Hiya! I’m Dan, the voice behind The North East Dad.
I’m a working dad living in the East of County Durham with my wife, our baby daughter (as of writing this July 2026 – 9 month old), and our 5 year old wire-haired Jack Russell (who is as friendly as he is obsessed with chasing balls).
I started this blog to document the real, unfiltered reality of modern fatherhood in the North East of England in todays world. Between balancing a full-time job, managing nap schedules, navigating childcare handovers, and taking the dog on walks, my life is busy, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Why I Started This
To be honest, I started this blog because I felt like there wasn’t much of a Dad community out there.
When I looked online, most “Dad blogs” were either American, trying to sell me gadgets, or someone flogging a self-help book, or abandoned ghost towns that hadn’t been updated since 2019. Which is mental when you think about it, there are millions of brilliant “mum blogs” sharing real advice, but for blokes? Dads seem to just disappear off the radar.
None of my close mates are in the same boat right now. Some have older kids aged 5 to 10 and have long forgotten what it feels like to be in the early years warzone. Others are newly married, getting married soon, or miles away from all of it and still waiting to meet the right person.
So far, I’ve found fatherhood to be absolutely fantastic, but it can also be remarkably lonely at times.
I wanted a place to use as a sounding board. My hope is that if you’re going through these exact same motions, preparing to become a dad, or battling though the daily madness yourself, you’ll find something here that resonates. Whether you relate to the stories, get a bit of value out of the gear reviews, or just want to leave a comment and write back, you’re welcome here.
What You’ll Find
Community: A place to comment, and realise none of us truly know what we are doing are figuring this out one step at a time.
Real World Dad Life: Raw, unfiltered stories on everything from the 9 PM routine collapse to handling emergency solo-parenting shifts.
Practical Gear & Local Reviews: Honest takes on what baby gear is worth buying (and what you should just rent from a local sling library), plus stroller-friendly walks across Durham, Teesside, and Newcastle.
Frequently Asked Questions
We live in the East of County Durham. Most of our day to day posts cover spots around Durham, Teesside, Newcastle, and the surrounding parks, beaches, and old railway tracks.
You’ll see plenty of dog photos, carrier recommendations, and local walk reviews on this site, but you will not see photos of my daughter’s face. Protecting my family’s privacy online is super important to me. My wife’s name is kept anonymous too. You get the real stories and genuine experiences, just without compromising their digital safety.
A 5-year-old wire-haired Jack Russell Terrier. He’s incredibly friendly, loves a stream walk, and takes his job as big brother very seriously.
Yes and no. Usually, after my daughter goes to bed around 9:00 PM, I sit down on the couch and type madly into a blank document, just getting all my raw thoughts down with little to no structure.
Because time is precious and I don’t have hours to spare editing, I run my drafts through Gemini to clean up my spelling mistakes and polish the structure into something readable. The voice, the experiences, and the stories are 100% mine, AI just acts as my late-night editor so I can actually get these posts out to you!
Get in Touch
Have a local day-out recommendation, a question about a review, or just want to swap a dad story? Drop a comment on any post or email me at danhirst92@gmail.com.