Redcar and Cleveland: After the Furnaces Went Dark
The closure of the SSI steelworks at Redcar in 2015 was one of the most visible industrial collapses in recent English history. The blast furnace, once the second largest in Europe, had defined the skyline and the economy of this stretch of the Teesside coast for over a century. More than 2,000 jobs vanished almost overnight. The site is now part of Teesworks, a freeport and development zone intended to pivot the area toward clean energy, carbon capture, and advanced manufacturing. Whether that transition delivers at scale remains to be seen.
Beyond the industrial story, Redcar and Cleveland covers a surprisingly varied landscape. Saltburn-by-the-Sea, at the eastern end of the borough, is a Victorian planned resort built by the Pease family, complete with a pier (the last remaining on the Yorkshire coast), cliff lift, and miniature railway. The Cleveland Way national trail passes through here on its route along the North York Moors escarpment. Guisborough, an old market town at the foot of the moors, has a ruined Augustinian priory and a quieter pace of life. Eston Nab, a prominent hill above the urban area, was the site of an Iron Age hillfort and gives panoramic views across Teesside and the North Sea.
The borough sits between heavy industry and open moorland in a way that few places in England manage. The coast path from Redcar through Marske to Saltburn is walkable in a morning, passing from post-industrial flatlands to dramatic cliffs and wooded valleys.
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The closure of the SSI steelworks at Redcar in 2015 was one of the most visible industrial collapses in recent English history. The blast furnace, once the second largest in Europe, had defined the skyline and the economy of this stretch of the Teesside coast for over a century. More than 2,000 jobs vanished almost overnight. The site is now part of Teesworks, a freeport and development zone intended to pivot the area toward clean energy, carbon capture, and advanced manufacturing. Whether that transition delivers at scale remains to be seen.
Beyond the industrial story, Redcar and Cleveland covers a surprisingly varied landscape. Saltburn-by-the-Sea, at the eastern end of the borough, is a Victorian planned resort built by the Pease family, complete with a pier (the last remaining on the Yorkshire coast), cliff lift, and miniature railway. The Cleveland Way national trail passes through here on its route along the North York Moors escarpment. Guisborough, an old market town at the foot of the moors, has a ruined Augustinian priory and a quieter pace of life. Eston Nab, a prominent hill above the urban area, was the site of an Iron Age hillfort and gives panoramic views across Teesside and the North Sea.
The borough sits between heavy industry and open moorland in a way that few places in England manage. The coast path from Redcar through Marske to Saltburn is walkable in a morning, passing from post-industrial flatlands to dramatic cliffs and wooded valleys.
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