Location: Middlesbrough
Top Things to do in Middlesbrough
Things to do in Middlesbrough, England: The Best Nature & Parks
Middlesbrough (/ˈmɪdəlzbrə/ ( listen) MID-əlz-brə) is a large post-industrial town on the south bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, north-east England, founded in 1830. The local council, a unitary authority, is Middlesbrough Borough Council. The 2011 Census recorded the borough's total resident population as 138,400 and the wider urban settlement with a population of 174,700 technically making Middlesbrough the largest urban subdivsion in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. Middlesbrough is part of the larger built-up area of Teesside which had an overall population of 376,333 at the 2011 Census.
Restaurants in Middlesbrough
1. RSPB Saltholme
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 466 reviews
At Saltholme, you'll find a world of amazing wildlife thriving right in the middle of the Tees Valley's heavy industry.Surprising, isn't it? But this is a brilliant place for wildlife – and for you! Come and explore the state- of-the-art visitor centre with panoramic views of the reserve and its industrial backdrop. Follow your nose to the café to sample freshly brewed coffee and home-cooked meals, and then stop off in the shop for a bit of retail therapy.Get outdoors with the family to explore the discovery zone and run, jump and clamber through the adventure playground. If you fancy relaxing, seek out a bench in the tranquil wildlife garden or venture to the far reaches of the reserve for some quiet time with nature.However you want to spend your time at Saltholme, you're sure to fall in love with the place and come back time and time again.
Reviewed By Bibcay - Gateshead, United Kingdom
Wow! This is such an amazing place to go birdwatching. Staff were friendly. Gutted we missed a water vole. Great wildlife. Whooper swans were great and happy to see a little egret barnacle goose first of the year.
2. Fairy Dell
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 61 reviews
Reviewed By LauraT404 - Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
We walked from our house in Nunthorpe after work one day mid-week, getting to the outskirts of Fairy Dell around 4.30pm, so the sun was still out but underneath the trees it was quite dark in the shade. This was our first visit here and we saw only a couple of other people the whole 90 minutes we spent exploring, we loved how quiet it was. We enjoyed exploring the many woodland trails, following the stream through the trees. There are a couple of bridges to cross over the river, so no need to attempt to climb over the many fallen logs that are in the stream! lol The lower trails do get very muddy, so wear sensible shoes! And be warned: do not stray off the main trails as we did and I got stung by wasps :-( There are several wooden sculptures to be discovered along the trails. We saw several squirrels in the woods and a heron in the pond area with the ducks. We did not go to the upper/main area of the park this time (trim trail area etc) as thought it might be busier and we were happy to avoid people! I loved wandering around the trails through the beautiful woods and I will definitely be back again in a week or two to enjoy the leaves changing colour and crunching through the fallen leaves.
3. Stewart Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 463 reviews
Reviewed By Holiday-traveler64
Fantastic park, very busy plenty to see for all ages, children’s play area, large lake with ducks and geese, lots of local history including Captain Cook and lots of events, a must to visit.
4. Lordstones Country Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 16 reviews
Reviewed By LauraT404 - Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
Our usual route is from Lord Stones' Cafe carpark up the hill towards the stone seat, a pleasant stroll along the top and then loop back round along the bottom of the hill. Beautiful views along the way, especially from the top. The climb up is a bit steep but the path is good - and my 65 year old mum managed it just fine, with a few pauses to catch breath. This loop takes around an hour. This week we pushed ourselves to walk further and walked from Lord Stones' Cafe at Carlton Bank to the Wainstones, with lots of ups and downs over the hills. We took a circular route back to the carpark at the cafe, walking back around the bottom of the hills which was much quicker. Around 1 hour, 40 minutes there, with a break at the Wainstones for a snack, then 1 hour walking back through the woods. It was windy along the tops of the moors but the sun came out for a little while, so was a very pleasant walk.
5. Teessaurus Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 15 reviews
Reviewed By LauraT404 - Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
We recently visited Teessaurus Park in the summer of 2020 and loved the freshly painted sculptures (see previous review). We visited again in winter (January 2021) and in snow! so a completely different experience. The sculptures were still fun to wander around, even partially hidden in snow. But we were exploring the area further by walking the Teesdale Way - the route follows the River Tees from Dufton to Redcar, so we walked in reverse. We were surprised at how much we enjoyed walking along the river from Middlesbrough and on into Stockton and so would highly recommend this walk - Teesdale Way. Currrently we are very much enjoying the river walks in the lovely spring sunshine as we continue on from Yarm and Darlington.
6. Albert Park
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 109 reviews
Reviewed By Travelingjohn123 - Peterlee, United Kingdom
Excellent town centre park. Hard to believe that such a beautiful place is located so near to scruffy areas of the town. No smack heads or alcoholics when they i was there, I was strangely expecting to see it packed. Park ticks all of the standard park boxes - lots of green open spaces, lake, ducks, kids stuff, joggers, statues, war memorial, bandstand, seats, picnic tables, fountain, croquet lawn (that was unexpected!) - it even has a nesting pair of swans. Great place to walk dogs, on and off leads.
7. Flatts Lane Woodland Country Park
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 55 reviews
Reviewed By LauraT404 - Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
We parked for free in the carpark at Flatts Lane Woodland Country Park. First we went for a walk up Eston Nab (reviewed separately) but as this did not take long, maybe 90 minutes, we had plenty of energy left to explore the park and spent over an hour walking some of the trails. The wooden sculptures were fun to discover on our walk and I took several photos. The paths were good, mostly hard-packed dirt and flat and easy to walk. There are lots of different routes to take, gently sloping up and down hill, and most are circular. I enjoyed walking through the picturesque woods, with the sunlight dappled by the green leaves. There is a children's play area which looked fun and a trim trail for adults. There are several Pokestops and gyms here as all of the wooden sculptures have their own Pokestop. I very much enjoyed our walk around the park and will return again soon to explore some of the other trails.
8. Seal Sands Nature Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 20 reviews
Reviewed By JoeB855 - Carrickfergus, United Kingdom
Visited this great wee spot, in the middle of a large industrialised area while visiting Middlesbrough (collecting son from Uni), well signed small car park and a short walk along the path to the viewing hide. great views of the seals resting on the riverbank and many other visiting birds. Long lens needed if wishing to take photos of the wildlife. Estuary is tidal so probably best to check tide times & visit when tide is low to get good views of the seals on the riverbanks, well worth a visit if you are interested in local wildlife. Looks like ther is major works happening in the fields around the reserve so I don't know if this will affect the access to the hide, it was fine when I visited (May 30th, 2017).
