This is my 3rd time at beamish museum and it won't be my last. This open air museum has been done…read moreso 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.

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

Take no notice of the mini-map - it is wrong. The museum is located on Grand Parade. The address is…read morecorrect. We visited on a drizzly June Sunday in 2010 and were pleasantly surprised. Admission was cheap and it passed an hour or so. The exhibits remind you of a bedroom quickly tidied with the arrival of visitors. There is no logic to the displays, they simply are. Famous names sit next to anonymous teddy bears. Virtually every type of toy is represented. Modern toys and games sit alongside favourites of days gone by. We were able to show our 11 and 8 year olds toys which we had as children. The museum is well worth a visit.

Great day out packed full of interesting things to see. I've been coming here since I was a kid,…read moreand always enjoy a visit, learning something new about the local history each time. With free entry, and in town, it's definitely worth including it in your day travels.

Another nice and interesting museum in Newcastle, definitely a city of cultural delights. The…read moreDiscovery Museum mostly focuses on telling the story of the city and of the Northeast in general. It goes through the good times and the bad times in the city, including the coal mining boom, the poverty, the World Wars, the politics, everything is covered. There are real life examples- interviews with real Newcastle people over the years, and plenty of interesting memorabilia as well. It's a very cool place. There are also sections devoted to science and technology, and the discoveries made by people from the area. There is a good café with excellent prices, and a nice little shop too. A big advantage of this museum for families is that the exhibits are quite interactive, and should keep children interested as well. Best of all, it's all free. However, if you can, please do donate to keep important institutions like this one accessible to all.

Very good free museum at the University of Newcastle. The Great North Museum focuses on natural…read morehistory for the most part, with interesting sections on world cultures as well. The exhibits are interesting and informative, but also interactive enough to keep everyone's attention. When we visited, there was a special exhibition on the amazing Gertrude Bell. It tells her life story, including her fascinating archaeological work in the middle east, and her efforts to establish a National Museum in Baghdad. A truly interesting woman. There is a good shop and a café on site, so you can definitely spend a few hours here and not get bored. Highly recommended in Newcastle.

Fantastic free museum for adults & children. Well worth a visit if there m the city. Some…read moreinteresting items on display. Shame about screaming kids during school holidays!

This is a fantastic little volunteer run air museum. Staff extremly helpfull & friendly. We went on…read morea Sunday arfternoon & was pleasantly supprised at the access to the aircraft, especially the Vulcan Bomber. There is a well informed museum, It was a pleasure not to surrounded by hordes of people. Good athentic location next to Carlisle Airport. I didn't realise there was a voucher availible untill writing this review but am more than happy to support volunteers efforts. No cafe but the reception did provide hot & cold drinks, crisps.

This is a great little museum that's packed with fun stuff. You can easily get round most if it in…read morean afternoon and it's small enough that you can really talk to the staff and get all your questions answered.

A small and friendly museum. Usually you have a quiz to take you round and 'see' Alnwick before…read morethings changed. Every few months new exhibits come to town. It is set over three floors and is bit off the beaten track. It is fairly cheap to get in and family tickets are available.

Exceptional, not-to-be missed gallery/museum. As an American visitor, I think some of the 4-star…read morereviews come from Brits and other European visitors who are used to the expansive and impressive collections, such as the British museum. It is small, as they have noted, but the quality of the curation more than makes up for its size, which isn't that small in comparison to our pitiful museums in the US. I was most impressed with the curation of the 19th century works with more modern pieces. The galleries tell a story. This isn't a museum to rush through. Reading the descriptions of each piece really helps you see the total theme of each exhibit. That is some detailed work by the museum staff, and one that should be applauded. Also of note: what a fantastic museum gift shop! Perfect for those local artisan gifts and museum pieces that you won't find in other shops. That alone is worth a stop (and doesn't require a ticket to enjoy).

Laing is a smallish but distinguished, well-maintained gallery of "traditional" art, with an…read moreemphasis on the 18th and 19th centuries (both British and international). It is housed in an ambitiously designed building that fuses old and new architecture. It looks much bigger from outside, the actual galleries are few and small. Expect to spend nor more than 1 hour at this place, which makes it perfect for a rainy day (which this was). Laing Art Gallery is located on the corner of New Bridge St. and John Dobson Street (opposite of the bus stop where many of the cross-country bus services, by like Megabus, stop). Its permanent collection is free of charge. and contrary to what I had read previously in forums, I DID take non-flash photos and didn't do it secretly, so it's allowed. Don't expect too much though: While there are indeed several masterpieces by British (Holman Hunt, Burne-Jones, Alma-Tadema) and international painters, the total number of paintings is low, and there's mostly exactly 1 painting per master. This might have to more with the size of the exhibition space than the actual collection, as their website claims that paintings are exchanged regularly to "show the impressive range of art". Anyway, compared to the faux and crap modern art at The Baltic Centre on the other side of Newcastle's city centre, Laing is pure gold. There are also examples of local and regional crafts and arts. See some photos for reference.

Visited April 2015: "Border town attraction"…read more We didn't think we were going to spend a great deal of time at Melrose Abbey, due to it being a ruin but there was more to do then our first glance. For one, we were able to walk up a very narrow staircase, to the top of the church. You were able to see the entire village, and not feel overwhelmed by the height. Robert Bruce's heart is buried there. We were not provided or offered an audio guide

As Scottish church ruins go, Melrose Abbey is top of the line! Much more interesting and scenic…read morethan St. Andrews Cathedral for what it actually is TODAY - not for what it once was. Great photo opportunity, too. See my photos for reference. This attraction is included in many 1-day coach tours that start off from Edinburgh (mine was by The Highland Experience Tours). Is it worth the trip from Edinburgh on your own (by bus or train)? Well, not really, as you won't spend more than 1 hour max exploring the grounds of Melrose Abbey. And the village of Melrose itself, let's just say that it's a sleepy little hovel between someplace A and nowhere B. But as part of such an organized coach trip, it's well worth your time. The entrance is moderate (5.50 - minus 11% if you're in a group), you can take as many pictures as you'd like. What distinguishes Melrose Abbey from, say, St. Andrews Cathedral, is that a large part of the once mighty construction has survived! So there's actually something to see other than just bricks on the ground that indicate former walls and towers. What's left is enough to let you feel the actual impact the original abbey must have made on visitors. Included in the ticket price is an audio guide. You'll get it when entering through the shop, which is also the ticket office. Since just a couple of clerks are responsible for BOTH shop and tickets you'll find that the simultaneous arrival of two or more bus groups, which is not uncommon, mixed with people who want to get out and buy books or less useful items in the shop, will create an *interesting* situation. Well, that's that particular brand of British efficiency.

Bede's World is a brisk walk away from Jarrow metro station and is thankfully quite well sign…read moreposted. On arrival the staff on the front desk were polite and helpful. The only criticism being there didn't appear to be a guide book for sale. The front desk leads to the museum which explains who Bede was and tells you some fascinating history about Great Britain. It's quite possible to spend several hours in the museum but I decided instead after an hour or so to take a look outside. The gardens are a real treat and it was great to see such well cared for animals. Next time I am near Newcastle I will definitely try and visit again.

Took my children today. Age 4 and 18 months. Both got in free which is a bonus…read more We went for the Halloween activities. The storyteller was fantastic! She was very enthusiastic and had the children loving the story. Will have to visit again!