On Friday night we went on a "Ghost Walk" set up by Hartlepool Council. It was around the old Headland area. We heard all about the history and ghosts of the past inhabitants and other members of the group were encouraged to share their stories of poltergeists and ghosts of their own. One woman had lived in the area as a child and had some hair raising stories from her childhood. In one street we were warned that the ghosts of mischievous lads might undo our shoelaces as we walked. I looked down and one of mine was already undone!!! They have never come undone before but blaming them on a ghostly prank is not my style.
The Headland is the home of the old HEUGH BATTERY which defended the port and shipbuilding areas in wars. In the WW1, German ships fired shells onto the area and the first British Military death on British soil happened just outside the gates. Many civilians and soldiers were killed during the shelling. During the Napoleonic wars a French ship was wrecked just off the coast and a monkey in a French uniform jacket was the only survivor. The locals, supposedly, tried and hung the monkey as a French spy. Therefore Hartlepudlians and their football team are referred to as monkeyhangers.
The buildings exposed to the sea are painted with black, salt resistant paint and in the evening this makes the area quite dark and spooky. When I was a child there was a West Hartlepool and a Hartlepool next to it. Hartlepool is now called The Headland and the old West has been dropped and the larger main town is now, just Hartlepool. I must admit, when I came back from Oz, I wondered what had happened to West Hartlepool.
Yesterday was a fine morning so we took the camper up to the top of the Pennines at Westgate in Weardale. Nothing but sheep about.
And some of them quite orange. There has been so much sheep rustling up on the moors and in the isolated villages (because of the rising cost of lamb) that some farmers are dipping their sheep in a dye to deter theft. At least they can be easily spotted. Large texels like these are very valuable. They seemed to be a bit self conscious, but at least they were at home.
Today's extra hour has already been wasted lying abed with tea, coffee and now juice. I might as well give up and get up.
The Headland is the home of the old HEUGH BATTERY which defended the port and shipbuilding areas in wars. In the WW1, German ships fired shells onto the area and the first British Military death on British soil happened just outside the gates. Many civilians and soldiers were killed during the shelling. During the Napoleonic wars a French ship was wrecked just off the coast and a monkey in a French uniform jacket was the only survivor. The locals, supposedly, tried and hung the monkey as a French spy. Therefore Hartlepudlians and their football team are referred to as monkeyhangers.
The buildings exposed to the sea are painted with black, salt resistant paint and in the evening this makes the area quite dark and spooky. When I was a child there was a West Hartlepool and a Hartlepool next to it. Hartlepool is now called The Headland and the old West has been dropped and the larger main town is now, just Hartlepool. I must admit, when I came back from Oz, I wondered what had happened to West Hartlepool.Yesterday was a fine morning so we took the camper up to the top of the Pennines at Westgate in Weardale. Nothing but sheep about.
And some of them quite orange. There has been so much sheep rustling up on the moors and in the isolated villages (because of the rising cost of lamb) that some farmers are dipping their sheep in a dye to deter theft. At least they can be easily spotted. Large texels like these are very valuable. They seemed to be a bit self conscious, but at least they were at home.
Today's extra hour has already been wasted lying abed with tea, coffee and now juice. I might as well give up and get up.Cheers Gillian
2 comments:
I would enjoy a spook walk. Hoping I might be able to join a spookie night at the local castle. My eldest daughter has seen ghosts.I don't sadly.
The orange sheep are fun. The farmers should show some creative imagination and try tie dying them different shades!
I'm not into scary, ghostly jaunts, but the orange sheep are good for a giggle! Wonderful pictures of the oceanside town.
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