Last Sunday evening my dad rang and asked if we wanted to go and visit my great Aunt in Hartlepool on the Bank Holiday Monday! Of course, we had nothing else planned and the kids do love a run out in the car! My dad has a big 7 seater so there's plenty of room.
Travelling from Scunthorpe to Hartlepool is just over 2 hours away and over 120 miles so my dad decided to go the scenic route on the way there. I didn't know how scenic the journey was going to be.
We of course went over the Humber bridge through, Beverley and York and then headed up to Teesside. I spent most of my childhood and teenage years living in and around Teeside. Stockton, Thornaby, Redcar and Billingham. My dad decided while he had us all with him he'd go for a drive around and show his partner, my fella and our kids where we used to live.
First up was Thornaby. When Becky was a baby I lived in a house my dad had previously rented out to students and then I ended up moving a couple of streets away when my mother left and my dad moved into the house I moved out of. I ended up moving into the street my dad lived in when he was first married. He lived at the posh end though. It looked so much rougher than I remembered when I lived there. Eek!
Between mine and my dad's house there was the most amazing butcher's shop. On a morning there would be fried bacon, egg and black pudding sandwiches and a lunchtime there would be meat sandwiches with stuffing, salad or pease pudding. I was so pleased to see it was still there!
If you've read my blog since we moved from Northumberland to Scunthorpe you'll know I've struggled to buy fresh pease pudding so it was obvious we'd stop and get something for lunch here.
We then went on to Stockton to show the kids where I lived when I was their age. The street looked so much shorter than when I was a child but it really hadn't changed.
We took a drive around Stockton which again hasn't changed that much. Our favourite chip shop is now a Chinese takeaway, the big church where my dad's friend was a caretaker is still there and my dad's old house where he lived with my mother when my brother and I had left home has had a facelift. New windows and brickwork!
We then went onto Hartlepool to see my Aunty Jean. She's actually my dad's aunt so it makes her my great aunt. She's doing well for her age. She'll be 90 before long. She seems like one of those people who's going to outlive us all. The kids love going to see her as she always has a few plates of cakes ready and her legendary banana muffins!
She got on about how she hadn't been to Seaton Carew sea front for years so my dad said come on we'll go! So we did just that. We spent a good hour in the arcades on the 2p machines, the whole lot of us. Who'd have thought grown adults could get so competitive over the 2p machines. lol
The amount of people on the sea front was crazy! I have never seen the beach so full and I certainly haven't seen so many people queuing up for fish and chips in my life, ever! They must have really wanted them because I wouldn't have queued for so long.
We weren't done with the sight seeing though. My dad drove us around Hartlepool showing us the house he lived in when he was a child and some where my Aunt Jean lived. She was full of stories and pointed out the back alley where she caught him smoking when he was 14, the old cinema where she had one of the first dates with her husband and much more.
Before long it was time to head home. My dad took us to see one last house. The house I lived in when I was a baby and the street where I grew up. It was so strange seeing it. I hadn't been back there for about 30 years.
It's funny how you remember things. I don't remember the street being so wide. I had a friend who lived at the other side of the street and when we were little we weren't allowed to cross the road ourselves so we would play with a ball and throw it across to each other. We must have had some throw on us to get it across the street when we were about 5 or 6 years old. lol
It was a fantastic day out and being shown around the old houses really made my day. It was nice to reminisce and share with the kids where I grew up.
Sounds like a brilliant day out! your great aunt seems like a total legend! I love going back to old houses i lived in as a kid and have a nose around.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree that things do not appear the same as adults as when we were kids! Blackpool for me is the biggest example - loved it as a kid, certainly do not these days! ;) What a fantastic road trip out though, always love taking the scenic route! Love the sound of that butchers - wish my local butcher offered sandwiches! Sim x
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