Holiday apartment in Hartlepool: Coast and maritime history

Culture

At the Royal Navy Museums Hartlepool, visitors can go on board HMS Trincomalee, one of the oldest warships still afloat in the world. At the quayside of the Royal Navy Museums Hartlepool, there are hands-on activities and live demonstrations about everyday life and service in the navy. The Museum of Hartlepool presents Hartlepool’s maritime history through interactive exhibitions and displays and offers educational activities for children, families and schools throughout the year.

Hartlepool Art Gallery presents exhibitions by international, national and regional artists and offers an events and learning programme throughout the year. Hartlepool Art Gallery is a two-minute walk from Hartlepool railway station and transport interchange. The Royal Navy Museums Hartlepool is a seven-minute walk from Hartlepool railway station and Hartlepool transport interchange.

On Hartlepool Headland stands the Church of St Mary, a Roman Catholic church built in 1850 by J. A. Hansom. Also on Hartlepool Headland is the Sebastopol Gun, a field gun from the late 18th or early 19th century that was captured during the Crimean War. The Town Wall on Hartlepool Headland dates from the 14th century and is a Grade I listed Scheduled Ancient Monument. St Hilda’s Church on Hartlepool Headland is believed to stand on the site of the 7th-century monastery of St Hilda.

History

Heugh Battery Museum is a faithfully restored 19th-century coastal defence battery. Heugh Battery Museum includes an original barrack room, underground ammunition magazines, coastal artillery and an observation tower. The coastal walking route The Way of St Hild is 47 miles long and takes five days to complete. It begins at St Hilda’s Church on Hartlepool Headland and ends at Whitby Abbey.

Nature

Summerhill is a 100-acre nature reserve and outdoor activity centre on the western edge of Hartlepool. The area offers a well-maintained network of paths for walking, running and exploring, as well as activities such as orienteering, archery and climbing.

Seaton Common and Dunes can be reached from Seaton Carew on foot, by bicycle or on horseback via the Seaton Bridleway. Hart Warren Dunes is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the only significant calcareous dune area in the British Isles. Spion Kop is a historic cemetery and Local Nature Reserve with coastal grassland vegetation unique to Hartlepool.

Ward Jackson Park is a gently undulating historic parkland covering 7 hectares in western Hartlepool. Because of its Victorian and Edwardian features, the park is included in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Ward Jackson Park has a circular path along its outer edge.

Getting around

The Hart to Haswell Walkway is a traffic-free Sustrans cycle route for walkers and cyclists, with a flat, paved and wheelchair-accessible path. It follows the former railway line from Hartlepool to Sunderland, designed by George Stephenson to transport coal from the Durham coalfields to the docks at Hartlepool.

The paved sections of the King Charles III England Coast Path along Hartlepool’s promenades are suitable for wheelchairs and most mobility vehicles. The King Charles III England Coast Path is open year-round.

Hartlepool, Seaton Carew.

For the higher-level travel overview: North East England.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Darlington, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Durham, Redcar And Cleveland.