This is my 3rd time at beamish museum and it won't be my last. This open air museum has been done so well and a lot has been put into it to make it 100% fitting to the time period bringing to life the 1900's aesthetic from shops, to hardware stores to sweet shops, to pubs and cinemas and houses and farms and even a funfair. What I really love though is the vintage buses and trams taking you round the museum and staff wearing traditional 1900's style clothes. You really feel you have been transported to another time and I love that. If you love history and vintage styles and reminiscing about the past this is the place to, it's my happy place. read more

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Such a wonderful place to visit, worth taking your children. So much History about the past in County Durham. So many things to do and eat.

Experience and Fun combined with an historical lecture in mind! Whilst travelling up to Edinburgh I stopped at a place called Chester Le Street. Friends informed me of a place called Beamish Museum and I thought: "Not another museum", but still I wanted to check it out, as it was nearby. Fantastic! I have never before experienced a "real live museum" being sent back in time. You park in a massive car park, walk to the entrance and the ticket office (pricey tickets, but there could be deals for families, if you buy in advance) and take the "tram" or bus or walk to the various sites, which are spread over a large outdoor area. First "Tram" stop, The Manor House! Get off the transport, walk up the path and there you are. Experience, how upper class people lived in the 1800's. Walk back to the railway or enjoy the on foot walk to the next location: A 18/19 century town with all the little shops and offices. Try out some ladies hats and gloves, look around the local grocer (where all the sweets and groceries are neatly displayed with no idea of mass market products - it all came later!), stroll to the blacksmith house, check out the horses in the stables, deposit some money in the bank and you are shown the massive steel "safe", learn about the Masons in the nearby Freemason Town House, scrutinize the dentist equipment (I am so glad medicine and equipment have evolved!?! - the place looked like a horror movie location :-) )..... But enough of the town, if you move further you end up at a real life working farm, a mining site, a row of working family homes with a Victorian school adjacent to their homes. The school interior is amazing. You feel like being a child and learn about the different subjects. There is so much to do and you will need to experience it yourself. It's sooo worth the day trip on a sunny/cloudy day - NOT when it rains, as all is outdoors. Distance: a 2,5 hour drive from Edinburgh. read more

Beamish Museum - Doctor's officce - Museums Near Me - Beamish, DUR

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I have previously with the cunning use of living 150 miles away, moving for a while to rural Spain and regularly changing both my addresses and my appearance, managed to avoid spending too much time with my child relatives. Not that I don't like children you understand, just that I struggle in an adult way to handle their snot dribbling orifices, sticky hands, poorly explained/inexplicable needs and judgemental little eyes...often resulting in my behaving more childlike than they are themselves and prompting their rapid removal by their concerned parents. But eventually it was going to happen, I had my 14 year old niece and 10 year old nephew up for the weekend. Beamish immediately sprang to mind. It's a slog I'm not going to lie. At least an hour and a half up the road towards Newcastle, but fear NOT. The gods in their good graces have deemed it prudent to produce an entire generation who cannot perceive a world outside of their various and compelling handheld electronic devices. An IPad and a Nintendo DS later and I heard not a single tiny peep from either of them for almost 90 minutes. Thank YOU Zeus! Beamish is an entire recreated Victorian town- there's a high street, manor house, pit, steam train, parks, farm, chip shop and farming cottages all spread over a large valley site with real reconditioned trams and buses to carry you from one place to another. That's another thing Zeus has apparently hit the youth with- a complete and utter fear of using their legs. And I mean even for 100 metres. I'm no Zola Budd but DUDES, it's only 100 metres???!!! So could this place be ANY more perfect for a day out? Not really! The fish and chips were declared 'the best ever', the lady behind the counter at the confectioners is still receiving treatment for two burst ear drums, various animals have been poked and prodded and declared to be either 'cool' or 'boring' (NB cows are boring, giant terrifying pigs are cool) and all in all we managed to stuff some actual history and educational experience into their nonsense filled little brain domes without them even really realising it. Let me just reiterate here.....a 10 year old boy and a 14 year old girl. Bloody well done Beamish! It's not a cheap day- if I recall it's around £15 an adult and £10 a child BUT that gives you a year pass to go back as many times as you like, which when considering the sheer scale of the site and the numerous different options with the seasons is a good deal. I really really like Beamish. It has the balance just right- even the most disobliging child can simply be placed on a vintage tram and left to complete circuits whilst you take other more pleasant offspring off to tickle baby ducks. And if that doesn't work there's a really good chance you can lose them in the dark mine. As I said, it's not that I don't LIKE kids............. read more

Two stars detracted due to the lack of information. I first came to Beamish when it had not long been opened and none of the members of One Direction had been born. I'd waited way too long to come back and anticipation was high, particularly because I realised it would have developed much more in the intervening decades. The site consists of several smaller sites-the colliery and pit villiage, the home farm, the town etc which are supposed to cover Georgian, Edwardian and the 1940s periods. To get around you need to take either a replica tram or bus. At the entry they have a paid guide book (£4.99) or a free map. They had to rummage round for a map which I thought strange. We started in the pit village and colliery which to me is the absolute highlight. All the buildings throughout the park have been dismantled in their original locations and rebuilt in Beamish. The colliery was very interesting but I noticed something amiss immediately-the frustrating lack of information as to what exactly we are looking at! Sure, there are "in character" people in the various houses making bread or weaving "clippy mats" etc and they were generally very informative. But at the various out buildings housing artefacts there was virtually no information. For example, in the pit village or colliery we went into a shed with two steam trains-no information was given as to what they were or how they were used. Their were pit ponies (actual small ponies in stables) and the free map said you can "find out all about how pit ponies were used." No you can't as there was absolutely no information on them. The absolute highlight was the drift mine (see photos) which was a treat as it was a genuine drift mine which closed in the 1950s. You walk in about 100 yards and at places it is only just over 4 foot high so warn your back in advance. The guide was very informative and there is a small exhibition on Durham mining nearby, which could perhaps have been bigger. Getting out of the pit village turned out to be tricky as it is at the bottom of a hill and the bus service is over subscribed. "Bus rage" almost broke out as people were loudly accused of queue jumping. My advice would be to walk up the hill and get a tram if able to. The town was also very interesting and is a replica of a presumably Edwardian town-each house has a person with a specific occupation (dentist etc). We had a very informative talk from a woman in the dentists house. There is a pub there (the Sun Inn) which was brought from Bishop Auckland. The other parts were to my mind less interesting. The home farm consisted again of out houses with lots of rusting implements that mostly looked like junk. I have no idea what they were used for as there was no information at all. Some in character people silently moved hay around. I'm afraid it didn't really make me feel like I was in a farm in the 1940s. The Pockerley Hall covers the Georgian period but by this time we were feeling very tired so skimmed through it. The free map described its gardens as "magnificent". I would beg to differ-they were nice but not magnificent. The Hal gives a nice view across the park. To sum up-is it worth visiting? Of course yes it is. However, I feel the owners have tried to make the park an immersive experience and feel setting up lots of information boards detracts from that. But to me there is no fun in looking at something if I don't know what the heck it is! read more

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Recent history is captured in a reconstructed town, colliery, train station and many more smaller sites. Eighteenth and nineteenth century technology and way of life come alive on the grounds--there are so many working pieces, the entrance fee is worth it. Watch steam-driven engines or horse-driven plows. See a coal mine or an impressive array of rail technology. The town section itself is amazing--the buildings are nostalgic. The masonic hall is majestic; the bank is exquisite; and the candy shop is just plain fun! There is lots of space on the grounds for picnic lunches on a clear day. Likewise, the fun is accessible to the whole family. Modern comforts are present and well signed, but they neatly stowed away. There are bathrooms spread heavily throughout the grounds. And several cafes/stalls for food, drink, ice cream and sweets too. Definitely a place for nostalgia and history, Beamish Museum has a distinctly Northeastern flavor. Just a short trip from Newcastle, it's a prime retreat, especially for the history buff. read more

I really liked this museum. It is best to go in the summer as they only keep the town open during the winter period and you will be missing a lot. It is easily sign posted, just past Stanley town. Very easy to get too, with a car park outside which is free. The staff always seem dead polite, they have a gift shop(which is quite expensive) and toilets just past the payment area, along with a cafe. The entrance is a lot of money but worth it as it is not a place you go regular because they do not change things much. You can get a tram for free around or you can walk, we walked as it was a lovely day. I enjoyed all the areas but especially the farm and the town, really interesting piece of history and it is worth staying and watching the sweets being made at the back of the sweet shop in the town. read more

Great place for learning about the Northern way of life in years gone by. They are always looking to add new things to add more interest for the public. The latest one is the demolition of the Hetton Silver brass band hall which is now being shown on http://hetton-online.com . The plan is to carefully demolish it and re-build it at the museum over the next year or so thereby saving a little bit more of the Northern heritage. read more

I like ti here. There is a lot to see - however of the weather is poor or for some other reason you are unable to wande around outside then it doesn't reperesernt good value in my view. Make sure you hav your walking shoes nd a good fine day! Lots of hills - steep for pushchairs and wheelchairs. read more

Great day out from grandmas to young kids. This is Disneyland for northerners. Really enjoyed our time here from riding on the trams to looking in the old style houses, with their own living characters. Too much for one day we will be going back there. read more

Beamish Museum - Museums Near Me - Beamish, DUR

Visited and re-visited over and over again. Absolutely fabulous place to escape to. Attractions are well presented, easily accessible and welcome dogs with responsible owners. They are allowed in most places but not eateries and some exhibits. There are plenty of places to get food and The Sun Inn, in the Town, offers a lovely pint or two of locally brewed Bell Tower and even more locally produced meat pies. The Heron bakery makes some fantastic buns, cakes and bread and the sweet shop is to die for. They demonstrate sweet making with the results being offered to the waiting viewers, yum! With farm animals to meet, trains, trams and trolley buses to ride and roaring fires to sit at, drift mine to explore, gardens get inspiration from, there is more than enough to fill a good week of continuous visits. 100% brilliant attraction. read more