Recently Hartlepool has been undergoing a renaissance as new life has been breathed into the old docks area.  A marina has been created, along with other tourist attractions such as the Museum of Hartlepool and the Hartlepool Historic Quay , a re-creation of a Napoleonic port, and well worth a visit, if you're in the area. (The Historic Quay was the "New Tourist Attraction of the Year" in Britain in 1996.) Hartlepool has also established itself as a centre for ship restoration, its most famous export being HMS Warrior (1860) , the world's first iron-clad battleship. The ship was restored in Hartlepool from 1979 and now is moored in Portsmouth as a splendid tourist attraction. Currently two ships are in for restoration: the 1817 frigate " Trincomalee " (aka the " Foudroyant ") and the paddle steamer (built in Hartlepool in 1934) "Wingfield Castle". The former is currently housed in dry dock in the centre of the Historic Quay, and looks truly magnificent. There are plans to open a "Tall Ships Centre" in the town. If shopping interests you (not me, mate) then have a look at "Jackson's Landing ", a factory shopping complex within the marina area.

Hartlepool's links with the sea are not all in the past. The port is thriving, both as a cargo port (as part of the Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority - the 3rd biggest port in the UK) and as a fishing port. Hartlepool hosts a Lifeboat, "The Scout". Please drop by the RNLI home page . John Gruson has written an excellent account of the history of lifeboats in Hartlepool .

Hartlepool's heavy industry is all but dead. There's still the steel works; one of the largest pipe-mills in Europe, and relatively successful, I believe. And there's the nuclear power station a few miles down the road. Unenviably close to built up areas, unfortunately. The port is still active. These days the main imports seem to be cars. Not sure what is back-loaded and exported, if anything. A little further away, Teesside is of course a huge and thriving chemical and petrochemical area. Despite the decline of the area's stalwart, ICI, the area goes from strength to strength. Huntsman Chemicals seems to be a new driving force for the area.

It pains me to say it, but Hartlepool's normally appallingly bad football team (that's soccer for anyone not sure), is doing rather well this year, hovering in the upper reaches of Division 3. (Try here for another "unofficial" web page, here for a view from a fan in Sweden(!), and here for Anthony Matsis's version . Coo didn't know the Pools had so many fans. They obviously prefer to spend time in front of their PC's rather than watching the team. Can't say I blame them.) The town has in the past been slightly more successful at rugby union , but not this season! There are at least seven clubs in the town, of which the biggest and best is West Hartlepool RUFC , which has unfortunately been relegated from the First Division. In 1998, West sold their old Brierton Lane ground for housing development, and in 1998/9, the soccer team and West Rugby team shared the same ground, Victoria Park. I don't think that really worked out too well from a Rugby point of view. West are now sharing a ground with their old rivals, Hartlepool Rovers, though next year they will move to Brinkburn in the grounds of Hartlepool Sixth Form College. Also in the Hartlepool rugby scene are the Tech team. Their page is found at members.aol.com/whtdsobrufc

 Hartlepool is fortunate in having a good local daily evening newspaper, the "Hartlepool Mail" (formerly the "Northern Daily Mail"). They now have a great web site , which they update daily. Well done lads. They accept email , but for old fashioned post, "The Editor, Hartlepool Mail, Hartlepool, England" will do fine.