Stockton-on-Tees Tourist Information & Travel Guide

Stockton-on-Tees is situated in the North East of England. It is a market town that initially started out as an Anglo-Saxon settlement. In the 1800’s, the town was known for its connection with the Stockton and Darlington Railway and is home to the oldest standing railway station in the world.

For a historic overview of the town visitors can go to Preston Hall Museum. Originally built as a country house in the early 1800’s, the building now stands as a museum of social history. There are various displays of toys and armour alongside collections of artwork including the notorious George De La Tour painting titled ‘The Dice Players’. Period rooms from the 1800’s to the 1960’s are showcased here alongside a recreation of an 1890’s High Street, situated directly outside the museum, with an array of shops and craftsmen.

The town has many things to offer to visitors including beautiful garden landscapes which can be found at Hardwick Hall Country Park. The garden has remained unaltered since the mid 1700’s and to accompany this is an eighteenth century hotel. There is a nature trail through and many footpaths for visitors to enjoy brisk walks within the park as the park itself measures 41 acres.

For shopping, visitors can go to Castlegate Shopping Centre which has a wide variety of popular retail stores such as Peacocks, Specsavers, Thornton’s, Empire Footwear, Boots and many more. There are also independent stores that offer a diverse range of products only to be found in Stockton-on-Tees. The shopping centre is 6.5 acres long and has over 12million visitors each year. It has a parking capacity for over 800 cars and there is no charge for the first two hours of your stay.

If you are interested in live music, The Georgian Theatre is definitely worth a visit. It has the capacity to hold 200 people and is operated by the Tees Music Alliance. Initially, the theatre opened in the mid-late 1700’s. Now, it is home to many live performances by celebrity acts including Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks, James Blunt, Lost Prophets and many more. The theatre underwent significant refurbishment in 2007 and has a newly constructed bar area.

Stockton-on-Tees town centre has gone through many changes in recent times. Major developments include the Teesquay Millennium Bridge, newly arranged office building structures, alongside university campuses such as Durham University. The town is also becoming recognised for its brilliant firework display on Guy Fawkes Day which occurs on the November 5th, annually. In 2007, the firework display attracted a huge proportion of people close to 100,000.

Each year, the town also hosts the Stockton International Riverside Festival. It has been in operation for over 20 years and is Europe’s largest free festival that is open aired. The festival goes on for five days and has a range of entertainment for visitors to enjoy such as a circus, live music and dance shows. There is also a carnival parade which makes its way through the high street. Many famous UK acts perform here which attracts a large audience to travel to the Stockton International Riverside Festival.