A coastal odyssey from Bridlington to Broughty Ferry
![Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]](https://s1.geograph.org.uk/img/somerights20.gif)
Text © Copyright September 2022, Oliver Dixon;
licensed for re-use under a Creative Commons Licence.Contents
- Introduction
- Part 1 - Bridlington to Filey Brigg
- Part 2 - Filey Brigg to Whitby
- Part 3 - Whitby to Redcar
- Part 4 - Redcar to Hartlepool
- Part 5 - Hartlepool to Roker
- Part 6 - Roker to Blyth
- Part 7 - Blyth to Alnmouth
- Part 8 - Alnmouth to Budle Bay
- Part 9 - Budle Bay to Scottish border
- Part 10 - Scottish border to Dunbar
- Part 11 - Dunbar to Musselburgh
- Part 12 - Musselburgh to Burntisland
- Part 13 - Burntisland to Anstruther
- Part 14 - Anstruther to Broughty Ferry
- Acknowledgements
Part 4 - Redcar to Hartlepool
The mouth of the River Tees presented a major obstacle to my coastwise journey. Major industrial and commercial enterprises line the banks, so heading upstream to a crossing point necessitated keeping some distance clear of the river.
TunedIn is a performance venue and arts centre principally for the young. A new set of sand sculptures was formerly erected annually nearby.
The Black Path is sandwiched between railway lines and flanked by industrial pipes.
BOC at Teesport - heavy industry on the north side of the railway.
Expansion loops in the pipes beside the Black Path.
At the time of my visit a length of the Black Path was closed east of South Bank station to allow for redevelopment of the steelworks necessitating a long diversion along busy roads.
The Black Path alongside the railway line from Middlesbrough and Redcar.
The MPI Adventure, seen here in Middlesbrough Docks is the world’s most advanced Wind Turbine Installation Vessel.
"Tenemos", a giant sculpture by Anish Kapoor stands beside Middlehaven Docks in Middlesbrough.
The Riverside Stadium at Middlehaven is the home of Middlesbrough FC.
The Clock Tower of the former Dock Offices is one of the few remaining relics of the old Middlesbrough Docks.
The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge. There appear to have been no more than 20 such bridges in the world at any one time, and only two working transporter bridges survive in Britain - this one, and the one in Newport, Gwent.
The Transporter Bridge is the lowest crossing point of the Tees, but was not a promising way to go, because on the north bank the only route back to the coast is along the A178, a fast busy road through a hellish industrial landscape which was no fit place for a walker or cyclist.
But before I continued, a quick diversion into the town centre to view the Victorian Gothic wrought iron columns in the station.
And the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art.
Continuing upstream on the south bank, we pass the Teesaurus Park with is models of dinosaur skeletons.
I came to the ramp up to the Newport Bridge over the river.
With its elaborate lifting mechanism - no longer operational.
One of the least inspiring sections of my odyssey - a segregated cycleway and footway alongside the A19.
A segregated cycleway in the suburbs of Billingham.
National Cycle Network route 14 enters Cowpen Bewley Woodland Country Park. In the foreground is one of the 1000 special mileposts donated to the NCN project by the Royal Bank of Scotland. This specimen is one of the so-called "Welsh" design by the artist Andrew Rowe.
I continued to follow the cycle route via a series of traffic-free lanes.
Owton Manor Lane shopping precinct in a Hartlepool suburb.
Elegant buildings on "the Cliff" (a very modest one of its kind) at Seaton Carew.
Return to the coast at last! But there is very little beach left exposed at high tide in Seaton Carew.
At the last minute I changed the rules for my itinerary to ensure that I stick much closer to the sea. At their closest the South and North Gare breakwaters are little more than 1300 metres apart. In my youth, I might have attempted to paddle my kayak across the intervening channel - but not at my age! My self-imposed rules now state that it is acceptable just to access each breakwater by land from either side. This remains work in progress and I haven't yet accessed the South Gare; meanwhile the great loop upstream to the Newport Bridge bears testimony to my earlier efforts.
Looking from the North Gare straight across the mouth of the Tees to the South Gare with the Teesside Offshore Windfarm out to sea
Looking upstream on the north bank towards the industrial complex at Seal Sands.
The broad sweep of beach and dunes looking onwards towards Seaton Carew
To resume my northward progress:
A broad esplanade runs north from Seaton Carew to Hartlepool.
Northern end of the esplanade. New housing at the Marina can be seen in the distance.
Hartlepool Docks Office, now converted into apartments.
This sculpture situated in the Marina Basin commemorates the possibly apocryphal tale which is by turns a source of pride or embarrassment to Hartlepudlians. It concerns a monkey washed overboard from a ship in the time of the Napoleonic wars. As the monkey was unable to give a good account of itself in any intelligible manner, the worthy citizens of Hartlepool hanged him as a spy!
From 1887, the main commercial area including the West Harbour and town centre was incorporated into the separate borough of West Hartlepool. In 1967, West Hartlepool was merged with the original Borough of Hartlepool (otherwise known as Old Hartlepool or Hartlepool, into a single entity to be known simply as "Hartlepool". The road skirting the Victoria Harbour and linking these two disparate parts of town must surely be one of the least prepossessing parts of my itinerary, or indeed of the entire England Coast Path.
When I passed that way in 2015, the Bell Buoy stood by the main road commemorating Hartlepool's maritime history. But in 2018, someone stole it - despite it weighing a tonne - and I am not aware that it has ever been recovered.
Sculpture in Headland of the cartoon anti-hero Andy Capp who supposedly comes from Hartlepool.
Concrete forms and benches at the base of the Heugh Breakwater.
Images used on this page, © Copyright Oliver Dixon;
licensed for re-use under a Creative Commons Licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/( Page < < prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ... next >> )
