Hartlepool

Went on a trip recently overnight to Hartlepool, and just had time for an early morning stroll around the Old Quay area. I did my Industrial Design degree in Middlesborough in the late 1970's, and I am not sure I got to Hartlepool then. The North East has suffered from neglect and under-investment for years, and seems to be largely ignored by those "Arrogant Southerners". Having recently passed through Middlesborough and other Teesside towns recently, I was surprised to find myself feeling nostalgic for a part of my life that was certainly a bit grim! I feel inspired to revisit some of my old haunts as a ghost from the past, and see how things have developed (or not) over the intervening.....errrr....THIRTY YEARS!!!

There are many unique gems in this area, and the character of some of these industrial towns is quite unlike anything else in the country. The surrounding countryside is quite spectacular too, and unknown to the many that prefer to ignore the North East. People often refer to Middlesborough and the neigbouring towns in derogatory terms, as an example of the worst types of urban existence. My experiences there, so many years ago, enriched my perception of other people's perspective's, hopefully made me less arrogant than I may have been when I first arrived. We ignore such places at our peril.