I had a little bike ride in Hartlepool, to the Headland from the Marina, and back again. Because it was just a leisurely ride, I’ve speeded it up a bit so it’s not too long a video. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel, and give this video a big thumbs up like please. If you have any more ideas where you’d like to see me take a ride (not off the end of the pier) just let me know in the comments.
#bike #marina #Hartlepool #Headland #silver fox #mountainbike
Contact: mickgant@icloud.com
Hi, Michael here again. I’m back out on my travels on the bike. Twofold. I want to take you around the town, show you how lovely it is. And secondly, I’m trying to get fit for a bike ride in well, next week. So, maybe that’s not going to happen. So, I’m going to head from Harley Marina down to the headland. Hopefully off road a little bit. Maybe it’s about I don’t know if it’s 5 miles enough. If it’s seven miles, then all well and good. All right, let’s go through the car park. It’s a good approaching this roundabout, I could quite clearly see that this guy hadn’t seen me at all, and he was just going to pull right out in front of me. And yeah, you didn’t see me. I was turning right on the roundabout as you came around the corner. Okay, fair enough. I know. I know. Okay. It’s so easy to miss the bikes and it’s not like, [Music] you know, I’m quite fairly well lit. [Music] Yes, I am on the path, but it’s a very busy road this and as you’ve just seen, it is so easy to uh hit a bike. So, I’m very wary of it. Now, I want to get across this road and I’ll go around the outside. All right, I’m going to dismount here. There’s too much traffic. Thank you, kind sir. Cheers, mate. Well, I’ve got me coat on cuz it looked a bit uh inclement, but I’m actually very warm. And when I’ve stopped there, I realize how warm it is through the bush. There’s somebody on the path, but I’ll get on the grass when we get near. [Music] I’m getting on the ground. There isn’t usually anybody on the path coming down here. cross the road. This can be a bit naughty getting across sometimes cuz you can see the cars whipping around the corner. [Music] This actually this is actually cycle route 14 I believe it said on that sign there. Ah, it’s nice without wind blowing on me. They’re still in two minds whether to take the jacket off or not. The lady on the cycle path, which she probably doesn’t realize, just coming through behind you. Thank you. We do have the bell of course, but uh people sometimes get a bit high rate when you ring the bell. They think you’re telling them to get out the way where you’re actually just advising people that you’re coming through and to be aware. It’s not a loud jing. Oh, what’s these little guys running along here? And brown ones on the left. Now, when we get to the end of here, we’ve got to cross the road and there’s a big bank, which I haven’t attempted for I’m going to say 5 years, and I probably won’t be able to get up. I know my mate Steve got up it the other day, but he’s fitter than me. And I’ll definitely be sweating when I get to the top. I’ll get it in the lowest gear possible. See how it goes. Right, I’m on the easiest cog now in fourth gear. If I just go gentle. Trouble is you can’t get a run up the bank. Go. See what I mean? Doesn’t look that steep when you’re not used to it. Maybe if I zigzag up it. So this is Harley Rovers Rugby Club on the left here. Used to play for them back in the day. I read I reached the dizzy heights on the fourth team and sometimes the fourth team extra which was basically the fifth team. I think my younger brother David, he played for the first team once maybe. Oh yeah, me legs are burning. F ski, you’re on both sets of cogs here. It’s flattening out a bit, but there’s a steeper bit right at the end. Well, it’ll be time for a drink and a little rest. Slight downhill bit. Get some speed up. Oh, it’s burning. Burning, burning, burning. But I’ve made it. Hey, look at this. All these new houses. Wow. Anyway, going to have a little stop here. Should we check what meat is after the 137? I honestly didn’t know whether I would get up there or not. 111. I think I’m going to take this off. probably get cold when I get down onto the seafront in a minute. Trouble with this doesn’t breathe. So now I’m I’m wet. And it does feel cold when I’ve taken it off. Right, let’s go get it up back into the middle cog. Oh, I can feel it in the top of me legs, me thighs. So this is a brand new housing estate which is built on what’s called the spy and cop area of the town. Formerly, it was an industrial site, a steeply magnet site. And I know there was what they called a destroyer up here as well. Oh my, look at the rain over there. That doesn’t look good. I’m going to get drenched. Oh well. It used to be a path through. Does it still exist? Looks like it does. Okay, here we go. They’re still building on either side. Looks like they put a ditch in to get rid of the water. So, we’re nearly on the coast. I’ve set off from the coast. I’ve come across the town a little bit and he’s the coast again. Hopefully, we see some dolphins. I think the builders might be going to get a soaking as well soon enough. Right, we’re going to get down onto the seafront there on the headland and go right around the prom. And I believe it is still part of the cycle route. I’m not 100% sure, but there isn’t any sign saying no cycling. Beautiful beach. Well, can be a little bit dangerous. Coastal path. English coastal path. It says, right, it’s fairly flat along here. Give me a chance to get me breath back. Warning, ginger from high seas. Who would have thought in England? You probably can’t tell it’s me with me hat on. It’s Mick with the gray hair underneath. Smooge Smoogie. See you later, M. Take care. You too. So, it’s a beautiful prominade we’ve got along here and a beautiful beach and the sea, of course. It’s not very warm even this time of the year which is in July. But that’s where I learned to swim and just off here. The next set of steps down the ramp was me and a bunch of friends. We we came swimming as you do. There was no warnings in them days. And uh we did get caught in the riptide and it was like and nobody described it as like being in the washing machine. And uh we seriously thought we were going to die but we didn’t. We managed to get out to fight another day. So up the top there in what’s now C view View Terrace, there used to be the barracks which were mysteriously knocked down accidentally. Accidentally. Yeah. Well, I And just up this bank when we get to it, there’s a gun in placement which I believe was the Fairy Cove gun in placement. And there’s a replica gun up there. But I’m not going up the bank. I’ve already done one big bank. But yeah, this was our playground here. Such a good place to have grown up. If anybody’s looking for somewhere to bring the kids up and a permanent playground on the doorstep. Little bit dangerous. Yeah. But such fun. But what they have done is they’ve put a loads well they’ve changed the sea defense along here and where we’ve just been. But they haven’t done a very good job of it. It keeps getting every time there’s a bad storm, these blocks get knocked out. Some of them do anyway. Not very good design at all really. And on the other side there’s loads of uh blocks. They are natural looking blocks, but it has spoiled where we used to play, especially a little bit further along what we used to call the elephant rock. Wasn’t really the elephant rock at all, but it was a big rock that we used to play around, climb up and dive off, in fact. And they said when they’re doing all these sea defenses that they weren’t going to damage it, but you can barely even see it now. All this stuff on the left there. We used to call them our camps. We just happily played between them till the tide came up and got us. All right, let’s find this said elephant rock, what we used to call it. Anyway, I can see it. The top’s been taken off. So, that big slab in the middle there, that was it. It was at least double the height of that. And of course, it didn’t have these rocks around it at all. Even though there was a big pool just on the right hand side of it there that you could dive into, they promised us that wouldn’t be damaged, but they did. Hey, if it stops the headland from falling into the sea, I did make a video all about it when there was this option four available, which was just to allow it to fall into the sea, which we all kicked off about. And uh through public demand, we did manage to get it booted out. So, there was no option for whether that was just a ploy by them to uh go ahead with what they wanted to do in the first place, I don’t know. A cynical person might think that. So, we’ve got the Y battery museum up the top there. You’ll have seen plenty of videos from me about that. Don’t need to go into it again. Then the lighthouse on the right there, which is the second lighthouse. The first one had to be knocked down because it was getting in the way of the guns that were firing from the gun battery. And there’s a lot of lot of history about the bombardment of the Harley poles in this area. And in fact, the first British soldier was killed on the spot just up there in the first world war. So we’ve got all these beautiful Victorian houses on the right hand side here, cliff terrace and in fact the war memorial where I go every year for the bombardment. That’s all right. It’s all right. It’s fine, mate. Probably not supposed to be on the path here. [Music] We’ll go down and have a look at the paddling pool. I do believe it’s been filled up. The old Kirkham Hotel on the right there. We have the same thing every uh people complaining that there’s no water in the paddling pool. God, bit of a horn shaker. This bit says dog exclusion zone, but it doesn’t say bike exclusion zone. No other counselor down cleaning it up. Ready for the summer again. I’ve had so much fun in this paddling pool. But they took the bridge down because it was dangerous and the block stands and it looks like they’re doing more work on the end of the Y pier there. I’ve got a video about that as well which I’ll put a link on. Well, I’ll put a QR code on and then you can just pause and scan it if you want to have a look at that one. Little playground for the kids here. Some well they’re not sharp. Concrete uh blocks, but they’re not soft either. The old swimming pool, which you can just about make up. Probably have a video about that as well. Just follow that QR code there. So, I’ve only biked from just over there, but you can’t come across. So, you got to come all the way around. Maybe they should build a bridge. Now, it looks like there’s some work being done on the pilot pier. Let’s just storing the machines here and go and investigate. The wind’s getting up. I feel the rain will be here any second. You all right then? [Music] It’s really pouring down over the Cleveland Hills. Maybe it’s blown that way and we’ve missed it. Hope so. Good little spot for fishing in the channel into the deep water bath. [Music] All [Music] right. The ancient seaw wall which is well over 800 years old. Right. Got to get up this bank now. See if I can manage it. Oh, he’s struggling again. He’s struggling. There you go. just about. All right. So, we’ve got Mary Round Trees Cafe and Restaurant on the side here. [Music] Andicap and the pot house. Let’s go and have a look at Andicap. I’m sure we all know who this little fell is, don’t we? If not, get some backer shoes of the daily mirror. Off the path, man. Off the path. They don’t like it. Look, there’s a sign. [Music] So many a good night had in the p house. [Music] the Croft Gardens on the right or the tea gardens as some people like to call them and the ancient St. El’s Church which is as old as the wall if not older parts of it anywhere. And these are the famous houses on the seafront, the Balamorei houses. But I’m definitely going to have to dismount the bike here. That’s fine. Beautiful houses. used to play in that house when we were kids with a well an old friend who I just got in contact with again on Facebook called Mark Ule. It used to be called Harbor Antiques and he lived there as a child and we used to practice in the band there as well. Shame we didn’t have video back then or is it a shame? Probably not. Right. It’s a brand new lifeboat on the other side there. But I tell you what, I’m going to get down. I’m not walking along. That didn’t look very graceful, did it? Then another cycling sign. This is where the ferry used to go across to take the workers from the headland over to all the industry on the other side at Middleton. And on the left coming up, we’ve got the fish key, which sadly we’re not allowed to go on even though we used to when we were kids. Another little sneak preview. We know other places like Whitby, North Shields, they make a thing of it, but you know. So, we’re now in South Gate. And on the left here, we’ve got the old Union Pub, which is now private flats, I do believe. And a little bit further on, got one of my favorite pubs, the fisherman’s arms and one of Louiswis’s fantastic murals on the side there. Now, he has got a show in the art gallery at the moment over in town. And we’ve also got the ship here, which you normally end up in on Carnival Day at some point. Right, we’ll get back on the main road and I’m going to head down North Gate. Normous Tea Shop. Not sure if that’s still open. Could well be. Dentist. I used to live up there. Back in the 80s, we old mates shop. Harows for shop. Gettys pub. [Music] Favorite Chinese in the town, Lee Garden. [Music] And just about here, we’ve got my old shop, my old photography shop. that one there and the wonderful Globe pub as well which I know is either up for sale or has been sold. Great little pub that nice garden out the back too. Now the wind’s against me now. When I looked at the wind turbines out of my bedroom window this morning, I decided that going to the headland would be a good idea because the wind would be behind me on the way back. But it isn’t. It always seems to be in me first. Right. Cycle track. Never understood these really. As you’ll see a little bit further up, it’s a waste of time having a cycle track because all the cars are parked in it. The Carnegie building, which used to be the Headland Library and Maritime Museum a long time ago. Good times had in there. Now, I did fall off trying to climb over the fence once. Different fence to that one. Fell down. Got me trouser leg flares caught in one of the spikes. Smack me head on the floor. Bump the size of an orange. That’s probably why I’m a little bit forgetful these days. I’ve had plenty of bangs on the head over the years and definitely seen stars and little bluebirds flying around. So, this is what I’m talking about. Where are these cycle tracks? Obviously can’t go in them. [Music] Back in the cycle track. Not that you can see it. Mind. Oh guys, let’s have a look at paint around here. Over on the right here, we’ve got the Thrusten engine house which used to house a steam winding engine. The engine was used to haul coal wagons up a railway incline to the culses at the Victoria Harbor. It was built I think round about the 1840. Right. The stone tells me that I’m just about to leave the headland. I’m now on to what we used to call the central estate. I’m not sure if it’s still called that. So, it’s a bit of a boring ride back now. Nothing much to see. I’ll leave the camera running though. I’ll speed it up a bit. You’re not missing much apart from a former nursing home which is in disrepair. Might go over and have a look at that. Mean’s crossing the road though. You might be able to just be able to see the roof which has been on fire. Just needs a bit of care and attention, doesn’t it? either knocking down or or somebody come in and do the place up. Simple, isn’t it really? Somebody owns it. It must be worth something to somebody. Well, I don’t know whether you can hear me or not with all the traffic, but the uh battery ran out on me camera, which is a bit surprising. It’s supposed to last a bit longer than that, but hey ho. Didn’t bring a spare one like the proper professional that I am. Well, I’ve just checked on me phone and we’ve done 6.9 miles. So, I was about exactly right. So, I’m not going to bother going around the marina. I’m just going to go home. So, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed that. If you did, give us a thumbs up and a comment. I will reply back to you if you do comment and subscribe. It’s completely free. Like, and I’ll carry on doing more bike rides around the town. And that is me. I will catch you next time. Bye now. [Music]
1 Comment
Hey Michael, Kev Lake watching another of yr blogs, I watch them all and like and subscribe, excelent work m8, keep up the good work😉