Holiday apartment in Middlesbrough – museums, parks and culture
Accommodation in Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough combines significant collections, historic sites, extensive parks and unusual trails to create a varied destination. Between museums, riverside landscapes and event venues, the options range from art and local history to dinosaur sculptures, birdwatching and signposted routes.
File:Albert Road, Middlesbrough - geograph.org.uk - 5469173.jpg
Photo: Robert Eva via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Culture and history
The Dorman Museum houses the largest public collection of Linthorpe Art Pottery and displays designs by British designer Christopher Dresser. Its permanent galleries cover themes ranging from space to the history of Middlesbrough. The Earth in Space gallery includes a life-size dinosaur model, an exhibition on the development of the human skull and an accessible mineral mine.
The Middlesbrough Collection comprises more than 2,350 works of art and craft by British and international artists, dating from the mid-19th century to the present day. It also includes 20th-century British ceramics; part of the collection is permanently on display on a rotating basis. The Central Library provides an additional historic setting: it is located in a 110-year-old Grade II listed building. Its reference library holds around 20,000 books on local history.
Stewart Park is home to the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, near the granite urn marking the site of Cook’s birthplace. The museum has permanent galleries and hosts temporary exhibitions during the season. Middlesbrough Town Hall is also located in the city centre and hosts entertainment events.
Parks and nature
Stewart Park covers approximately 120 acres and includes open parkland, mature woodland and an arboretum. Albert Park has a visitor centre beside the lake. Fairy Dell has a birdwatching hide and offers opportunities for birdwatching around its lake, streams, woodland and grassy clearings.
Fairy Dell also has a circular path around the lake with carved statues. Newham Grange Farm offers an adventure play area. The green spaces therefore bring different landscape features together: bodies of water, woodland, open meadows, an arboretum and landscaped paths.
Trails and exercise
Stewart Park has a signposted 3.3-mile route for running, walking or cycling. The Tees Heritage Walk took place for the fourth time and offered routes ranging from one to eleven miles. It includes the one-mile Dock Dawdle around Middlesbrough Dock, as well as a wheelchair-accessible route option.
The Ironmasters’ Trail in Teessaurus Park offers another link between landscape and industrial history. It provides information about the iron and steel industry that once shaped this section of the river. Teessaurus Park is a 10-acre recreation area and park on the south bank of the River Tees in Middlesbrough’s former Ironmasters’ District. It features life-size sculptures of a Brachiosaurus, Brontosaurus, mammoths, Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus.
Events
Middlesbrough Art Week was founded in 2017 as The Middlesbrough Art Weekender. It has grown every year and now comprises a ten-day programme. The event offers a free public programme of art exhibitions, film screenings, performances, workshops, talks and public artworks.
Centre Square includes a water feature with 120 jets, steel walkways and large lawns, and is also an outdoor event venue. Middlesbrough Theatre is a 484-seat venue that presents professional and amateur productions.
Getting around
Middlesbrough is served by local and regional bus services; the bus station is located in the city centre.
You can also visit the destination pages for Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe.
For the higher-level travel overview: North East England.
More destinations
More places within the same destination:
