Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough is a large and beautiful post-industrial town that is home to us at Ideal Cleaning Centre. It’s right in the ‘middle’ of the wider Tees Valley and Teesside. This vibrant town centre is filled with great spots for visitors to enjoy. 

MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art)

It’s a contemporary art gallery that was formally launched on 27 January 2007. Currently, it is run in a partnership with a public university called Teesside University. mima is a civic institution promoting art as an ideal tool for social change. mima’s programme integrates exhibitions plus collection displays with off-site projects, commissions, learning activities and community-focused initiatives. 

The art gallery plays an important role in North East England cultural ecology, especially Teesside, and it’s internationally known for its mission. It’s a member of a network of visual arts organisations called Plus Tate network. 

mima collection includes outstanding fine plus applied art from the year 1900 to the present time, with most of the pieces acquired by Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art’s forerunners: the Cleveland Craft Centre and Middlesbrough Art Gallery. The collection found in mima contains works by Tracey Emin, Lucie Rie, Panayiotis Kalorkoti, David Remfry, Sir Jacob Epstein, Paula Rego, Anne Redpath, David Bomberg, Nancy Sper, among others. 

Albert Park

It’s an open access and free public park; the Civic Trust granted the park the Green Flag Award. In the park, there is a grade II listed sundial that was designed as well as constructed by John Houston Stockton and donated in 1879 by John Houston Stockton. The sundial allows visitors within the park to read the time in Melbourne, New York City and the UK. Also, there is a statue that depicts Brian Clough, a sporting legend, at the beginning of his football career, which was on 16 May 2007. 

Sculpted by Vivien Mallock, the 7-foot bronze figure shows a Clough while he was 24 years old with his boots seen slung over his shoulder as he strides towards Ayresome Park, which is the former ground for Middlesbrough player, on his way to training. A Parkrun takes place in Albert Park on Saturdays at 9 am. There is also a central fountain in the park, which was originally presented in 1869 by Joseph Pease. The central fountain underwent substantial renovation, and it was switched back on 2 April 2004. 

Newham Grange Leisure Farm

It’s a farm park as well as a conservation centre and one of only sixteen nationally approved by a conservation charity called Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Newham Grange Leisure Farm is currently opened to the public to visit and has lots of different breeds, including pigs (Gloucestershire Old Spot and Berkshire), sheep (Wensleydale and Whitefaced Woodland), cattle (Beef Shorthorn and British White) plus other farm animals. 

Also, historical exhibits include an early twentieth-century agricultural merchants shop together with a reproduction of a nineteenth-century veterinary surgery. The Visitor Centre traces Newham Grange Leisure Farm history from the seventeenth century. Throughout the year, there are tea rooms, picnic and play areas and also an events programme. 

Dorman Museum

It’s a social and local history museum. From 1 July 1904 (the museum’s official opening date), initial thematical leanings were typically towards the natural sciences, but the history of Middlesbrough, work by a renowned Victorian industrial designer called Christopher Dresser and the local Linthorpe Pottery galleries, have largely replaced that emphasis. 

The original remains of Victorian/Edwardian stuffed and mounted animal collection are now displayed in a single room called Nelson Room. They consist of a variety of taxidermied birds (which are in their original cases and have painted decorative backgrounds) and various birds’ eggs. 

Dorman Museum was founded by a British industrialist called Sir Arthur John Dorman in honour of George Lockwood Dorman, his son who died of Typhoid fever in the Second Boer War at Kroonstad. It’s one of the cultural institutions that Middlesbrough Borough Council runs. It reopened in 2003 after undergoing major refurbishment and extension. The museum houses a wide variety of collections. 

Stewart’s Park

It’s a 120-acre park located in Marton. The historical site of the building where Capt James Cook was born (7 November 1728) can be found in Stewart’s Park. Although the cottage has long since disappeared, there is a pink granite urn that marks the approximate site. Also, nearby is the public museum called Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, one of the 3 institutions that Middlesbrough Museum and Gallery Service run. In 2003, it was the subject of Time Team, a Channel 4’s archaeological TV programme presented by Tony Robinson. 

Initially, the park was landscaped by Henry William Ferdinand Bolckow, who is one of the ironmasters in Middlesbrough and the first mayor of the borough. In 1858, Henry built Marton Hall in Stewart’s Park. Eventually, the park was purchased in 1924 by Councillor Thomas Dormand Stewart (1854 – 1946) for Middlesbrough people. He intended the park to be a public property, open and accessible to everyone for all time. On 23 May 1928, the park was opened officially to the public. 

Today, Stewart’s Park consists of arboretum and woodland on the south side; on the northern side, there’s an open parkland. There are 2 lakes, home to coots, moorhens, Canada and greylag geese and different types of ducks. Also, an extensive pets’ corner has various types of domesticated animals: guinea pigs, pheasants, peacocks, goats, llamas, highland cattle and fallow deer. Various nature, heritage, tree trails and orienteering are provided in this park, and they are very popular with school visits. 

The Tees Transporter Bridge

This steel bridge is the symbol of the industrial heritage in Middlesbrough. The Tees Transporter Bridge is the world’s longest transporter bridge. It featured in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, a successful British comedy-drama series (1983–2004). Visitors can admire its stunning profile from afar or even across the bridge over the 137 km-river Tees by car or foot in a gondola that’s suspended beneath it. 

In recent years, the Tees Transporter Bridge has emerged as one of the leading historic visitor attractions. It’s also one of the major sites for extreme sports in the United Kingdom. The sports include zip-slides, bungee jumps and abseils.