The Hartlepool Submerged Forest is the eerie remains of a Mesolithic woodland — oak, hazel and alder — that grew here around 7,000 years ago, when sea levels were lower and the coastline ran much further east. Rising seas drowned the forest, and the stumps and roots have been preserved in the peat ever since.
You can only see it at very low tides on the beach between Seaton Carew and the headland. Check the tide tables, walk carefully, and watch for the dark patches of peat with the gnarled stumps still rooted in place. Archaeological finds in the same beds include the footprint of a Mesolithic child.