Beamish Museum
An absolute corker of a day out! I visited this site earlier this year to meet a couple of volunteers I met at Bradford Industrial Museum who both have a wealth of knowledge about steam, Peter & Colin. After our chat me and the missis went about the expansive outdoor museum. Both of us tried to fit in as much as possible but still couldn’t make all of it even though we started from opening to close. We will be going back again.
We first started looking around the 1900’s town area. Lots of shops and building examples from around that period, staff and volunteers dressed in character which really gave it an authentic feel. Included with entry fee is access to all the trams and trolly busses to get on and off to anywhere onsite is included (and needed!). We hopped onto the tram and headed to our first stop being Pockerly wagon was where you can hop onto an actual steam wagon for a short trip one way and back which was a cool experience for me as it was the first time I’ve travelled on a steam engine!
Moving on from there we moved onto the Pitt Village and colliery area which also has a blacksmith onsite doing demonstrations and has items for sale which I thought was brilliant. We both enjoyed a tour of the mine there with a talk on the history and working conditions which was very informative and included with the admission fee.
Moving on from here we had a look at the farm area with volunteers throughout demonstrating and talking about what farm life was like and a town area where we had a well-deserved pint at a reasonable price I might add! Running out of time now so had a quick look at Rowley Station and Beamish tramway which I wish I’d planned more time for so were going to go back and go the opposite way round we did to catch the rest of it properly.
We ended up in their large gift shop with something for all ages on sale before heading over to a nearby Inn for the night. Didn’t fancy the 3-hour (but worth it) drive back after long day we had. I would recommend this place if your travelling far as it was reasonable, clean, restaurant and pub!
Not too far away from site: https://www.themooringsindurham.co.uk/
I would also recommend one of Breamish’s guidebooks. One of the most comprehensive guides I’ve seen for a museum. Planning the next industrial museum day out so at a quandary of which one to choose first out of so many across the UK! For more information about Beamish open air museum please visit:
