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The Headland |
Hartlepool Headland is formed on a peninsular of magnesium limestone which reaches into the North Sea. This geological make-up has created a coastline of mixed treasures.
From golden sandy beach of the North Sands stroll along to the teeming rockpools towards the end of the peninsular where you might find yourself rolling up your sleeves and searching for crabs. This area was also home to the fabled 'Elephant Rock' which finally succumbed to the erosion of the sea on May the 10th 1891.
Surrounded on three sides by the sea, the Magnesium Limestone headland or peninsula called the Heugh at Hartlepool is more familiarly known as Old Hartlepool. Hartlepool may not always readily accept association with Teesside, it has its own natural harbour to the north of the river, but in recent centuries its industrial history has been very closely tied up with the River Tees.
In prehistoric times Hartlepool's headland is thought to have been an isolated tidal island covered by thick forests. In the nineteenth century during excavation of the adjacent marshy area called the Slake, trunks of trees from the ancient forest were found embedded in the clay along with antlers and the teeth from deer that seem to have inhabited the area in large numbers many years ago.
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