Seaton Carew is Hartlepool's old seaside resort, at the southern end of the long sandy bay. The beach is genuinely good — wide, clean enough for a Blue Flag, with the long sweep of dunes and the offshore wind farm in the distance.
The seafront itself is a study in faded English-seaside Art Deco. The 1930s bus station has been restored; the rest of the parade is a mix of amusements, a Wetherspoons, and the same fish-and-chip places that have been there for generations. Pleasant on a clear day; bracing on most others.