C134B High Street, Stockton-on-Tees - 01642 528130 Tees Barrage Way, Stockton-on-Tees - 01642 633273 visitorinformation@stockton.gov.uk

Stockton-on-Tees (known locally as Stockton) is a market town in North East England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns and villages including Billingham, Yarm, Thornaby and Norton, though the town of Stockton itself is within County Durham. Historically part of County Durham, the wider borough has a population of 191,000 in 2011 estimates.

Stockton was a part of Norton until the eighteenth century when it became an independent parish in its own right. Today the roles have been reversed and Norton has been demoted to a suburb of Stockton.

Since the construction of the Tees Barrage in 1995, the level of the River Tees through the town is permanently held at high tide, creating a backdrop for riverside events and making it useful for a number of water sport activities such as rowing, canoeing, jet skiing and dragon boat racing. Stockton town centre is elevated high above the river and is separated from the riverside by the A1305 Riverside Road, a dual carriageway which runs parallel to the river from Northshore to Chandlers Wharf.

From the town centre, Bishop Street, Silver Street, Calverts Lane and Thistle Green offer views of the river where it meanders around Teesdale Business Park. Durham University Queens Campus can be seen on the opposite side, as well as the skyline of Middlesbrough in the middle distance and Roseberry Topping in the Cleveland Hills, approximately fifteen miles south east in the far distance. The 11-metre Aeolian Motion wind sculpture stands above the grassy slope which overlooks the riverside and becomes an amphitheatre during large events.

Chandlers Wharf is situated at the north side of the river, where Bridge Road approaches Victoria Bridge. The area is characterised by a mixture of office and residential accommodation, including the colourful twelve-storey Mezzino student apartments at Rialto Court, a Mecca Bingo hall, Burger King and the two-storey Grosvenor Casino which opened in September 2011. Adjacent to the wharf is Castlegate Quay which was once the towns main dock. The quayside is still occupied by Georgian warehouses which have been converted into a number of business units, restaurants and a gym. A full-size replica of local-born Captain James Cook's ship HM Bark Endeavour is moored at the quayside and provides entertainment and educational functions. The Teesside Princess, a two-deck river boat, docks alongside and offers river cruises to Yarm, via Preston Park all year round.

Both the north and south banks of the river are retained by steel sheet pile walls and have footpaths along the river edge. The Tees Walkway on the north bank of the river can be accessed from the town centre by the Teesquay Millennium Footbridge or the Riverside Footbridge and provides a walk along the embankment, as well as a cycle path which forms part of the National Cycle Network. From Castlegate Quay, the tree-lined path along the waterfront toward the Princess of Wales Bridge opens into green space for events and a car parking area. Beyond the Princess of Wales Bridge, the slipway at the River Tees Watersports Centre is situated at the western area of Northshore, which is currently development and leads up to the Tees Barrage.