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On the coast to the south of the Tees estuary, twelve miles east of Middlesbrough, lies SALTBURN , a graceful Victorian resort in a dramatic setting overlooking extensive sands and mottled red sea cliffs. Soon after the railway arrived in 1861 to ferry Teessiders out to the sea on high days and holidays, Saltburn became a rather fashionable spa town boasting all the necessary accoutrements: hydraulic inclined tramway (May to mid-Sept daily 10am-1pm & 2-7pm; Easter to end April & mid-Sept to Oct Sat & Sun 10am-1pm & 2-5pm; 55p), complete with stained-glass windows, that connects upper town to pier and promenade; ornate Italian Gardens in the more bucolic Valley Gardens that run beneath the eastern side of town, linked to the beach by a miniature railway (Easter-Sept Sat & Sun 1-5pm, plus Tues-Fri same times during school holidays; 90p); and prominent hotels, many of which continue to flourish today. Modern attractions include the Smugglers Heritage Centre (April-Oct daily 10am-6pm, last tour 5.30pm; GBP1.85), set in fishermen's cottages to the east of the pier, a vivid audiovisual re-creation of Saltburn's darker past, when "free traders" made themselves popular with locals by sneaking vast quantities of tea, coffee, fine silks, lace and other such illicit cargoes ashore. Afterwards, don't forget to have a drink at the Ship Inn , the original smugglers' haunt next door. Saltburn's also become something of a surfing hub for these parts, with boards available to rent down by the pier (GBP6/hr including wetsuit; tel 01287/625321; to check on the surf, call 09068/545543; ). There are regular train services to Saltburn's impressive nineteenth-century station from Newcastle, Durham and Bishop Auckland, via Darlington and Middlesbrough, while frequent buses from Middlesbrough bus station stop in the parade outside the train station. The tourist office is handily placed in the railway station buildings (Easter-Sept Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; Oct-Easter Tues-Sat 9am-5pm; tel 01287/622422, saltburn_tic@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk ), and has information on a wide selection of good-value guest houses and hotels . For surroundings in keeping with the town, the Rushpool Hall Hotel in Saltburn Valley (tel 01287/624111; GBP110-150) is a fine choice: a nineteenth-century country house set in extensive grounds about a mile south of the centre off Saltburn Lane, whose turrets, grand staircase and elegant public rooms are straight out of an Agatha Christie whodunnit. If your wallet won't stretch that far, try the Rose Garden , just west of the station at 20 Hilda Place (tel 01287/622947, ; GBP40-50), which offers comfortable bedrooms and good breakfasts, including vegetarian options.
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