Hartlepool United Football Club

The Victoria Ground sits right in the heart of Hartlepool, home to Hartlepool United FC since 1986. It's a proper working football club, not a museum piece, so what you get depends entirely on match day. On a Saturday afternoon when there's a game on, the place has genuine atmosphere - the kind of thing that matters if you've got football-daft kids in tow. The ground itself is functional rather than fancy, with a capacity of around 7,500, which means it feels intimate rather than intimidating.

If you're not catching a match, there's honestly limited reason to make a special trip. The stadium tours aren't a regular fixture, so you'd need to ring ahead or check their website before planning around it. What makes it worthwhile is the connection to local history - United have been through plenty over the decades, and there's real community attachment here.

For families staying at Parkdean Resorts Crimdon Dene, just 3.6 miles away, it's worth knowing about if you've got kids who are keen on football. A matchday visit gives you something to do that doesn't rely on the weather, and Hartlepool town centre itself has enough cafes and shops to make an afternoon of it. Just don't expect a day-long attraction. Plan for a couple of hours maximum, arrive early if there's a match, and grab food beforehand because stadium catering is what it is.