Welcome to the cheap and cheerful beauty that is Peterlee

‘I’ll never go to Vibe ever again’, you lie

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I spent my childhood in Easington which is in the Peterlee District, however since the only thing worth mentioning about Easington is Billy Elliot I thought I’d move onto the shall we say ‘capital’ of the area, Peterlee. The place you probably recognise from Police Interceptors, says a lot for the town really doesn’t it?

Describing to someone you meet where you’re from isn’t half difficult, but here goes: Peterlee is a small deprived area in County Durham with many surrounding mining villages. As a result of Thatcher Britain the area has suffered greatly with majority working within the local mines they were left jobless in an area where mining was the main source of income. Those from outside the North East will refer to us as a Geordie. This is wrong, we are in fact a ‘pit yakker’ and we speak all twangs of the North East.

The nightlife

The two main ports of call are Wetherspoons and Vibe. Wetherspoons is where you can sesh from morning till night. No matter what time of day you go there you’re sure to find the local drunkards hanging around outside slurring their words.

A Tesco meal deal is more expensive than a drink in here. You could go out with a tenner get two pints and a side of chips and still have change in your back pocket.

It’s what I call ‘cheap and cheerful’, even if the clientele are at times questionable. So after you’ve got a few drinks down your neck you might want to head over to ‘Vibe’ the town’s buzzing nightclub. Now it’s not the best nightclub in the world but it’s certainly a fun experience you’ll not forget. As soon as get stamped on the way in you can kiss goodbye to a layer of your skin cleaning it off the next day because it’ll take a good hour of scrubbing to get that ink off.

You’ll see an array of characters in here some making you wonder ‘where the hell am I?’. You’ll pull one foot at a time from the floor, making it impossible to leave. But once you get the drinks flowing and you’re on the dance floor, you’ll end up mortal, waking up with the world’s worst hangover the next morning saying “I’m never drinking again.”

Those who enter Vibe all say they will never go again, but Vibe always drags you back. It’s inevitable.

The people

Now, to a posh Southerner we might seem a bit on the rough side. I can understand that from our accent or the fact the majority of people seem to be wearing trackies, Nike Air Max, incredibly small crop tops or have orange makeup, but I promise you all we are a friendly bunch with our hearts always in the right place.

So every other word might be a swear word but we mean it in good banter. You can always have a laugh with us lot.

The town centre

It’s hardly Oxford Street but we make the best of what we’ve got. We’ll never starve for we have the greatest food of The North, Greggs and MacDonald’s, which probably explains why many locals are a bit on the larger side of life.

I know what you’re thinking where can I get those lovely trackies and trainers you were talking about earlier? Well, Sports Direct of course – they are fully kitted out to ensure you live the trendy lifestyle everyone else in the town is living.

Looking for some cheap bargains? We have Poundworld, Home Bargains, Wilko’s and Aldi, for all your finest sweets, booze and frozen food.

The Famous Christmas Tree

Yes, that’s right we had a famous Christmas Tree one year, but for all the wrong reasons – it was nothing more a twig really. It was like someone decided to grow a small tree in their back garden but forgot to water it and left it to decay. But it’s what makes us ‘Peterlee’ and it did gain us some publicity, even if it was humiliation.

Thankfully the tree was restored after that and we’ve no longer become a laughing stock for shoddy Christmas decorations.

Peterlee Carnival

The highlight of the year for most. Held in September before all the kids are back at school or college its a chance for the little one to enjoy the teacups, win a toy and send themselves hyper from all the sugar intake from the candy floss.

For the teenagers it’s about that last binge to finish off the summer holidays, drinking a few litres of cider with their mates. Many getting a bit too big for their boots, being escorted home by the police and getting a right ear full off their mam the next morning.

Meanwhile, the adults can stress over their kids running riot around the carnival, or leave them at home whilst they enjoy the live bands on offer. This is the must-not-miss event!

Castle Eden Dene

We have our own nature reserve, well at least most of the reserve is located within Peterlee but we’ll take that. It is largest area of semi-natural woodland in North East due to little human interference because of the steep valley sides.

With over 450 species of plants some dating back to medieval times, the reserve is a historic site that is still enjoyed today by walkers that can admire the scenery. So least we have that to be proud of.

We might be a small town but there’s never a dull moment: there’s always something going on whether it’s in the street or on Facebook.

You can take us out of Peterlee but you’ll never take the Peterlee out of us, it’s just the way we are. Like it or lump it.