Getting from Wales to North Yorkshire took quite some time. Although England seems quite small when compard to American States, there are still some vast tracts to be traversed. We decided that the easiest way was to go back into London then out to Hartlepool, where Chris and Sandra live. They met us at the station.
Heugh Battery Museum
While there, we discovered that Hartlepool and the surrounding area had some interesting ties to World War I. A visit to the Heugh Battery Museum was quite fascinating when we got a guided tour from one of the volunteers.
It seems that Hartlepool was the only World War I Battlefield in the UK. Three German ships entered the harbour flying the British White Ensign flag, then started bombarding the Battery and the surrounding community. There was incredible damage and lives were lost.
Here is a sneak peek at life in the trenches.
Then we went for coffee to the Poppy Tea Room in the Museum grounds. Chris, Sandra and Maddie.
Although the day was bright, with lots of sunlight, it was quite cold, especially for Rick and Jenni – we’re used to Florida winters! Hartlepool fronts the North Sea, so very biting winds..
Seaham.
We drove further along the coast to Seaham, still on the North Sea. There we discovered yet another connection to WW I – a memorial to Tommy, the soldier.
Then a view of the coastline with Jenni in the foreground.
We found a nice little bar on the seafront in Seaham and Rick, Sandra and Jenni all enjoyed a Baileys. Then, being the crazy tourists that we are, we found an ice cream parlor. We’re all slightly insane to be eating ice cream in temperatures around 46°F, but it was fun and delicious!
The HMS Trincomalee And Navy Museum.
The frigate,HMS Trincomalee, is now part of a Museum in the port of Hartlepool. She was ordered in 1812 and launched in 1817. She is now a place for weddings, other events and tourism.
The whole of the wharf around the ship is divided into small historic shops and offices featuring different activities of the time.
Needless to say, we found the time to pop into the Coffee Shop and have hot drinks and cake! After the Museum visit in the morning, we drove to Seaton Carew and had fish and chips at a seaside restaurant. Yummy!
Sarah And The Girls.
After a great, but too short, visit with Chris and Sandra, it was time to head even further north to visit our dear friend Sarah (who is actually like a daughter to us). Sarah spent some time living in Sydney, Australia and stayed with us for several months. Rick had not seen her for 10 years, since Gabrielle was a baby – she is now 11 and her sister, Sophia, is 9.
Sarah lives in a seasiide town called Cullercoats which is close to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and came to pick us up from Hartlepool. We drove to Gateshead, which is in the Newcastle area, and visited The Sage Entertainment Centre. It has a number of concert halls and theatres as well as community spaces. It is adjacent to the mini Sydney harbour Bridge that you can see in the background.
It got even colder and stormy while we were there, so not much sightseeing, other than driving around by car with Sarah. Though we did find a great tea room for some hot chocolate! Then Sarah’s parents (Audrey and Terry) and her friend, Matthew, came over and we all went out to dinner at a great Italian restaurant (in the pouring rain and freezing cold). This family photo was taken when we got home.
Another too short visit, then we were off to London.
