Middlesbrough

ITV's Location, Location, Location declared Middlesbrough the worst town in the entire United Kingdom in 2007, that makes it a prime destination for a weekend trip then right?!

Toby has been living in Thornaby (a satellite town of Middlesbrough) for a while & I decided it was time for a weekend visit. When I arrived on Saturday morning Toby met me at the rail station and we carried onwards to Whitby for the afternoon.

After a MASSIVE plate of fish & chips we had a look around the town.

There is a big abbey on the hill overlooking the city.

And Pirate Ships in the Ocean!

Did you know this is the port Captain Cook set sail from when he departed to the southern hemisphere to claim NZ on behalf of the English? I didn't.

Also, it has some vague connection to Dracula, something about him being ship wrecked there. Apparently the place is seething with Goths at Halloween.

Ritchie & Mel (who were also visiting Toby for the weekend picked us up from Whitby and we all went to Saltburn-by-Sea where they went and ate copious amounts of cupcakes at Mel's great aunty's house & Me and Toby had a beer on the waterfront.

When we eventually got back to Thornaby, I found that Toby lodges in a wicked big house with his adoptive mum Maureen.

After a few beers and chilli in the sun we headed out for the evening in Yarm, the trendy place to go out in the area - all up a good night out.

Today (Sunday) we had a look around Middlesbrough and surrounding areas. Great Ayton is a town where Captain Cook went to school for a year or so, they've been riding that high ever since.

We did see some gangs of ducks and cricket here though:

We also stopped at the Lees barrage which stops the river up stair being a smelly tidal mess, and it has a cool area for kayakers.

The transporter bridge was both impressive and amusing (what's the point?!)

There was a football match in Middlesbrough this afternoon (they won 8-1 BTW), the first leg of the train trip was filled with a mix of Man City supporters & Middlesbrough fans, there was a surprisingly jovial atmosphere!

In summary, Com'n guys! give Middlesbrough a break. Sure, it may have high crime & obesity rates and low life expectancy but it's alright I thought! (plus if I slag off number 2 on the list I have a hard time defending my borough of London which came in at number 12 on the list!)

p.s for those of you that know about my Oxford opportunity – it is all go, as of Friday. Exciting times. (for those of you who don't know - I'm being cryptic aren't I!)