Located in Beamish, County Durham, the Beamish Open Air Museum is set in a huge 300 acre estate and depicts urbanized Northern England during the industrialization of the nineteenth to twentieth century, with the primary focus being the period from 1910 – 1915.
The size of the museum means that you could take more than one day to see all the sights. The museum boasts both original and replica buildings of the era it depicts, as well as vehicles, equipment, costumes, livestock and artifacts that will take you back in time.
The Beamish Museum re-presents a small town set in the north of England of 1913. This town has Victorian buildings including a store, terraced houses, a dentist, public house, solicitors and stables (complete with horse-drawn carriages) as well as others. There is also a reconstructed railway station, that will take you back in time to show what rail was like back in Victorian times.
There is a colliery village and coal mine, that brings to life the coal mining villages and towns of the north that were abundant over a hundred years ago. These coal mines were the driving force behind the industrialization of the United Kingdom.
You will find a home farm, where you can see what farming was like back in the day, a time of back-breaking work as there was no machinery of the sort that we are used to seeing on modern-day farms.
Alongside the wonderful buildings and settings in the open air museum there is also a collection of vehicles of the time, such as locomotives from the late 19th century, waggonways from earlier in the 19th century, and trams and trolley buses from the early 20th century.
The museum was started in 1970, and today Beamish Museum enjoys annual visitor numbers of around 350,000 people.
For a day out where you can get hands on the exhibits whilst discovering the history of the North of England, the Beamish Open Air Museum is a unique experience for the whole family.
Visiting Beamish Open Air Museum – Opening Times and Admission Prices
Admission Prices:
Adult – £16.00
Child (5-16 years) – £10.00
Senior citizens – £13.00
Student – £13.00
Family (2 adults & 2 children) – £46.00
Family (1 adult & 2 children) – £32.00
Opening Times:
Monday – Sunday 10am – 5pm (last admission 3pm)
The Museum closes at 4pm during Winter
How to find Beamish Museum
By Car: Head west on B1307 and continue as the road changes to Gallowgate. At the end of Gallowgate turn left onto the A189, following this road to the end before continuing over onto the A6082 which merges into the A184.
The A184 finishes at the A1, which you follow south and come off at the second slip road. Take the fourth exit at the roundabout on to the Banesley Lane where the museum is a short journey and is signposted from then on.
By Bus: you can get the bus from Newcastle city centre to the museum. The bus numbers are number 28 and 28A, both of which leave from the Eldon Square bus station via Gatehead to the museum gates. Once at the gates there is a five minute walk in the museum grounds to get to the museum itself.
Address:
Beamish Museum
Beamish
County Durham
DH9 0RG
Tel: 0191 370 4000