Hartlepool's Maritime Experience

Following our visit to Saltburn we travelled a few miles up the coast to Hartlepool. This was, again, a place we had not visited before.

Hartlepool Historic Quay is a faithful reproduction of an 18th century seaport portraying the exciting experience of what life was like at the time of Nelson and Trafalgar

The Quay is home to the Trincomalee – Europe’s oldest floating warship. The ship was built in Bombay, India in 1817. The ship was restored by the people of Hartlepool so it’s only fitting that it now makes up the centrepiece of the spectacular Historic Quay.

We were able to walk throughout the ship - both on deck and below (beware the very low ceilings!)

The Captain's table

This superb visitor attraction offers the sights, smells and sounds of the naval yesteryear. Experience “Pressganged”, and “Fighting Ships”. For details of the Maritime Experience see Hartlepool's Maritime Experience

But that is not all there is to Hartlepool. We also visited the Headland area, to the north of the town.

Hartlepool Headland is formed on a peninsular of magnesium limestone which reaches into the North Sea. This area was also home to the fabled ‘Elephant Rock’ which finally succumbed to the erosion of the sea on May the 10th 1891.

12th century St Hilda’s church with its oldest parts being the nave and tower. Hartlepool Headland however has a religious history stretching right back to the earliest spread of Christianity in Britain. A monastery was founded here on Hartlepool Headland by St Aidan around AD 640. The nun St Hilda, from which the church derives its name, arrived here in 648 AD. Danish raiders later destroyed the monastery in 800.

Andy Capp is a British comic strip created by local cartoonist Reg Smythe (1917–1998), seen in The Daily Mirror and The Sunday Mirror newspapers since 5 August 1957. This statue was erected in 2007.

For more details of Hartlepool see Old Hartlepool