An Olympic-size pool could be described as a "Heartypool" but this is not that. It's a little town…read moreby the sea a little north of Middlesbrough, and it's very pretty. I was there recently, actually. First-Hand Experience: I love this team and their seaside stadium and their fans. They need to stick around forever, and I worry about them flirting down at the bottom. They nearly went out of business recently. I saw them play at their own stadium just a year or so ago. And I've seen them play away (against Oxford) years ago too. Both times, they and their fans were very impressive. If they can get their stuff together, I'll eventually give them 5. Congrats to Hartlepool for winning at home the other day against Exeter and securing their football league status for another season. Worrying times for them, though. They play in cute blue and white and I give them a 4 star rating for being a seaside town which is always nice. Plus their nickname, other than Pools, is the Monkey Hangars. Also this team once got their mascot elected as town mayor, I'm not sure how. Their stadium only has 8k people in it. They once almost made it to the second tier of football... lol. Their away kit is pink (tsk). They keep getting sponsored by Oil Drilling Companies from the North Sea which whips its winds around the stadium on a regular basis, it's freezing up here. I'd love to give them a 5 due to location but because of never really being relevant and because of their oil connection, I'll stick to a 4.

You know, it was said that his little brother Joaquin, was the thorn in River's Side. I don't think…read morethat's fair, especially since Joaquin became something of a Phoenix from the flames after River's death. What I want to know is, in the Sahara, where there is no water, where do all the Rivers Hide? First-Hand Experience: More info about my personal experience at this stadium - I love the Riverside. In 2004 when I was touring the UK, I visited for the first time and was utterly impressed even though it was located on a building site. I went back in 2005 and ate a Parmo while sitting on the steps of the stadium (I'm not kidding). I like it better than Sunderland's Stadium Of Light, believe it or not. Then I finally was able to watch a match here in 2011, and what a game it was. High-scoring and a really loud, intense crowd. I've seen Boro play away, but their fans really get behind them at home, unlike most other clubs, and The Riverside might be one of the 10 places I'd most like to go back and see another game - asap - in the UK. I've been to most UK & US stadiums, due to lifelong obsessions with travel, sport & especially footy (soccer to Americans). Born & raised in England, I followed Oxford United (hometown team) to stadia all over the country at away games, and later Liverpool (fave team) around. Every stadium review - like all my reviews - are from first-hand personal experience, usually from several visits. In 2011, I was on music tour in the UK, and visited most stadiums for fun in my spare time. As recently as Fall 2014, when I was "stuck" in UK for 3 months, I went to hundreds yet again while travelling. I have pictures of me at most, which I'll post later. Also, when back in UK I'll take more pix, and add more stadia! *** return to regular review *** This is one of Britain's best stadiums. It's stunning, red, grand, and wonderful. It's surrounded by a building site and an industrial sludge river and factory upon factory, but that almost adds to its charm. Young kids play in the industrial wasteland around the stadium and pretend they are Gaizka Mendieta. This was a great Prem stadium and will be again someday soon. They even incorporated part of the old stadium into the new, with the gates of Ayresome Park. Middlesbrough is the team that plays here, and it has hosted UEFA Cup Semi Finals among other things. In person, it's one of the loveliest stadiums I've been to. It can hold 35k, and England have played here before. That was the only time the stadium ever sold out. 2003, England 2, Slovakia 1.

Great place to see magnificent football with great atmosphere in the west stand. Sounds class from…read moreoutside cant afford a ticket but still know grant leadbitters dog.

If you wear three bras, then this team is not interested in the top bra, or the under-bra, but only…read morethe Middle-bra. First-Hand Experience: I saw Boro play once at Ayresome when I was a kid, and once in Oxford. Then I saw them play in Liverpool when Gerrard scored twice and Rafa's LFC beat them 2-0 not long before the CL Final which LFC lost. And I've now been to the Riverside a few times and it's honestly one of my fave stadiums to go to. I was sad a few months ago when Boro did not make it back to the Prem, but I love Norwich too so I was happy about that. Boro are such a wonderful team, for an underprivileged area that needs them. I'd actually call them one of my fave teams in the region, to be honest. Middlesbrough is one of my favourite cities in the UK, bizarrely. It's a sea of factories and poverty, but it also has real character and is one of the most underrated metro areas in one of the most underrated regions (The North East), and I had a lovely concert there when I played there. This team was formed way back in 1876 and is ambitious, always has been, from getting Mendieta on their team, to getting McLaren and Southgate as managers, to building the Riverside Stadium. Also if you're ever in this part of the world you need to eat a Parmo, which is the local specialty, and is utterly delicious. Chipchase Chippy makes the best one. McLaren won them the League Cup in 2004, and got them to the UEFA Cup Final in 2006, amazingly. They were in the Prem for 11 straight years and have been in the top flight many times. Middlesbrough has the highest portion of female fans (20%) and girls up here are wonderful. They have the highest portion of local born fans (80%) too. They're also the 7th loudest fans in the country. They were the first club to launch their own TV channel, a year ahead of Man U. They've been League Cup Runners Up twice and FA Cup Runners up once, all in that amazing McLaren era. Easily a five star team and good luck to them.

Performed at this stage for the 51st International Billingham Folklore Festival last August 2015…read moreand I can attest that this place is great for show and performances. You get to choose to sit at the box for private viewing or to sit in general sitting. Other than that the staff were organize and friendly. Keep it up!

I think this is a great venue with a range of different arts to see. There are often comedians…read morevisiting and some great names in music. As a smaller venue you can get really close and due to limited tickets you don't end up getting shoved all over. The bar here is also lots cheaper than somewhere like the Metro Radio Arena. The Town Hall is right in the centre of Middlesbrough so its very easy to pop for food or drinks before or after a show. Great little venue to keep an eye on whats coming up.

This is a fantastic facility and we are so lucky to have the Forum Theatre in our region. Theatres…read moreare few and far between up here. There's the Darlington Civic,w hich is very nice, but also very expensive, and there's the Middlesbrough Little Theatre, which is small and a bit tatty. Billingham Forum is in the middle - quite nicely decorated, and not too badly priced. They have lots of different types of shows on and it's really great for a night out. There's a bar area for the interval. The toilets are ok, too - which is always an important indicator of the quality of an organisation, I think!

I took my first visit to Billingham Forum to go ice skating. Having never been to Billingham before…read more(I live in Sheffield), I was pleasently surprised by what I found inside. As you walk in you're greeted with the bright and colourful cafe area with a gym to your left. We decided to have a tea and something to eat before going ice skating, so wandered off to the cafe area. The prices in the cafe were very expensive for the quality we got. I wasn't overly fussed about the cup of tea I drunk, however the banana I ate was lovely and banana like, I couldn't really expect much more from that. The payment to get into Ice skating was reasonable, and that included skate hire aswell, and the staff giving us our reciepts for our skates were quite chirpy and friendly A different story when entering the ice rink and collecting the skates however. The gentleman behind the desk didn't even bother to crack a smile, just grunted at us for our feet size and handed us our skates. The ice rink its self looks well maintained, and there were strict rules on not spraying people which looked to be adhered to, I noticed as well there were a few ice quards looking out for signs of trouble, or if someone had hurt themselves, I didn't see them doing much when a few people fell over, but once me and my boyfriend stopped to get a drink we saw some little girl in tears being carried off the ice. She was looked after very well by the ice guards and got her an ice pack for her knee, then subsequently checked up on her after 10 minutes to see if her knee was ok. I tohught this was sweet. After finishing Ice skating, a quick toilet break was required, and having sweated to the bone for the past hour and a half on the rink, I was horrified to find the toilets in the reception area were sauna-like. I felt like I was going to pass out they were that hot. Luckily my toilet break was short and I could exit the toilets before passing out in a heap on the floor. All in all I would definitely come back to the Forum, maybe to try out the swimming pool. Even though there were a few minor issues, it didn't spoil me having fun and enjoying my time there.

good value great place to visit always well maintained grounds and interesting exhibitsread more

The museum and grounds,with playpark,offer a great value day out.The museum is free to enter,and I…read morewas pleasently surprised with what was inside.There is safe open fields outside where the children can run about etc all day,plus the playpark.We never tried the food place,as we took a picnicits more fun that way isn't it? There was not one moan from any of the children..(5, altogether,from 2 to 14)..they all seemed very happyand interested in the museum.Never got into the Owl sanctuary as it was closedand looked quite expensive anyway.But we all enjoyed the dayand look forward to going again.