retiredmartin

January 2024. Hartlepool.

It was, perhaps, a brave choice for Hartlepool Tourist Office to ask Peter Gabriel to be their brand ambassador as the town looks to capitalise on Blackpool Jane’s recent endorsement.

But his 3 word slogan encapsulates the revival of the monkey-hanging capital of the UK in recent years,

and there’s plenty of evidence of investment in the centre (“Boutique”, anyone ?),

taking advantage of some solid if slightly soiled heritage (see also : Barrow).

But it’s Church Street, your gateway into town from the coast, with the biggest potential,

and the biggest challenges.

Think what you could do with a few million quid to spend on this pub (Shades, I think).

Crumbling fascia, tree branches sprouting from rooftops, and in between there’s the odd classy place like Sambuca’s,

a really brilliantly unfussy Italian place majoring in Parmo and chips. I stuck to risotto.

For pubs, you’ll need to read Jane and Mark, whose report on an emotional return “home” was one of the blogging highlights of 2022.

I wasn’t up to pints on the Headland, the Rat Race was (obviously) closed,

and I just couldn’t face the newbies like the Owl,

and No. 8, both of which would fit nicely in Preston’s Avenham Park quarter.

But on this trip, the Lavazza coffee machine was my friend.