Tees Valley has a strong affinity with the sea and a deep and sometimes dark maritime past that still resonates to enthral its visitors!  

This is Captain Cook Country, and his Birthplace Museum in Stewart Park, Middlesbrough, tells of his epic adventures. A replica of his ship, the HM Bark Endeavour, is moored at Stockton.

To literally step back into our seafaring past, visit Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience and HMS Trincomalee, berthed within. The warship is the oldest afloat in the UK and the centrepiece of this remarkable recreated Napoleonic seaport complete with period shops and costumed staff. The whole atmosphere is magical as you leave the modern world outside the confines of the harbour – an awesome experience, enhanced by special events like flintlock rifle firing!

Other highlights are close at hand: the pretty spa town of Saltburn, its charm and elegance forged in Victorian times, and the impressive mima: Middlesbrough’s Institute of Modern Art - a must for art lovers that also has a superb restaurant!  Why not enjoy a relaxing river cruise along the River Tees to Yarm, with a stop en-route at Preston Hall Museum? Or explore the traditional market town of Darlington, with its covered and Victorian markets, fine architecture and excellent shopping? It’s as the birthplace of the railway however that Darlington is known across the world. Its Head of Steam Museum is on the route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway - the world’s first steam-worked public railway – and you can see Stephenson’s Locomotion No1, the engine that pulled the first train on the opening day in 1825, on display.

For more information visitteesvalley.co.uk