A cold mostly grey day and we’re off to explore the beaches of the northern side of Hartlepool. I must say that I didn’t have very high expectations based on our brief visit a couple of days ago, however…

The Headland area has a tidy village feel, with rows of painted terraces and a rather popular fish and chip shop (indeed they did smell good!). A small sheltered Harbour beach would no doubt be very popular in the warm weather. As we wandered along the promenade (the shore being rocky around the headland) we passed the Lighthouse.

And this rather quirky, much repaired wall…

It was being repaired as we walked past and being curious, I enquired about the reason for all the different materials used. The reason? Well as it is owned by the local rugby club, as and when repairs are required, an appeal is made to members for spare building materials and they use what they are given! How brilliant!

Around the Headland the rocks make way for a long sandy beach disappearing into the distance.The first section is Throston Sands with residential estates running all the way along the top, behind a promenade.

These continued into North Sands beyond, with higher cliffs and any properties being set well back.The beach from here on was pretty deserted so Poppydog enjoyed her freedom as we walked towards the long disused pier, a relic from local Steel Works, now a distant memory.

The pier is well photographed and you can see why….

The must keeps rolling in and out but we persevered for a couple of miles to reach the final section of the beach – Crimdon Park Sands (though we do come back tomorrow for a better look).

After the long trek back to the Headland we sought out the Andy Capp sculpture before making our way back to site.