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MIDDLESBROUGH , the region's largest town, fifteen miles east of Darlington, is entirely a product of the early industrial age, with nineteenth-century iron and steel barons throwing up factories and housing almost as fast as they could ship their products out of the docks on the River Tees. What was a mere hamlet at the turn of the nineteenth century was a thriving industrial town of 100,000 people by the turn of the twentieth. When iron and steel declined in importance and the local shipbuilding industry collapsed (the last shipyard closed in 1986), Middlesbrough took to the chemical industry. Add to this a contemporary renaissance in light engineering and, compared to many of its neighbours, Middlesbrough can boast relative success in keeping its economic head above water. Only a pair of bridges recall earlier engineering feats - the Transporter Bridge (1911), at Ferry Road just north of the centre, its central section carting cars and pedestrians across the Tees towards Hartlepool (Mon-Sat 5am-11.05pm, Sun 2-11.05pm; cars 80p, pedestrians 30p), is the sole working example left in the country and now sports its own small visitor centre; further southwest, the Newport Bridge (1934) was the first vertical lift bridge built in England. Instead the town prefers to trumpet its position as "Gateway to Captain Cook Country", fair enough given that he was born a mile and a half south of the centre in Marton in 1728. Here, at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Stewart Park (Tues-Sun: June-Sept 10am-5.30pm; Oct-May 10am-3.30pm; GBP2.40), are artefacts brought back from the South Seas on Cook's voyages, touch-screen terminals providing contemporary testimony by his botanist Sir Joseph Banks, and background information about a sailor's lot at sea. Buses #28, #29, #30, #66 and #90 from the bus station run every fifteen minutes. From the train station it's just a short walk up Albert Road to the main Corporation Road. Turn right for the bus station - five minutes further up on its continuation, Newport Road - and carry straight on for the tourist office , 99 Albert Rd (Mon-Thurs 9am-5pm, Fri 9am-4.30pm, Sat 9am-1.30pm; tel 01642/358086, ). To eat , the eccentrically decorated Purple Onion , 80 Corporation Rd (tel 01642/222250; closed Sun eve), is the best place in Middlesbrough, serving bitingly trendy food at middling-to-high prices. To complete the Captain Cook trail through this part of the country, you'll need to hop on a bus to STOCKTON-ON-TEES , three miles west across the river. Tied up at Castlegate Quay in the centre of town is a detailed full-size replica of HMS Bark Endeavour , the converted collier in which Cook set sail in 1768 on his first scientific and surveying expedition to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia. The ship's taken over by youth groups for part of the week, but from Sundays to Wednesdays (April-Oct 10am-5pm; GBP3) enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer guides recount the rigours of life on board during this hazardous voyage.
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