of Baker Street and Bedford Street Moors National Park, lies 11km south has seen many independent eateries, of Middlesbrough. This distinctive micropubs and vintage shops flourish. peak, much loved by Teessiders, was Baker Street hosts the town’s first artisan a favourite of the British explorer and street-food market, the Orange Pip Middlesbrough son Captain Cook Market. South of the centre, the restored almost 300 years ago. Today, the North Grade-I-listed Acklam Hall provides Yorkshire-born mountaineer Alan Hinkes, Middlesbrough with a wonderful new who has scaled the world’s fourteen venue for weddings and conferences. highest peaks, still climbs it regularly. 6 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE

Newcastle upon Tyne (11 miles) & Northumberland (20 miles) Newcastle upon Tyne (17 miles) & Northumberland (24 miles)

A19 0 kilometres 10 Seaham N North TEESSIDE Hetton- Yor ksh le-Hole 0 miles 5 ir NORTHEAST ENGLAND e Whitby an d A690 D Cl u e A167 v r e h A171 Captain Cook la a n m Memorial d

H Museum e Durham r Ness Point or it a Peterlee g North Cheek e C Sleights Brandon o a Fylingthorpe Bowburn Robin Hood’s s t

Bay

A169 DURHAM E TEESSIDE n Old Peak or g l r an d South Cheek a Willington e Co W as Ravenscar H r A179 t Pa e e th C r iv Spennymoor A171 le i v t R HMS Trincomalee e a LONDON la g n & Hartlepool’s d e W Maritime Experience NORTH YORK MOORS a C y o A19 A1 M a Ferryhill s A688 Hartlepool NATIONAL PARK t Sedgeﬁeld Seaton North Gare Sands Bishop A689 A689 Carew Dalby e South Gare Peninsula Cloughton Auckland n Teesmouth NNR Forest r Tees- e Coatham k mouth S Shildon Sands r

A6072 e Seal

Newton v i Redcar Aycliﬀe R Billingham Sands Railway Billingham Forum Saltholme Marske-by- NORTH SEA Museum Teesport N SEE the-Sea or th Yo y Saltburn- rks a hi re MIDDLESBROUGH W Kirkleatham an Stockton- le by-the-Sea d C MAP sda lev Heighington on-Tees Tee Cleveland Ironstone e la Mining Museum nd A68 Tees Barrage H A174 Brotton er River Tees Watersports Centre ita Boulby Staithes ge Eston Nab y A174 C Preston Park Ormesby a o Middlesbrough r W Skelton a o d st Hall o n Runswick M a Loftus ton l A66 Acklam Hall Es e SEE v Bay Head of Steam T e e A171 l CONTINUATION Captain Cook Birthplace Museum e C Railway Museum Flatts s Link C ABOVE Stewart Park Guisborough lev Train Coulby Lane eland Way Darlington Unicorn Country Guisborough Forest Egglescliﬀe Newham Park Centre Roseberry A66 Middlesbrough Topping R Yarm Whitby iv Durham Sports Village e ay Captain Cook’s r eesdale W Great T T Tees Valley Monument ee A19 Stokesley Ayton Danby s International Esk Valley A171

Lake DistrictLake (50 miles) Airport en Railway River Lev A1 Battersby Rive Egton A66 Hutton Great r Esk Rudby Broughton Sleights Glaisdale Grosmont International airport Archeological site/ruin NORTH YORKSHIRE NORTH YORK MOORS North York A169 Moors Railway Point of interest Country park Cl A172 ev el and NATIONAL PARK Statue/monument Nature reserve B1257 Way Goathland Museum Peak Stately home Osmotherley

Leeds (47 miles) Thirsk (9 miles), Sutton Bank (14 miles) & York (32 miles) Rievaulx Abbey (9 miles) Hole of Horcum (3 miles), Go Ape Dalby Forest (7 miles) & Flamingo Land (14 miles) INTRODUCING TEESSIDE 7

Newcastle upon Tyne (11 miles) & Northumberland (20 miles) Newcastle upon Tyne (17 miles) & Northumberland (24 miles)

A19 0 kilometres 10 Seaham N North TEESSIDE Hetton- Yor ksh le-Hole 0 miles 5 ir NORTHEAST ENGLAND e Whitby an d A690 D Cl u e A167 v r e h A171 Captain Cook la a n m Memorial d

H Museum e Durham r Ness Point or it a Peterlee g North Cheek e C Sleights Brandon o a Fylingthorpe Bowburn Robin Hood’s s t

Bay

A6072 e Seal

Teesside has been inhabited since a modern form of the Saxon name ancient times. The rocky promontory “Mydilsburgh”, which is thought to of Eston Nab, which overlooks refer to the town’s “mydil” (middle) modern-day Middlesbrough, formed position between the Christian part of an Iron Age fortress, and in centres of Durham and Whitby. Anglo-Saxon times, the town was It wasn’t until the 1820s, however, the site of a chapel belonging to that Teesside really earned its place nearby Whitby Abbey (see p.49). In in history, when engineer George fact, the name “Middlesbrough” is Stephenson built the world’s first public railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The event revolutionized global transportation, proving that horses and carts were no longer needed and increasing transport speed to a previously unimaginable extent. In 1830, Middlesbrough was home to only three farms and 25 people. In 1831, Joseph Pease, manager of the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company, bought the 500-acre estate for £30,000 to extend the railway line from Stockton to Middlesbrough for coal export. The route from the Durham coalfields to the east coast led to the export of 1,500,000 tonnes of coal from Middlesbrough in 1840; the endeavour was so successful that other industries, including brickyards, potteries and shipyards, soon sprang The imposing Tees Transporter Bridge up across the region. INTRODUCING TEESSIDE 9

Where alchemists Were born Below Cleveland’s hills A giant blue dragonfly Across the Tees Reminds us every night We built the world Every metropolis Came from Ironopolis Ironopolis by Ian Horn can be seen in Middlesbrough on a wall on Bridge Street East and at The Southfield pub.

The following year, the discovery of industrial target to be bombed. The ironstone deposits in the Eston Hills by destruction of more than 200 buildings Henry Bolckow, a German accountant, forced extensive redevelopment in and John Vaughan, a Worcester the town centre, but some impressive ironworker, triggered Middlesbrough’s examples of Victorian architecture commercial metamorphosis. Mills, still exist today, mainly in the Albert foundries, steel-manufacturing Park and Linthorpe Road Conservation companies and engineering works Area and in the streets surrounding evolved here at a dizzying rate. The the train station. town’s rags-to-riches transformation Not many places can lay claim to was unprecedented in England, and by coating half the planet in metal, but 1890 – despite a cholera epidemic in the Teesside did just that. The nineteenth- 1850s – the population had ballooned century ironstone boom that led to to 90,000 and the town became known the construction of the Tees Transporter as Ironopolis. Bridge, Newcastle’s Tyne Bridge and During World War II, Middlesbrough Australia’s Sydney Harbour Bridge has was the first major British town and not been forgotten. 10 INTRODUCING TEESSIDE Captain Cook

The eighteenth- Northwest Passage – a route through century explorer the Arctic to connect the Atlantic and and navigator Pacific oceans. He became the first Captain Cook is man to sail around the world in both Middlesbrough’s directions and redrew the world map. most famous son. He also kept the terrible disease of James Cook was scurvy at bay by making sure his crew born in a humble had fresh fruit and vegetables regularly. cottage in the town His work was of international interest in 1728, a stone’s in his own time, and he became a hero throw from what is among the scientific community. now the Captain Cook died on the Pacific island of Cook Birthplace Hawaii after villagers stole his small Statue of Cook, Museum (see p.41). cutter vessel. Cook and his crew had Great Ayton After helping his attempted to take the local leader, father on a farm at Great Ayton (see Kalaniopuu, hostage in order to p.50), a village on the edge of the North negotiate the safe return of the boat, York Moors, and working at a grocer’s but a mob of villagers descended on the shop in the fishing village of Staithes seamen and the captain was struck on (see p.49), Cook became determined to go to sea. He began as a sailor and rose through the ranks to become lieutenant of HM Bark Endeavour in 1766. The Admiralty – the control centre of the Royal Navy – promptly dispatched Cook to search for a “Great Southern Continent”, and so he set off on three great voyages across the Pacific Ocean to find it. During this time, Cook charted New Zealand and the east coast of Australia and searched for the The illustrious sea captain in battle Inside the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, Middlesbrough the head and stabbed to death. He was further afield, the Southampton- not eaten by cannibals, as is sometimes berthed RRS James Cook was built believed; instead, the Hawaiians baked in 2006 to replace the RRS Charles his flesh to expose the bones, which Darwin in the UK’s they used as religious icons. Royal Research Fleet. Tributes abound to this colossus The most remarkable of the emerging British Empire. In tribute to Cook is Teesside, they include a primary found on the other school, shopping square and university side of the world: his hospital named after the great sailor, father’s home a monument in the North York Moors on Bridge Street National Park and the Bottle of Notes in Great Ayton was sculpture (see p.24) in Middlesbrough’s dismantled and rebuilt Centre Square. There is a full-size replica in Fitzroy Gardens in of HM Bark Endeavour (see pp.42–3) Melbourne, Australia, Captain Cook at Castlegate Quay in Stockton, while in 1934 (see pp.50–51). Monument 12 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE Did you know?

✪ Oscar-winning film director Ridley Scott, who grew up in Stockton-on-Tees, “There’s a walk from Redcar. I’d based the opening of the Hollywood cross a bridge at night and walk filmBlade Runner on the view of the old above the steel works. It always Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) plant at seemed to be rather gloomy and Wilton. Also, nearby Redcar featured in raining, and I’d just think: ‘God, this the blockbuster film Atonement. is beautiful.’” – Ridley Scott on his inspiration for the opening of 1982 ✪ The late rock star David Hollywood blockbuster Blade Runner Bowie collected the work of the internationally renowned artist ✪ The imposing Dock Clock Tower at William Tillyer, who was born in Middlehaven Dock in Middlesbrough Middlesbrough in 1938. The British has four sides, but only three clock Businessman Charles Saatchi is faces – this is because employers did also a collector of Tillyer’s work. not want the dockers to clock-watch.

Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia INTRODUCING TEESSIDE 13

✪ Australia’s majestic Sydney Harbour Bridge (1932) and Newcastle’s iconic New Tyne Bridge (1928) were made in Middlesbrough by Dorman Long and Co. Ltd. – in fact, many metal structures across the world were built in the town.

✪ The Tees Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough is the only place in England where you can bungee jump from a bridge. It’s also possible to abseil here.

✪ The Tees Transporter Bridge featured in the successful British An art exhibition at mima TV comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–2004). It also appeared in the hit ✪ Several of the handcrafted ales filmBilly Elliot. made by Middlesbrough’s much-loved Truefitt Brewing Company have ✪ In 2009, presenters of the BBC been inspired by the town’s illustrious Two show Top Gear came to the industrial heritage – why not try Erimus area to find out whether cars are Pale Ale, Ironopolis Stout, Mydilsburgh more popular than modern art. They India Pale Ale and North Riding Bitter. curated an exhibition of automotive art at mima (see pp.39–40), ✪ Steve Cochrane, the founder Middlesbrough’s renowned gallery. of Middlesbrough’s multi-award- Among their publicity stunts for winning designer department store, the event was an appearance at Psyche (see p.53), regularly mixes a Middlesbrough Football Club with the great and the good of the match wearing Newcastle United international fashion scene, including shirts. The stunt attracted record designers Vivienne Westwood, Zandra numbers to mima. Rhodes and Tommy Hilfiger. Who’s who

Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North

Teesside has produced its fair share when scraped across his hearth. A more of distinguished figures over the recent scientific star from the area is the centuries, from a war hero and ocean award-winning former Chief Medical explorer to acclaimed scientists, artists, Officer to the UK, Sir Liam Donaldson. writers, entertainers and athletes. Teesside is also well represented on A bronze statue near the cenotaph the international art scene. Glasgow- on Linthorpe Road commemorates born Christopher Dresser, the Middlesbrough’s Sergeant Major Stan father of modern industrial design, Hollis, who was awarded the Victoria established the Linthorpe Art Pottery Cross for storming a German pillbox on (see p.22) in Middlesbrough; William the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944. Tillyer, the highly acclaimed artist, was He was the only Allied soldier to have born in Middlesbrough and has had his won the award for action on D-Day. work displayed at mima (see pp.39–40); It was another kind of courage that and Sir Antony Gormley’s Gateshead took Captain James Cook, also from sculpture, the Angel of the North, was Middlesbrough, on his three voyages created in the Tees Valley. around the world (see pp.10–11). The The autism campaigner Anna great sea captain charted New Zealand Kennedy OBE also comes from and the east coast of Australia for the first Middlesbrough. The mother, author time, and redrew the world map. and advisor is an honorary graduate of Stockton was the home of the chemist Teesside University for her work with John Walker, who invented the friction children on the autistic spectrum. match in 1827 after seeing that a stick Local literary luminaries include coated with chemicals burst into flames Richard Milward, who was awarded INTRODUCING TEESSIDE 15 an Honorary Doctorate from Teesside University and is considered one of the country’s most inventive young writers, and Pat Barker, who won the Booker Prize in 1995 for The Ghost Road. In sport, Teessider Brian Clough, the charismatic football manager, is honoured with a bronze statue in Albert Park. Self-made millionaire Steve Gibson is the chairman and owner of Middlesbrough Football Club. Chris Tomlinson held the British long-jump record continuously from 2002 to 2009. Beth Mead is a prolific striker with Sunderland in the Women’s Super League. Up-and-coming local athletes include pro cyclist Harry Tanfield, who Comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer has completed one Tour de Yorkshire; Championships; wheelchair racer Jade sprinter Richard Kilty, who won gold Jones, who studies at Teesside University for the 60m at the 2014 World Indoor while training for the Paralympics; and BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern the British Olympic swimmer Aimee Willmott, who trained at the Neptune Centre pools in Middlesbrough. Celebrities with strong Teesside connections include Hollywood film director Sir Ridley Scott, who grew up in Stockton; Hollywood actor Jamie Bell; Franc Roddam, director of the film Quadrophenia and founder of TV show Masterchef; musicians Paul Rodgers, Chris Rea and David Coverdale; comedians Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves; and BBC Breakfast television presenter Steph McGovern. 16 Cultural events

With world-class art and dance, exciting ✪ Stockton Duathlon Festival (end live-music and a lively boating scene, Apr) This run-cycle-run challenge Teesside offers some dazzling dates for attracts both novices and elite athletes. the diary. Dates may vary each year. ✪ Whitby Goth Weekend (also Oct) A weekend celebrating alternative February lifestyles linked to Whitby’s connections ✪ Animex (mid-Feb) This international with Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. festival of animation and computer games, held at Teesside University, is the May largest of its kind in the UK. ✪ Stockton Beer Festival (month varies) Held at various venues, this beer March bonanza offers more than eighty brews ✪ Stockton Calling (month varies) A on tap. one-day festival held on Easter Sunday, ✪ Tees Regatta (mid-May) The only featuring some of the best up-and- buoyed, multi-laned event in the north coming acts from the UK and beyond. of England, this Stockton festival attracts rowers of all ages and abilities. April ✪ Darlington Beer Festival (month June ✪ varies) Enjoy thirty independent Stockton Cycling Festival (month ales, ciders and perries, and music varies) A four-day celebration of at the Forum. cycling, with bundles of family appeal.

Billingham International Folklore Festival 17

In 2016, The British Cycling National September Road Championships takes place over ✪ Festival of Thrift (mid-Sep) A fun the same weekend. celebration of the art of saving money. ✪ Middlesbrough Town Meal (mid- July Sep) This communal feast celebrates ✪ The Cleveland Show (late Jul) An local and sustainable food. agricultural show held at Stewart Park ✪ Staithes Festival (mid-Sep) More in Middlesbrough. Highlights include than 100 cottages and public buildings craft and horticulture contests and the are transformed into pop-up galleries presence of a host of farm animals. with works by local and visiting artists. ✪ Middlesbrough Mela (month varies according to Ramadan) The northeast’s October best multicultural celebration in ✪ Discover Middlesbrough Festival Centre Square features international (late Oct) A celebration of the town’s food and live music. heritage with a “Magical History Tour” in a vintage bus, talks and exhibitions. August ✪ Twisterella (early Oct) A music ✪ Stockton International Riverside festival held in various venues around Festival (SIRF) (early Aug) Street Middlesbrough that showcases theatre, circus, dance, music and up-and-coming bands. pyrotechnics define this four-day arts event along the Tees. November ✪ Billingham International Folklore ✪ Bonfire night (early Nov) Held at Festival (mid-Aug) A must for lovers of Acklam and Middlesbrough rugby traditional dance and song from around clubs, Stockton Riverside, Seaton Carew the world. seafront and Skinningrove. ✪ Whitby Regatta (late Aug) Four days ✪ Christmas lights and Reindeer of boat races, free entertainment and Parade (end Nov) The fabulous switch- fireworks, held every year since 1847. on ceremony in Middlesbrough. ✪ Stockton River Rat Race (mid-Aug) A 5km or 10km obstacle December race around the Tees ending with ✪ Stockton Sparkles Festival (end a fun walk-the-plank challenge off Nov–Christmas Eve) A winter festival HM Bark Endeavour. with music and dancing. 18 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE Teesside University

A massive investment programme is transforming campus facilities in both Middlesbrough and Darlington. Teesside University attracts around 20,000 students from more than 100 countries. So what’s life like here from the students’ perspective?

HARRY TANFIELD, 21 Home town: Great Ayton, North Yorkshire Civil Engineering student and professional cyclist “I chose the university because it’s local to me, has excellent sports facilities and a support network. The course offered everything I was looking for. If I’m not at uni, I’m riding my bike. I go racing and training on the cycle track and new velodrome at Middlesbrough Sports Village on Marton Road. They have high-quality facilities.”

ROSEMARY STUBBS, 23 Home town: Middlesbrough Cultural History MA student “Growing up in Middlesbrough meant I knew just how great it is to live and study in this town. Middlesbrough is a really exciting place to be. With so many great independent venues across the town, there is always something new to check out. Teesside has countryside and seaside to enjoy, and is well connected to major cities in the North East and beyond.”

EMMA ROCHE, 24 Home town: Newcastle upon Tyne Food and Nutrition student “Out of the three universities I visited, this was the one that made me feel most welcome. From the first open day I attended, I felt the lecturers were approachable and that I would be supported at this university. I also like that everything is on one site and is easily accessible. In my spare time, I enjoy bowling, going to the cinema, shopping and walking.” INTRODUCING TEESSIDE 19

BRUNA SILVA, 22 Home town: London Chemical Engineering student and 2016–17 Student Union President “I was born in Goiânia, Brazil, and moved to England when I was 10 years old. I chose Teesside University due to its chemical- industry connections around the area and its accredited course. I like how the student community feels so close and everything you need is only a short walk away. That goes for the shops, a good selection of restaurants serving European and global cuisines, plus the greenery and open spaces of Albert and Stewart parks. Middlesbrough is ideal for a night out, as the pubs and clubs are all within walking distance, which is so much easier than in a big city like London. I also like being so close to places where I can go walking – Roseberry Topping is one of my favourite locations. By the seaside, at Saltburn-by-the-Sea, they do the best fish and chips I’ve ever eaten.”

The new Curve building on the Middlesbrough campus 20 INTRODUCING TEESSIDE Green spaces

The towns of Teesside are not “Middlesbrough offers the only blessed ability to be able to escape to the with a surprising country... The countryside and number of green coast around Middlesbrough spaces, but are very special.” – William Tillyer, are also close Middlesbrough-born, internationally to magnificent Snow in Albert Park renowned artist and mima exhibitor beaches and the beautiful rolling hills of the North York Moors National Park. In fact, and boating enthusiasts, while over at outdoorsy visitors to the region will Stewart Park – location of the Captain be spoilt for choice: you might head Cook Birthplace Museum – you’ll find to the expansive sand dunes between some lovely historic parkland, lakes, a the Gare peninsula and Redcar for a pet corner and an assault course. spot of birdwatching; join the joggers Teesmouth National Nature in Middlesbrough’s Albert Park and Reserve (see p.47), over near the Stewart Park (see p.41); or opt for a lazy coast, is 3.5 square kilometres of cruise on the Teesside Princess down the wilderness right beside one of Britain’s River Tees to the old port of Yarm. largest concentrations of industry. In Middlesbrough, Albert Park is a big Look out for grey seals basking on the hit with roller-skaters, tennis players mudflats in the harbour; if you visit in late June or early July, you might even see the pups. Seal Sands, a few miles to the south, is one of the largest areas of intertidal mudflats on England’s northeast coast. When the tide is out here, you’ll see hundreds of waders, including redshank and dunlin, pecking through the mud Sunset over Seal Sands looking for food. Close to Seal Sands The lovely North York Moors National Park lies Saltholme (see p.47), an RSPB Moor, the Eston Nab Iron Age hillfort, wildlife reserve with a state-of-the-art the distinctive hill known as Roseberry visitor centre, a café and spectacular Topping (see p.31) and glorious views out over the wetlands. You can Guisborough Forest (see p.51) are all also buy all manner of birdwatching within walking distance of the park. paraphernalia here. Further afield lies the ruggedly Travel a little way further south, to the beautiful North York Moors National southern outskirts of Middlesbrough, Park, famous for its purple heather. Be and you’ll come across the scenic Flatts sure to visit the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey Lane Woodland Country Park. This and the Hole of Horcum, one of the spot is known for its stunning views of most spectacular features in the park the Eston Hills, industrial Teesside and – a huge natural amphitheatre that is the North York Moors. Untamed Eston 122m deep and about a kilometre wide. 22 INTRODUCING TEESSIDE Galleries and museums

The starting place for art-lovers in history of Teesside in creative ways. Middlesbrough has to be mima, on At the Dorman Museum, on Linthorpe Centre Square – an award-winning Road, tribute is paid to Christopher building designed by Dutch architect Dresser (see p.14), who revolutionized Erick van Egeraat that exhibits exciting industrial design. Its Linthorpe Art contemporary art and craft including Pottery gallery – an important part of superbly designed jewellery (see also the town’s artistic heritage – contains p.39). Don’t miss the Giovanni Corvaja hundreds of ceramic pieces based bracelet, made using 2km of fine gold on his designs. It also exhibits many and with an estimated value of £40,000, everyday objects by Dresser, including or the snake-like necklace by Nel the stylish toast racks and chairs he Linssen, made from hundreds of folded made for Victorian families. pieces of paper. If history’s your thing, then you’ll Displays at the Platform-A Gallery be spoilt for choice with the region’s (see p.39), at Middlesbrough Railway many memorials to Captain Cook Station, showcase emerging and (see pp.10–11). The Captain Cook established artists, while the Heritage Gallery at Cargo Fleet (see p.39), on Middlesbrough Road, explores the

Left: The Dresser Gallery at the Dorman Museum Above: A chocolate sculpture by the Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise at mima Jewellery on display at mima

Birthplace Museum (see p.41) in Stewart Park chronicles the life and times of the great British explorer. Then The Captain Cook Birthplace Museum there’s the Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum at Great Ayton (see p.50), restored Preston Hall (see also p.43). where he spent some of his youth, and Nestling alongside the River Tees, this the Captain Cook Memorial Museum museum, inside the former Georgian at Whitby, to the east. The full-size home of industrial magnate Robert replica of Cook’s beloved HM Bark Ropner, tells the story of the vital role Endeavour (see pp.42–43) is berthed at the river played in the region’s industrial Stockton’s Castlegate Quay and can be development. viewed by appointment. Further afield, at Hartlepool’s To delve further into local history, Maritime Experience, you can climb visit Ormesby Hall (see p.41), an aboard the 1817 HMS Trincomalee eighteenth century National Trust (see also p.48), the oldest British warship mansion in Ormesby. Don’t miss that is still afloat today. Find out about the impressive plasterwork or the the “iron men” who sailed this historic fascinating model-railway exhibition. vessel, and view The Wingfield Castle, Another residence in the area that’s a restored River Humber paddle open to the public is the recently steamer dating from 1934. 24 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE Sculpture trail

Victoria Cross in 1944 (see p.16). From here, walk north to Victoria Road where you’ll find Starhead by Paul Neagu and then on to see Simeon Nelson’s Cactal – a piece of floating art attached to Teesside University’s Phoenix Building. Further north, in Centre Square, admire the 9m-high Bottle of Notes by American sculptors Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, which was inspired by Captain Cook’s maritime achievements. Next stop is Linthorpe Road to see the colourful Canopy by Martin Donlin, who won a competition to design a meeting place for local people. At the junction of Linthorpe Road and Newport Road, you’ll find Peter Freeman’s Spectra-Txt, a The Stan Hollis memorial 10m-high mirrored column with a A series of impressive sculptures can be futuristic form that recalls the sci-fi viewed on a public art walk through blockbuster Blade Runner, directed by Middlesbrough (see map, pp.36–37), South Shields-born Ridley Scott. allowing visitors the opportunity to Next, head for Middlehaven Dock explore the town’s rich artistic character. to see the impressive Temenos by Begin at the statue of the football Anish Kapoor. This huge sculpture legend Brian Clough in Albert Park, features an iconic pair of £2.7-million created by Vivien Mallock. Nearby, you’ll metal rings, which are pulled together see the cenotaph and Brian Alabaster’s by a mesh of steel cable (see also bronze depiction of World War II soldier p.38). Nearby, you’ll find the turquoise Stan Hollis in a crouched charge, 40,000 years of Modern Art by Bernard machine gun in hand. Hollis won the Carpenter and Kandi Sky by Pierre INTRODUCING TEESSIDE 25

Diamantopoulo – a 22m-wide abstract representation of a learning curve that forms the gateway arch to the award-winning Middlesbrough College building. From the Dock, it’s worth taking a short ride east to the Cargo Fleet roundabout to see the Blaze sculpture by Ian McChesney, which catches the light beautifully. Further along the A66, at the Nelson Street roundabout, is the impressive Ladle of Steel by Steve Tomlinson. When it’s lit up at night, this atmospheric tribute to Teesside’s “men of steel” really does look like molten metal pouring out of a giant bucket.

Bottle of Notes, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Paul Neagu’s Starhead Bruggen xx 26 INTRODUCING TEESSIDE Sports

Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium, lit up at night

The must-see sight for football fans Rowing is another source of regional in Middlesbrough is the Riverside pride. Teessider Kat Copeland rowed to Stadium, situated on the banks of Olympic Gold in 2012 with teammate the River Tees. Explore the home of Sophie Hosking. The star, who learnt to much-loved “Boro” – Middlesbrough row at Yarm School and Tees Rowing Football Club – on a guided tour, Club in Stockton, was awarded the MBE which allows access to restricted and named joint winner of the BBC North areas, including the press box, the East Sports Personality of the Year in control room and the players’ dressing 2012. Her achievement was a huge boost rooms. The team was saved from for Tees Rowing Club, which, in 2014, liquidation in 1986 by local millionaire celebrated its 150th anniversary and businessman and “Boro” fanatic, Steve employed a professional coach for the Gibson, and went on to win the first time. The club runs the Tees Regatta League Cup in 2004. Check out the (see p.16) – the only formal rowing event boulevard outside the stadium, which of its kind in the north of England, which is paved with bricks adorned with attracts competitors aged 14–74. messages from 3000 supporters and The arrival of the Tour de Yorkshire 50 former players and managers. in Middlesbrough in May 2016 has The athletic track at Middlesbrough Sports Village coincided with major improvements new fitness suites. Tennis World, in facilities for cyclists. The superb which is adjacent to Stewart Park in Middlesbrough Sports Village, an Middlesbrough, is a long-established £18-million development, includes club, which features four indoor tennis an Olympic-size velodrome and the courts, four floodlit clay courts, three Middlesbrough Cycle Circuit (see also artificial grass courts and three p.31). Among its many other facilities high-performance cushion courts. are an athletic stadium, a sports hall, There are climbing walls at GoClimb grass pitches, a skate park and a gym. inside Billingham Forum (a sports Both Teesside University and and leisure complex which also has an Middlesbrough College also boast ice rink), at Teesside University and first-class sports facilities, from at Rockantics on Warelands Way in floodlit, artificial turf pitches to smart Middlesbrough. 28 INTRODUCING TEESSIDE Outdoor activities

Teesside offers endless fun for lovers world-class playground for both skilled of the great outdoors. For the most boatmen and novices. Test out one of adventurous types, there’s white-water the powerboats or try your hand at rafting, surfing and bungee jumping flat-water canoeing, bell boating or and, for those who prefer more relaxing sailing. This is also where you’ll find the outdoor pastimes, there’s fishing, new Air Trail Tees Barrage, the tallest bowling and trail walking. high-ropes course of its kind in the UK. Adrenaline junkies should not miss If you want to improve your boat- skydiving with Skydive St George handling skills on the River Tees, the at Durham Tees Valley Airport or Teesside Nautical Studies training centre go-karting at Teesside Karting, which at the Tees Transporter Bridge promises boasts “the world’s longest and fastest an exciting experience on its powerboat karting circuit”. There’s hair-raising water courses. The bridge, which is the largest sports at the Tees Barrage White Water working transporter bridge in the Rafting Centre, where a £4.6-million world and a symbol of Middlesbrough’s redevelopment project has created a engineering might, is the only bridge in

Rafting on the Tees Barrage International White Water Course Surfer, Saltburn-by-the-Sea

England from which you can bungee opened in 2015, as part of the new jump. You can also abseil from it. At Middlesbrough Sports Village. Stockton, the River Tees Watersports For those who want to explore rural Centre – the home of Tees Rowing Teesside, Middlesbrough’s Unicorn Club – caters for rowing, canoeing and Centre offersriding therapy and kayaking. Even closer to the white water, training for disabled though, is Saltburn-by-the-Sea’s surfing adults and children, community. Go and see the experts in as well as able-bodied action, join a surf school or hire a board riders. Other activities and simply give it a go yourself. Saltburn around the region is reputed to be one of the top ten places include bowls in in the UK for surfing. Albert Park and golf Middlesbrough Skate Park in Prissick at Wynyard Hall and Plaza, right next to Stewart Park, is one Rockliffe Hall (see p.58) of the area’s best skate parks. The huge, – Europe’s longest Unicorn Centre floodlit space is ideal for BMX bikes, golf course. Cycling skateboards, scooters and inline and walking are also popular; for more skates. An Olympic-size velodrome information on these, see pp.30–31. 30 INTRODUCING TEESSIDE Walking and cycling routes

Teesside’s gorgeous, rolling countryside orienteering and assault courses, a offers the perfect environment for sculpture trail and cycling. Walking walkers and cyclists who are looking and wildlife enthusiasts should check for breathtaking scenery, some good out Saltholme wildlife reserve (see exercise and a large dose of fresh air. p.47), just north of Middlesbrough, and The Teesdale Way is a must for Teesmouth National Nature Reserve walkers who are intent on discovering on the coast. At the Tees Barrage, Middlesbrough’s industrial heritage. you might spot seals, newts, otters, The 148km trail follows the banks of kingfishers, cormorants and deer while the River Tees as it passes from the high you walk and cycle. moorlands of Cumbria and Durham to Further afield, the North York Moors the industrial landscapes of Teesside. National Park offers good walks for From Middlesbrough Dock, the all abilities; for more information, 17km Tees Link walking route links head to the visitor centres at Sutton up to the Cleveland Way national trail Bank and Danby. The Cleveland Way (see p.51). Hikers will find picturesque routes in nearby Guisborough The distinctively shaped Roseberry Topping Forest (see p.51), which also offers Cyclists on the Cleveland Way passes through the park, which also encompasses much of the “dinosaur coast” – so called because of the fossils found along it (see p.49). Alternatively, be The North York Moors National Park one of the first walkers on the Hartlepool to Sunderland section of a new National a 1km enclosed route with a 6m-wide Trail – the England Coast Path. tarmac surface at the same location. Perhaps the area’s best-loved walk, For details of eight cycling routes in however, is the path to the summit of and around town, visit Middlesbrough Roseberry Topping, a hill located on the Council’s website (lovemiddlesbrough. northwestern edge of the park. Captain com/cycling). Cycling, both for families Cook loved this spot, which has also and for serious pedal pushers, is catered long been a special place for renowned for in the North York Moors National local mountaineer Alan Hinkes OBE. Park, where there are purpose-built Keen cyclists should head for tracks and bikes for hire at visitor centres. the Olympic-size Middlesbrough The Middlesbrough Cycle Centre is Velodrome, which opened at a fantastic support hub for cyclists that Middlesbrough Sports Village in 2015, provides secure parking for your bike in or to the Middlesbrough Cycle Circuit, the town centre, advice and training. Children’s activities

On a zip wire at Go Ape, Dalby Forest

Teesside offers every kind of activity at Our Funhouse at Coulby Farm in imaginable to keep the kids happy. Middlesbrough; Fun City and Preston The skateboarding and roller-blading Farm in Stockton; Noahs Ark Family at Middlesbrough Skate Park, pets Centre and Crazy Corner in Thornaby; corner and a Captain Cook-themed and, further east, at Wacky Warehouse play area in adjacent Stewart Park, at Wheatlands Farm in Redcar. pedalo boats in Albert Park and If you’re looking for child-friendly bowling at Teesside Shopping Park culture, Middlesbrough Theatre offers are just the tip of the iceberg. an exciting family programme. At For toddlers, indoor soft-play areas mima, there are year-round events for can be found at the Fun Village at youngsters, while the Dorman Museum Middlesbrough Sports Village and offers craft sessions for children. INTRODUCING TEESSIDE 33

For the latest films, make for the 14-screen Showcase Cinemas at Teesside Shopping Park or the 11-screen Cineworld Cinemas in Middlesbrough. Facilities at myplace on North Street – a state-of-the-art centre for young people – include a theatre, a recording studio and an alcohol-free nightclub (see p.57). Young swimmers are well catered for in Middlesbrough. Try the Rainbow Middlesbrough Skate Park Leisure Centre in Coulby Newham, south of the centre, and the Neptune in Stockton, goes through Preston Centre on Ormesby Road, where Park (see p.23) and on to the charming Olympic swimmer Aimee Willmott market town of Yarm. started out. Splash, at Stockton, boasts A more energetic option is Jump a 25m pool with a wave machine. 360 in Stockton, an indoor trampoline Wildlife-lovers can interact with farm park with more than 100 connected animals at Newham Grange Country trampolines for all ages, a dodgeball Farm in Coulby Newham, where you court, basketball lanes and foam pits. can also lose yourself in a willow maze For a special day out, take a trip to the and visit the farm shop. A daytime Lightwater Valley theme park, where boat trip on the Teesside Princess kids can ride a roller coaster, explore always goes down well with families; the atmospheric “Skeleton Cove” or the cruise begins at Castlegate Quay have fun at the Angry Birds Activity Park. Another option is Go Ape at Dalby Forest in the North York Moors National Park. This tree-top adventure course has wires, Tarzan swings and rope ladders, while Flamingo Land, to the south of the national park, is a theme park, zoo and holiday resort combined. Finally, Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience is a real winner with children, with its full- Playing with crafts at mima size, wooden adventure play ship. 34 AROUND TEESSIDE AROUND TEESSIDE

Paddling in the rock pools at Robin Hood’s Bay; Stockton International Riverside Festival; a ram in the North York Moors National Park Middlesbrough

This proud town on the River Tees was once the industrial powerhouse of the world. Today, Middlesbrough’s industrial heritage forms a striking backdrop to a thriving town that boasts world-class cultural attractions, an outstanding university and great shopping, entertainment and nightlife. The work of Teesside steelworkers stretches right across the world and includes many famous bridges – the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, the Bangkok Memorial Bridge in Thailand, and, closer to home, the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle and Middlesbrough’s Anish Kapoor’s Temenos sculpture very own Tees Transporter Bridge. The Tees Transporter Bridge

Since opening in 1911, this bridge has The iconic structure sits at the been a local landmark and it’s now the threshold of the town’s Middlehaven only bridge of its kind still operating in district – a vibrant dockland area England. A gondola suspended 49m that is, after years of decline, being above the water by steel cables carries transformed into a new urban quarter. cars and pedestrians across a 259m Settle in at the Brasserie Hudson stretch of the river. The bright-blue Quay (see p.60) restaurant and admire structure, which reopened in 2015 the panorama over the regenerated following a £4-million restoration, 1842 Middlesbrough Dock. Here, looks like a bridge on tall legs – or, with the Tees Transporter Bridge and Dock a bit of imagination, two steelworkers Clock Tower, dating from 1847, stand clasping hands over the Tees. The alongside more modern structures, bridge was designed to allow the including new Community In A Cube masts of large sailing vessels to pass (CIAC) eco-home apartments, the underneath. You can now take the awarding-winning Middlesbrough Bridge Lift to the top and visit the College building, the Riverside Transporter Bridge Visitor Centre. Stadium (see p.26) – home of 36 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE

Hartlepool

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A G A A IL C S KES The Empire I ST R N Canopy A66 M R T Hall OAK S T R T A N Captain LM

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Stockton-on-Tees O O W ON RNET Cactal

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T E S R D EL E E ST S P T PHENSO R S Teesside N E P OAD A S E A TA S O ROAD L T N T L T P M T O M S E T A R University L H E S Y O T A S O R 1 N V S N T ST CLAR T N P S R 0 O EN N I UTHF DON D 3 A C W OR P IELD RD T S A R T O C M T IN LANE The C D U C 2 EN E S S O NGDON AN N A R UNION STREET D T O E RTLE S S A AD A I R L L T T T O Y S B S S D I G W R T O A Southfield O T M W T A L S S R M A B R R S E O E E C NY O L E T B R Y E Students’ E R T IN HA Pub S N E E R O U A E C D R P T H F H S L T T E I E T OA E R P BA L D R R E EET R O A D Y D R D L Union SLE T PE M T T O LE A A L PER EL O S W H E M ST S O L T A T V T T T D E R A R S T OA CLIFT S T T S E N Starhead R Y S LL R U ON S I A T N I O C O S S S ST D N H Y T T RE ST LD R W L N KO LT R ET O L A A S E S O O P VICTO E W O BREC I B C T O R O A IA

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7 A RD 1 N Linthorpe Dorman D K A PA 2 E R Cemetery A Museum P Tees Barrage, Tees Leisure Park, Teesside Shopping Park & Darlington Middlesbrough Theatre Middlesbrough Sports Village, Tennis World, Stewart Park & Middlesbrough Skate Park MIDDLESBROUGH 37

Hartlepool

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Middlesbrough Football Club – and the Tees, pulls the £2.7-million sculpture’s Temenos sculpture. This magnificent pole and two rings together. Kapoor’s work, which features in the new aim was to create a structure that British passport, was created by the had a “fragile” appearance, despite its internationally renowned British kilometre of steel cable. sculptor Anish Kapoor with the help Step back in time on a walk through of architect Cecil Balmond. Standing the streets around Ferry Road. On at 50m high and 120m long, Temenos nearby East Street you’ll see the is a magnificent public artwork. Stand Old Town Hall, which was built in underneath it to get a sense of its 1846, and the impressive Vulcan enormous scale – it’s even taller than Street wall – the southern wall of Antony Gormley’s famous Angel of the old Cleveland Salt Works, dating the North sculpture at Gateshead. from 1887, which operated on the “Temenos”, which means “sacred land between here and the River ground” in Greek, is a reference to both Tees. Don’t miss the 1837 Custom Middlesbrough and the home of the House on North Street, which has town’s beloved football club. A fine steel been transformed into myplace, a mesh, resembling a bridge across the state-of-the-art meeting place for MIDDLESBROUGH 39 young people (see pp.33 and 57). exhibitions. The most exciting art Middlesbrough’s founding fathers – collection in town, however, has to be the ironmasters, mayors and brothers- the landmark mima (see also p.22). in-law John Vaughan and Henry Behind this building’s glass facade lies Bolckow – lived side by side in the a wonderful collection of art by such three-storey brick buildings marked groundbreaking artists as Grayson with a plaque on Cleveland Street. Perry, Bridget Riley and Tracey Emin. A short bus ride away to the east, Inside the innovative gallery, don’t miss on Middlesbrough Road, is the the specialist collections of drawing and Heritage Gallery at Cargo Fleet, British ceramics (make sure you book which focuses on art relating to on a collection tour). There’s also a great Teesside’s industrial heritage. This collection of contemporary jewellery in restored former headquarters of the Centre for Social Making, which British Steel shows work from features the work of international established artists and emerging jewellery artists, including Ted Noten, talent, in all styles and media. Karl Fritsch and Wendy Ramshaw. Head into the town centre to take Middlesbrough Dock Clock Tower your pick from a number of other impressive art galleries, including the contemporary Platform-A Gallery (see p.22), the innovative House of Blah Blah in Exchange Square and Gallery TS1, on Corporation Road, with its high-quality, affordable arts and crafts by local artists. There’s also the Python Gallery on Gosford Street and Teesside University’s Constantine Gallery, both of which feature regular changing look into its fully glazed, north-facing exterior and observe the mesmerizing movement on the inside, as well as the impressive slate and limestone staircase that reaches from the ground floor up to the roof terrace. This superb structure, designed by the Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat (who also designed Centre Square, just outside the gallery), was completed in 2007. Highlights of Centre Square include landscaped gardens, the majestic Victorian Town Hall and its accompanying row of listed red telephone kiosks, the Central Library and the iconic Bottle of Notes sculpture – a 9m-tall work by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, which was inspired by the journals of Captain Cook. A stone’s throw from mima and Centre Square lies historic Exchange Square, which has been cut in two by the A66 flyover – a fast track for heavy traffic that keeps the town’s streets free from congestion. Don’t let that put Middlesbrough Town Hall you off, though. The square is worth a visit for the graceful, curved facade of In addition, the venue hosts some the Zetland Buildings and the statue fascinating temporary exhibitions, of one of Middlesbrough’s founding events and family-friendly programmes. fathers, Henry Bolckow. It’s not just the exhibitions and events Beyond the town centre, off Linthorpe that make mima such an absorbing Road, lies King Edward’s Square, which place – the impressive building is a is home to some Teesside University sight in its own right. Take a moment to accommodation in the form of an 1890 MIDDLESBROUGH 41 terrace with arched windows and a decorative cornice. A bit further down Linthorpe Road, you’ll find the beautiful Forbes Building, an old Victorian bakery and stables that now houses a variety of shops. Just south of the university is the lovely open space of Albert Park – a gift from ironmaster Henry Bolckow to the people of Middlesbrough in 1868. The Grade-II-listed park comprises an ornate bandstand, a statue of football legend Brian Clough (see p.15) and a cannon from the Crimean War. The Dorman Museum, beside the cenotaph on Linthorpe Road, overlooks the park. As well as celebrating Middlesbrough life, its collections include everything from natural history, social history, geology, Brian Clough statue, Albert Park astronomy, to Victorian arts and craft. Stewart Park , located in the To the east of Stewart Park lies suburb of Marton, is another lovely Ormesby Hall, a Georgian mansion green space on the outskirts of town. that was owned by the Pennyman The park is home to the fascinating family for nearly 400 years. Colonel Captain Cook Birthplace Museum – a Jim Pennyman and his arts-loving wife purpose-built building positioned near lived here, as did “Wicked” Sir James the granite urn that marks the site of Pennyman, who earned his nickname the cottage where Cook was born. by gambling with the family fortune The museum tells the story of one of in the eighteenth century. The hall is the world’s most famous navigators known for its exquisite plasterwork, and mariners (see pp.10–11) through paintings and furnishings, its themed galleries and artefacts from magnificent Georgian stable block and the lands the great sailor explored. fabulous model-railway exhibition. 42 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE Stockton-on-Tees, Preston Park and Yarm

There are some splendid attractions to Bridge Road to Darlington, and onward the west of Middlesbrough, from the to the collieries at Shildon in County market towns of Stockton-on-Tees and Durham. Before the birth of Yarm to the glorious Georgian house the railways, coal was pulled by horse and grounds at Preston Park. and cart over the hills to the sea. Stockton was a flourishing centre of The fast movement of coal by train heavy industry during the Industrial soon became a lucrative business, Revolution. In 1822, an event took and the line was extended to place here that changed the world Middlesbrough in 1833. forever – engineer George Stephenson Almost a century earlier, the famous built the world’s first public railway, mariner Captain Cook was redrawing which ran from St John’s Crossing on the map of the world (see pp.10–11).

Infinity Bridge, Stockton AROUND TEESSIDE 43

Stockton’s Castlegate Quay is home to a full-size replica of his ship, HM Bark Endeavour. Book a guided tour to learn more about life at sea in the eighteenth century or join one of the fantastic on-board lunches. Five minutes’ walk away from the quay is the High Street – reputed to be the widest in the UK – which features a 1735 town hall and a Georgian-style market hall. A huge, historic outdoor Victorian street, Preston Park Museum market is held here every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Speciality markets 2009 for pedestrians and cyclists offering vintage crafts and antiques as part of Stockton’s North Shore are also held here on most weekends Redevelopment Project. during the summer. The lovely Preston Hall (see p.23) is Tucked away just off the High Street a few miles upriver from Stockton. This is the charming Green Dragon Yard Georgian estate, which has recently – an enclave of restored warehouses. undergone restoration work, features a Here you’ll find the Green Dragon Victorian Street, nature reserve, a walled pub and Green Dragon Studios kitchen garden and the wonderful – a music facility that was opened in Butterfly World. A museum contains 2007 by Feargal Sharkey, the former more than 90,000 items focusing lead singer of the New Wave band on the River Tees and the former The Undertones. Also of note here inhabitants of Preston Hall. is the 1766 Georgian Theatre (see Further along the Tees is the small p.55), one of Britain’s oldest surviving and scenic town of Yarm, with Georgian theatres. its olde-worlde charm, upmarket Further to the east, around the bend shops and contemporary bars and in the river, is the bowstring Infinity restaurants. A plaque outside the Bridge, which links the north bank George & Dragon hotel recalls the of the Tees with Durham University’s 1820 meeting during which plans for Queen’s Campus. The bridge, which the Stockton and Darlington Railway measures 240m, was opened in were discussed. 44 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE Darlington

record of 126 mph. The piece was made from 185,000 bricks, cost £760,000 and took a team of 34 bricklayers, labourers and apprentices five months to build. Darlington’s town centre offers visitors a two-hour heritage trail. Beginning at the town hall, follow the coin-markers and you’ll come across Pease House, once home to Edward Darlington’s train station Pease, who was a railway pioneer like The market town of Darlington is his father, Joseph (see p.8); Michael famous for having been the terminus Pinksy’s award-winning Market of the world’s first passenger railway. Cascade water feature; and High This part of its history is celebrated at Row, the town’s best-known street, the Head of Steam railway museum, which formed part of the Great North where visitors can walk around Road from London to Edinburgh George Stephenson’s legendary until 1965. Look out for the Clock Locomotion No. 1. This engine hauled Tower, set amid attractive Quaker the first train along the Stockton and David Mach’s Train sculpture Darlington Railway (see p.42). Exhibits in the museum include station signs, old uniforms and vintage posters. Darlington’s contribution to the railways is commemorated by David Mach’s striking 1997 Train sculpture, which is perched alongside the A66. This life-size sculpture of a steam locomotive emerging from a tunnel was modelled on the 1938 engine Mallard, which set a railway speed AROUND TEESSIDE 45 architecture, and stop for a drink at the Edwardian Hole in the Wall pub in Horsemarket, which is thought to take its name from the town’s medieval boundary wall. Darlington is a thriving town where modern enterprise keeps on developing. There’s an award-winning business park at Lingfield Point and an urban regeneration project in Central Park, where Teesside University opened its £13-million High Row, with its statue of Joseph Pease landmark building in 2011. There are also some peaceful spots, northeast. Here, you can step into the such as the Grade-II-listed South sensory rock and rose garden, sit Park – it opened in 1853 and was on a south-facing seat and watch the the first Victorian park in England’s wildlife on the lake.

A panel from the Joseph Pease statue 46 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE The River Tees

February 2016. This high-ropes course is the tallest of its kind in the UK, reaching heights of 18m. The barrage itself is fascinating to walk around, and landscaped gardens and pathways give you a good view of the floodgates and the watersports in action. A “fish pass”, which visitors can observe from a viewing area, allows fish to navigate the barrage. There is The Riverside Stadium, beside the Tees currently no access to the barrage itself. The meandering River Tees has long A mere kilometre from the barrage been the lifeblood of the region. With is the nature reserve of Maze Park. its industrial heritage, wealth of wildlife This oasis of calm, slap-bang in the and huge outdoorsy appeal, the river middle of an urban landscape, includes is – both literally and metaphorically – woodland, open grassland and a at the very heart of Teesside. varied selection of wildlife, including Midway between Stockton and Middlesbrough lies the mighty Tees Barrage. This feat of engineering was designed to prevent flooding in the Tees Valley; it took four years to build and used 650 tonnes of steel. The structure opened in 1995 at a cost of £4.6 million, at the same time as the Tees Barrage International White Water Centre – an artificial white-water course. Here, you can also try water-skiing, kayaking, rowing, dragon-boat racing and powerboating. The Air Trail Tees Barrage opened on the same site in A lesser redpoll at Saltholme AROUND TEESSIDE 47

This industrial hub handles more than 5000 vessels and 40 million tonnes of cargo a year. Steel, petrochemical and engineering companies, as well as Colourful fishing boats at South Gare high-street shops and supermarkets, all use the port. You can watch cargo ships twelve species of butterflies and a small and tankers coming in and out of the colony of sand martins. The riverbanks port at Coatham Sands beach, to the are the perfect vantage point from northwest of Redcar. While you’re here, which to observe the seals that prey on take a walk to the 1884 lighthouse salmon as they negotiate the fish pass. on the South Gare peninsula for a A riverside track runs through spectacular view of the estuary. Middlesbrough to Saltholme wildlife On the other side of the river lies reserve (see p.21), where the air is filled Teesmouth National Nature Reserve with birdsong. This haven is home to (see also p.20). This 3.5-square-kilometre foxes, hares and one of the largest reserve, another natural gem in an colonies of common terns in the UK. otherwise industrial setting, is home to Lapwings, peregrines, water rails and abundant flora and fauna. North Gare is yellow wagtails also thrive here. There’s an area of dunes populated by flocks of a seal-viewing platform at nearby curlews, short-eared owls and skylarks, Greatham Creek. and at Seal Sands (see also p.20), you’ll Teesport – the UK’s third-largest port see waders pecking in the mud and – sits at the mouth of the River Tees. seals basking beside the tidal channels. 48 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE By the sea

A coastal view of historic Hartlepool

Teesside’s industrial coastline harbours The historic seaside town of Redcar, some surprising gems, from bustling to the southeast of Teesmouth, boasts towns and charming fishing villages a splendid sandy beach stretching for to windswept promenades and sandy, 16km from the South Gare peninsula fossil-strewn beaches. in the north to Saltburn-by-the-Sea in Historic Hartlepool, to the north the south. Another must-see sight in of Teesmouth, is home to the superb town is the purple-and-yellow Redcar 1817 HMS Trincomalee (see also p.23), Beacon, known locally as the “vertical the oldest British warship still afloat pier”. Head to this seafront viewing today. Visitors can board the ship to get tower to take in the 27-turbine offshore a flavour of life on a naval frigate two wind farm, cargo ships waiting to sail centuries ago. Hartlepool’s Maritime into Teesport and tourists searching Experience recaptures the atmosphere for crabs on the Redcar Rocks. Redcar’s of an eighteenth-century seaport, while Zetland Lifeboat Museum, which sleek, modern boats jostle for space in contains the world’s oldest-surviving the nearby marina. A promenade leads lifeboat, is well worth a visit, as is the from here to Seaton Carew, where nearby Kirkleatham Museum, with its there’s a fine, sandy beach. inspiring local-history displays. AROUND TEESSIDE 49

which, at 203m, is one of the highest in the country. Fossil-hunters will love the shores around the villages of Robin Hood’s Bay and Ravenscar, where you don’t need to poke around in the sand for long before finding dozens of the relics. Smuggling was rife along the Yorkshire coast, and in both Robin Hood’s Bay and Staithes, further up the The summer resort of Whitby coast, tightly packed cottages, alleyways At Saltburn-by-the-Sea, a Victorian and stepped lanes helped smugglers go spa town and surfing hotspot (see about their stealthy business. p.29), the 1869 pier has been retained Tourists flock to the seaside town of and the 1884 cliff lift still transports Whitby in summer, whether it’s to visit holiday-makers to the beach below. the ruins of Whitby Abbey or to soak In the eighteenth century, the town up its literary heritage – part of Bram was a centre for smuggling – goods Stoker’s novel Dracula is set here. If you were passed from caves through secret don’t like crowds, head to Runswick tunnels to inns that had hidden rooms Bay, where you’re guaranteed a quiet and false floors. day on a sheltered, sandy beach. Head southeast to the dramatic, 54km-long North Yorkshire and The pier at Saltburn Cleveland Heritage Coast, between Saltburn and Scalby Mills, which forms part of the North York Moors National Park. Boulby is known for its huge cliff,

The former smuggling centre of Staithes 50 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE Beyond Teesside

Picturesque Great Ayton

Teesside is the perfect base from home of Captain James Cook (see which to explore the superb attractions pp.10–11). The Captain Cook of the wider northeast area. The cities Schoolroom Museum tells the story of Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland of Cook’s early life, education and and York are on its doorstep, while adventures at sea. the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District The Cook family home on Bridge national parks are also accessible. There Street was built by James’s father in are also lesser-known sights, within 1755. In 1933, in a patriotic attempt to much easier reach of Teesside, which prevent the house from being taken to make for wonderful days out. the United States, the owner made it a The pretty village of Great Ayton, condition of sale that the building must which lies 11km to the southeast of remain in England. However, she was Middlesbrough, was the boyhood persuaded to change “England” to “the BEYOND TEESSIDE 51

route to Saltburn. Alternatively, follow the historical De Brus Trail, taking in the towns of Hartlepool, Yarm, Guisborough, Skelton, Danby and Staithes, which all have a connection with the De Brus dynasty. Their most famous clan member was Robert the Bruce, the Scottish King who secured Cleveland Way signpost independence from England. Finally, the Cleveland Ironstone Empire”, and accepted an Australian bid Mining Museum at Skinningrove is of £800. So each stone was numbered a must for history and engineering and transported to Melbourne, where buffs. Ironstone mining led to the it was painstakingly reconstructed in development of Teesside and shaped 1934 as an exact replica of the original. its industrial landscape, and at this A granite obelisk now marks the spot captivating museum, you have the where the cottage stood. chance to venture into an old mine. To the southwest of Great Ayton is Stokesley, an elegant market town where the seventeenth-century Pack Horse Bridge crosses the Riven Leven. The town’s historic high street is lined with fine Georgian architecture and independent shops and restaurants. Another market town, Guisborough, lies to the northeast of Great Ayton. Here, the ruined Gisborough Priory dates from the twelfth century and the distinctive Gisborough Hall, an 1856 reconstruction of the Jacobean original, is now a hotel (see also p.59). While you’re here, don’t miss the chance to stretch your legs on the 177km-long Cleveland Way national trail, which passes close to Guisborough on its The ruins of Gisborough Priory 52 THINGS TO DO THINGS TO DO

Posters in a shop on Baker Street; Middlesbrough Theatre; the shop at mima Shopping

Newcomers are likely to be pleasantly Stockton is also home to a wide range surprised at the great shopping on offer of independent shops, including luxury in Middlesbrough, which boasts huge bakers, jewellers and clothes shops. shopping malls, national chain stores Middlesbrough’s town centre is your and quirky independent boutiques. best bet for high-street chains. There’s the Cleveland Centre (clevelandcentre. co.uk), the Hillstreet Shopping Centre (hillstreetshopping.co.uk) – which has both Debenhams and House of Fraser – the Captain Cook Square Shopping Centre (captaincookshopping.com) and the Dundas Shopping Centre (dundasshoppingcentre.co.uk). To the southwest of town lies the vast Teesside Shopping Park (teessideshoppingpark. The stylish department store Psyche co.uk). Nearby, you’ll also find Lazy Joe’s Independent outlets on Bedford Street

(lazyjoesclothing.bigcartel.com), an independent shops, vintage boutiques, American vintage clothing store on hair salons, cafés and pubs, and hosts the Newport Road, and the academic- wonderful Orange Pip Market once a book emporium Fahrenheit Books month (see p.60). (facebook.com/FahrenheitBooks) on Middlesbrough also has some popular Wilson Street. specialist shops. Forbidden Planet For something a bit different, walk (forbiddenplanet.co.uk) on Dundas south down Linthorpe Road, where Street is a big hit with comic-book you’ll find delightful independent shops. and sci-fi fans. Arty types should visit Begin at the award-winning designer the shop at mima (see pp.39–40) department store Psyche (psyche.co.uk), and Gallery TS1 (facebook.com/ then take your pick from the rest: fashion GalleryTS1) on Corporation Road, which store Triads I (triads.co.uk); Steven sells high-quality works by emerging James Guitars (northeastguitar.co.uk), and established artists. If it’s a dose established by the former bassist of the of nostalgia you’re after, visit Sound rock band Dogs D’Amour; Kate Fearnley It Out (sounditoutrecords.co.uk) on Boutique for women’s party and Yarm Street in Stockton, where you can wedding dresses (katefearnleyboutique. buy vinyl, cassettes and CDs. By far the co.uk); and European and Chinese most curious shop in Middlesbrough, supermarkets. though, is Shelly’s Reborn Dolls Baker Street, one of the town’s (shellysreborndolls.com) on Wilson most fashionable streets, is just north Street, which sells lifelike human dolls – of the university. It’s lined with quirky and monkeys, too! 54 THINGS TO DO Music and entertainment

Whether you’re after live music or DJs, two-year refurbishment to return the you’ll find it in Teesside. The region building to its former glory. offers a vast and varied selection of Teesside University Students’ Union concerts and club nights covering a (tees-su.org.uk) has had a £1-million spectrum of musical genres. makeover, with improved facilities Middlesbrough Town Hall alongside its two award-winning (middlesbroughtownhallonline.co.uk) venues: The Terrace Bar and The Hub (see on Albert Road is one of Teesside’s best also p.62). Professor Green, Calvin Harris entertainment venues. This beautiful, and Example have all performed here. Grade-II-listed, Victorian concert hall Entrance restrictions apply; check the has hosted classical concerts, as well as website for details. At the Medicine Bar pop, rock and comedy acts. Big names (facebook.com/medicine.bar) nightclub that have performed here include rock and cocktail bar on Corporation Road, bands Oasis, The Clash and Radiohead, you can dance to indie, alternative and and the comedian Jimmy Carr. In trash music on Thursdays and vintage January 2016, the hall began a major, indie and pop punk on Saturdays (see also p.63). On the same street, Mink Bar is a gorgeous music venue built from salvaged bricks, driftwood and local scrap. The Westgarth Social Club (westgarthsocial.com) on Southfield Road has gigs by up-and-coming bands. Back on Corporation Road there’s another historic hotspot: The Middlesbrough Empire (themiddlesbroughempire.co.uk). Since opening in 1897, this Grade-II-listed club and music venue has hosted comedian Charlie Chaplin, escape artist Harry Houdini and the American The low-lit Mink Bar pop-rock band the Scissor Sisters. The Empire, in all its dazzling glory

The Empire features in local author Richard Milward’s acclaimed debut novel, Apples (2007). You can see live bands on Linthorpe Road at TS One (facebook.com/ ts1.middlesbroughltd) and Sticky Fingers Café and Rock Bar next to The exterior of The Empire Steven James Guitars. Alternatively, Centre Square hosts outdoor events head to Doctor Browns (facebook. throughout the year, including films on com/docbrownsmiddlesbrough) on the Big Screen, pop concerts with big Corporation Road or The Longlands names such as Snoop Dogg and the Club (longlandsclub.co.uk) on Marton Middlesbrough Mela (see p.17). Road, which features tribute acts and Tucked away in a courtyard just off touring musicians. TeesValley Arena Stockton’s riverside is The Georgian (teesvalleyarena.co.uk), a venue for Theatre (teesmusicalliance.org.uk). more than 3000 people, has played Built in 1766, this is one of the oldest host to rapper Tinie Tempah. Georgian theatres in the country. 56 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE Theatre, cinema and comedy

Teesside isn’t short of colourful cultural located on The Avenue in the south venues to keep you entertained in the of town, opened in 1957 after a thirty- evenings. Whether you love the stage year campaign to build a theatre on or the silver screen, this vibrant region site of an old opera house. Designed really does have it all. by London architects Elder and De The superb Middlesbrough Theatre Pierro, the 486-seat venue is now (www.middlesbroughtheatre.co.uk), a thriving theatre, boasting a busy

Cineworld in Middlesbrough THINGS TO DO 57 performance programme featuring everything from tribute bands to drama and dance. You’re invited to an evening of rib- tickling fun at the Big Mouth Comedy Club (bigmouthcomedy.co.uk), the biggest comedy club in the northeast. Shows will be held at the town’s Jurys Inn hotel (see p.58) while its regular home, Middlesbrough Town Hall (see p.54), undergoes refurbishment. For more laughs, as well as music, dance, drama and screened National Theatre live performances, head to Stockton’s arts centre, Arc (arconline.co.uk), on Dovecot Street. At the excellent Forum Theatre (forumtheatrebillingham.co.uk) on Poster for the Big Mouth Comedy Club Queensway in Billingham, a busy programme of events includes For the latest films, go to the song, circus, comedy and tribute 14-screen Showcase Cinema bands. Further afield is the beautiful (showcasecinemas.co.uk) at Teesside Edwardian Darlington Civic Theatre Shopping Park or Middlesbrough’s (darlingtoncivic.co.uk). The theatre is 11-screen Cineworld Cinema undergoing refurbishment from May (cineworld.co.uk). Arc in Stockton also 2016 until the autumn 2017, when it has a cinema, which regularly screens reopens as the Darlington Hippodrome. theatrical performances as well as Middlesbrough’s innovative myplace feature films. Finally, if you are – or (see also p.33) is a youth activity centre have ever been – a student of Teesside and venue that boasts a theatre, TV University, you can join the Cinema studio and two theatre schools, where Society at Teesside University, which classes include drama workshops, specializes in world, classic, cult and street dance and musical theatre. independent cinema. Where to stay

The stunning Wynyard Hall Country House Hotel

You’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes Holiday Inn Express Middlesbrough – to accommodation in Teesside, with Centre Square (hiexpress.com). You can’t its range of excellent hotels, historic beat this hotel for convenience, as it’s country houses and chic, modern right in the town centre close to Teesside apartments to suit all budgets. University. Nearby, the four-star Jurys As part of a major regeneration project Inn (jurysinns.com) is an excellent choice in Middlesbrough, a former office block for both business and pleasure, with has been transformed into the 138-room 132 rooms, function rooms, a pool, gym, jacuzzi, sunbed, sauna and steam room. Another high-end option is the lovely Wynyard Hall Country House Hotel (wynyardhall.co.uk), set in sprawling parkland to the north of Middlesbrough. The elaborate interiors of this 1846 manor house reflect the ostentatious style of French King Louis XIV. An equally idyllic weekend could be spent at the Rockliffe Hall Hotel (rockliffehall.com) golf and spa resort, Beautiful Blackthorn Gate set in an eighteenth-century estate in THINGS TO DO 59

High Leven, Yarm. Other affordable options include the Best Western Parkmore Hotel and Leisure Club (bestwestern.co.uk) in Stockton and the Travelodges (travelodge.co.uk) in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool. There are self-catering lodges at award-winning Blackthorn Gate (blackthorngate.co.uk) on Eastfields Farm at the foot of Roseberry Topping (see p.31) – Teessiders’ much-loved “mini mountain” in the North York Moors National Park. Tees Valley Apartments (teesvalleyapartments.co.uk) provide Hydrotherapy pool at Rockliffe Hall centrally located, serviced rooms in Middlesbrough. Hurworth-on-Tees, near Darlington. Its Teesside has some fantastic camping restaurant, The Orangery, holds three and caravan sites too. The White Water AA rosettes and is regarded as one of the Park Caravan Club Site (caravanclub. finest dining experiences in the region. co.uk) is close to the Tees Barrage, and Other grand hotels in the area include Lordstones (lordstones.com), on the the Jacobean-style Gisborough Hall North York Moors at Carlton Bank, offers (macdonaldhotels.co.uk) and Yarm’s camping and luxury camping pods. outstanding offerings: the handsome Crathorne Hall (handpickedhotels.co.uk) and the Judges Country House Hotel at Kirklevington Hall (judgeshotel.co.uk). If you’re on a tighter budget, try The Old Mill (bedandbreakfastyarm.com) in Yarm, which dates from 1750 and was converted into a house in 1968. Nearby, you’ll find the Stables at the Vale (thestablesatthevale.co.uk), a bed and breakfast in a converted barn at A luxury camping pod at Lordstones 60 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE Where to eat

When eating out in Teesside, you must favourites; and Rounton Coffee’s Bedford leave your calorie concerns at home Street Coffee house (rountoncoffee. and try the local delicacy, “parmo”. co.uk). On the last Saturday of every The tasty dish is made of flattened, month, nearby Baker Street hosts the breadcrumbed chicken topped with Orange Pip Market (facebook.com/ bechamel sauce and melted cheese. OrangePipMarket) – Middlesbrough’s If this indulgent feast doesn’t appeal, first artisan street-food market, where there are plenty of other options, from you can sample regional food and enjoy Mediterranean, North African and live music, arts and performances. Indian fare to nouvelle cuisine and For chic dining, try Brasserie Hudson traditional English grub. Quay (brasseriehudsonquay.com), Middlesbrough has an exciting, new which overlooks the old Middlesbrough foodie hub. The former workers’ houses Dock (see p.35). The contemporary on Bedford Street are now home to restaurant serves classic dishes, such independent cafés and restaurants, as sixteen-hour braised beef-cheek including The Curing House (thecuring. bourguignon and poached local pork house), an excellent charcuterie fillet with North Sea shellfish. bar-restaurant; Mohujo’s Burrito Bar Stunning Acklam Hall has had a (mohujos.co.uk), with its Mexican makeover. Middlesbrough’s only Grade-I-listed building now features The Brierley (thebrierley.co.uk), where you can enjoy à la carte menus in its formal Dining Room or afternoon tea in The Salon, a cosy hideaway. On Linthorpe Road, don’t miss the award-winning Akbars (akbars.co.uk), a superb Indian restaurant where there’s a picture of former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson (see p.13) in the window with the quote: “One of the Brasserie Hudson Quay best curries in my life”. The Dosa Houze THINGS TO DO 61

A Middlesbrough Cake Trail Go on a café crawl and taste the best Further along the street, try freshly cakes in Middlesbrough – but don’t baked flapjacks at the hip, wood-walled try them all at once. Start on Grange Chilli Cake Deli (chillicakedeli.com). At Road, where you can sit beneath Sugar Craft (sugarcraftmiddlesbrough. tasselled lamps in the homely The co.uk), on Borough Road, the white Olde Young Tea House (facebook. walls and tables mimic the icing on the com/oldeyoungteahouse). Stroll to wedding cakes at the entrance. Bedford Street for creative cupcakes at Head along Linthorpe Road to tuck the Songbird Bakery (songbirdbakery. into waffles and pastries at De Melo com). On the corner of Baker Street, (demelo.co.uk). Dresser’s Tea Room, rest your legs in one of the comfortable on the ground floor of the Dorman leather armchairs of the Baker Street Museum, is a quaint spot with lace Kitchen (thebakerstreetkitchen.co.uk). tablecloths and parquet flooring.

(dosahouze.co.uk) serves southern put this place on the map when she Indian curries and pancake-like dosas. pronounced the food “the best in a Oven Restaurant, which serves football club ever!” At La Pharmacie affordable gourmet cuisine, is a new (lapharmacie.co.uk) on Corporation arrival on Linthorpe Road. Road, you can choose from an express Middlesbrough Football Club’s lunch menu or take your time browsing Riverside Restaurant (mfc.co.uk) is an the bistro board (see also p.63), while the unexpected foodie hotspot. TV cook classic Italian and creative international and Norwich City supporter Delia Smith dishes at Al Forno (al-forno.co.uk) on Southfield Road are mouthwatering. Further afield, the award-winning vegetarian restaurant The Waiting Room (the-waiting-room.co.uk) at Eaglescliffe offers inspiring European and Middle Eastern dishes. At Hartlepool marina, you can sample North African and Mediterranean food Oven Restaurant at Portofinos(portofino.co.uk). 62 MINI ROUGH GUIDE TO TEESSIDE Drinking and nightlife

Doctor Browns (01642 803648), on Corporation Road, was originally three terraced houses and was licensed as a pub in 1866. TS One (facebook.com/ ts1.middlesbroughltd) on Linthorpe Road is a former bank with a beautiful balustrade roof. There are a huge number of watering holes on and around Linthorpe Road. Head there, or explore the upmarket streets of the old port of Yarm, which is awash with chic bars and a few contemporary restaurants. Entertainment at the multi-award- winning Hub, a 1000-capacity Teesside The Hub, Teesside University University Students’ Union (see also Student’s Union p.54) venue, includes themed nights, Lose yourself among hundreds of comedy acts and live music. Southfield people in one of Middlesbrough’s Road runs through the university large clubs, sip cocktails in a swanky campus and is popular with night-time bar or enjoy a pint in the quiet comfort revellers: try the Dicken’s Inn and of a tiny micropub (see box opposite). Dickens 2 (thedickensinn.co.uk), The Teesside has exciting nightlife options Star (thestar-middlesbrough.co.uk) or both for serious party-goers and more retiring types. The town offers many historic pubs to choose from. Try the former county court on Wilson Street, now the Isaac Wilson (jdwetherspoon.co.uk) Wetherspoon pub, which is named after a Middlesbrough industrialist. TS One THINGS TO DO 63

A Craft-Beer Trail Britain’s pub scene may be in decline, is decorated with antique-style bric-a- but Middlesbrough’s micropubs are brac and hosts live music on Fridays. booming. Most are independent, Sherlocks, a couple of doors along, has compact pubs of just one room serving a stove heater and its window bears the locally brewed real ales. distinctive profile of Sherlock Holmes. The Infant Hercules, on Grange On Borough Road, you’ll come to The Road, takes its name from a description Devil’s Advocate, whose wood seats are of Middlesbrough by former Prime strewn with cushions. Round the corner, Minister William Ewart Gladstone. His on Linthorpe Road, Sticky Fingers Café words are emblazoned on a wall, along and Rock Bar (stickyfingersrockbar. with framed prints of the town. co.uk) shares premises with a guitar store On Bedford Street, you’ll find The and features live music (Fri and Sat). Chairman, a hip bar with brick walls A 15-minute walk to Roman Road is and an open kitchen. The Twisted Lip worth it for the beer at Dr Phil’s Real Ale (thetwistedlip.co.uk) on Baker Street House (drphilsrealalehouse.co.uk).

The Southfield (thesouthfield.co.uk). Corporation Road. This Middlesbrough Bedford Street also has some great new institution, which opened in 1897, boasts cocktail bars, including The Nuthatch three floors devoted to a range of genres, (the-nuthatch.co.uk). including dubstep and heavy-metal. For a taste of true “Boro” fervour, visit Don’t miss the Medicine Bar (see p.54) the landmark Navigation Inn (01642 – a cellar club and cocktail bar beneath 226857) on Marsh Road. The regular La Pharmacie restaurant (see p.61) that haunt of Middlesbrough Football Club hosts indie, alternative and trash nights. fans now stands alone in what was once Tiny (facebook.com/clubtiny) on a bustling dockside area. Albert Road, Middlesbrough, is the only Clubbers should make for Spensley’s bespoke LGBT venue in Teesside. Some Emporium and Atik (01642 218484), venues host club nights: try Avalon which is housed in a Gothic building (facebook.com/AvalonDarlington) or on Albert Road and embraces all kinds Harvey’s Late Bar (facebook.com/ of music, from indie folk to dance. harveysdarlo) in Darlington or Club Ice Then there’s the Empire (see p.54) on (clubice-stockton.co.uk) in Stockton. Picture credits All images are courtesy of Teesside 14, Zak Hussein / WENN.com 15tr; University, Middlesbrough Council and Andrew Jones: 54bl; Harry Murphy: Stockton Council except: 46br.

(Key: b-bottom; c-centre; l-left; r-right; Jacket images All cover images are the t-top) copyright of Teesside University except: back (cr) © Eve Photography. Alamy: John Warburton-Lee Photography 12bl, Edward Westmacott Resources Download a digital version of this guide ✪ For all events held at mima, visit: at tees.ac.uk/roughguides visitmima.com/whats-on

Darlington ✪ For information about sports facilities ✪ For tourist information, visit: in Middlesbrough, visit: thisisdarlington.com/visit or everyoneactive.com www.darlington.gov.uk/leisure-and- culture/visitor-information/ Redcar ✪ Tourist Information Centre: Hartlepool Tel: 01642 471921 ✪ Tourist Information Centre: redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/visit Tel: 01429 869706 destinationhartlepool.com Stockton ✪ For an events guide, visit: Middlesbrough events.stockton.gov.uk ✪ For a guide to Middlesbrough, visit: lovemiddlesbrough.com Walking and cycling facebook.com/lovemiddlesbrough ✪ For information about trails, visit: twitter.com/lovembro www.lovemiddlesbrough.com/ downloads ✪ For more information about Teesside www.stockton.gov.uk/arts-culture-and- University, visit: leisure/cycling-and-walking tees.ac.uk youtube.com/user/UniversityofTeesside