Hartlepool
This drinking guide will be briefer than most.
I’ve never done Hartlepool, the north east being a rare gap in my otherwise
encyclopaedic knowledge of lower division days out, and it’s an omission I won’t
be correcting this time. Indeed, as I don’t believe anyone could seriously want to go
to Hartlepool for a midweek match into which we carry a three goal lead, and since I
don’t even have a map, I’m in no danger of over-researching this one.
Nevertheless, we’ll have a go. Three
watering holes consistently get a mention from the usual reliable sources, so we’ll
start with those. Firstly, you can get a drink at the ground, with the Corner Flag
Supporters Bar, run by the supporters’ club, letting away fans in for 50p.
However, the quality of the beer is not known. It is between the Rink End, where away
supporters are accommodated, and the Millhouse Stand.
The Mill House, a Cameron’s pub next
to the Mill House leisure centre and just behind the Millhouse Stand (makes sense) on Rium
Terrace to the east of the ground, sounds like it should be okay on a quiet night. Jackson’s
Wharf, at the new Marina complex, on a stretch curiously called the Highlight, is
further east past this. There are, apparently, other eating and drinking options around
the Marina.
In addition, a couple of sources recommend the Lion,
on Lancaster Road, a traditional pub which is apparently owned by the local community,
within which any profits are spent. Sounds almost socialist in this day and age, and
surely worth a pint of anyone’s support if you should come across it.
For a night in Hartlepool, warm clothing is
advised. Situated right next to the North Sea to ensure they catch that bracing breeze,
Hartlepool is renowned for being the coldest ground in the land. What, even worse than
Oldham? Yes, apparently so. That said, they also have a reputation for good and generous
food, so with that and a few pints, you may be able to stave off hypothermia for a couple
of hours. Actually, with the recent addition of a couple of roofs, it’s not supposed
to be as exposed as it once was.
They have quite a nice official site at www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk, which provides
directions to the ground and a ground plan (and also offers an ‘ask the manager’
page – can’t see that happening at Burnley). In the Net [http://hartlepoolunited.rivals.net] seems to
be the main unofficial site, being of these new and attractive ‘Rivals Net’ [www.rivals.net] sites built on a common template that you
see springing up everywhere. They have a food and drink guide (look under ‘club
guide’), giving marks out of five, but still no information on the beer available.
Along with the three already mentioned, they also recommend Yates’s on
Victoria Road, and the King John’s Tavern, South Road, which is the inevitable
Wetherspoon’s.
The local brewery is Cameron’s, owned by
Banks’s, who took them over after a long and troubled time when it belonged to
various neglectful large companies. Their main beer is Strongarm and it’s excellent,
a classic creamy and ruby red beer. Friends who visited on a previous occasion – I
believe the 4-1, nine men drubbing that was Tony Blair’s last Burnley game –
report their most vivid memory being of pubs where they had semi-poured pints ready and
waiting to be topped up when ordered, as otherwise the beer would take too long to settle.
If you like your beer with a head on it, this might be the place for you.
The 2000 CAMRA Good Beer Guide recommends three
pubs. Two are close to the brewery in the Stranton area of town: the Blacksmith’s
Arms and the Causeway, on Vicarage Gardens. They also suggest the Nursery
on Hopps Street, if you know where that is. All of these are Cameron’s pubs and it
would appear that none of them are close to the railway station.
It would seem fairly easy to get to the ground
from the station. The ground is a few minutes away, approximately north west, with the
marina slightly further away to the north east. Turn right into Church Street – on
which there’s also supposed to be a Tap and Spile - until you come to the
Church Street roundabout. From here you should be able to see the ground, which you reach
by turning right again onto Clarence Road.
And that’s your lot - and we didn’t
mention monkey hanging once. Bugger.
Firmo
Last updated 4th September 2000
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