BEAMISH MUSEUM | How To Spend A Day At The Living Museum of the North - An Unmissable UK Attraction!

Today we're going to go back in time at Beamish, the living museum of the north. Inspired by Scandinavian folk museums, Beamish is a very popular, interactive open-air museum in County Durham. Here you'll discover what life was like in the north-east of England during the Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian times. This video will show you how we spent an unforgettable day at Beamish to give you an idea of what you could see and do on your trip. We'll wrap up the video by sharing relevant practical information, tips and anything you may want to be aware of before your visit. Our day started with the newly opened 1950s Front Street Terrace. There wasn't a huge amount to see here just yet as it is still a work in progress. However, there was a cafe complete to the jukebox playing 50s music, Elizabeth's Hairdressers based on a shop in Middlesbrough where you can get a 1950s hairstyle and a replica of the home of recognised artist Norman Cornish. We also popped by the Welfare Hall and Community Centre but there was a learning activity going on with the school trip so we didn't film inside. However, we did get some clips of these fun old-school advertising signs lining the fence outside. Right by the 1950s Front Terrace is the 1900s Town where you can walk up the high street lined with shops and houses and find out what life had been like in the years running up to the First World War. You might also recognise this area if you're a Downton Abbey fan as it featured in the movie and the final episode of the TV show. Oh, so I've read. I've not seen the show, sorry. Take your time exploring the 1900s Town as it has to be one of the highlights of a trip to Beamish. Visit the homes of Ravensworth Terrace and stop in the numerous traditional shops that line the streets. Visit the chemist shop which was named after the real-life chemist William Smith who worked in Durham. Explore the photographers where ordinarily you can have your photo taken in period costume although this is on hold at the moment. Learn more about the Freemasons in the Masonic Hall. Visit the bank and even go down to see the vaults, rats and all. Hop into the early 1900s garage to check out the collection of vehicles. I don't think you have to be a car enthusiast to enjoy looking at all the vintage cars on display. If you're feeling a bit peckish then let your nose guide you into the incredible smelling bakery offering traditional freshly baked goods. If you don't actually want to buy anything you can still pop in and take a look. There's also a sweet shop where the walls are lined with jars of old-fashioned sweets. You can even watch them being made in the back of the store. After spending a lot longer than we expected in the 1900s Town we tore ourselves away and hopped aboard one of the trams. Sitting on the top floor gave us a view over the extensive museum land. It really is a big place and as much as we like walking it was definitely an enjoyable way to get around. We exited the tram at the 1900s Pitts Village, home to mining families in the northeast of England. Our first stop was the century-old Hutton Silver Band Hall. After the colliery band was founded in 1887 the original band hall was built for them in 1912. After falling into disuse former band members donated the building to Beamish. In the Pitts Village you can walk through the original miners cottages on Francis Street. These homes were brought to Beamish from Hutton La Holle after originally being built in the 1860s by the Hutton Coal Company. The costumed villagers getting on with the day inside made it feel so much more real. It did actually feel a little bit like we were breaking into somebody's home. Just across from the miners cottages is the 1850s Pitts Hill Methodist Chapel where Sunday school would have been held. Next to the chapel stands the school where you can walk around a classroom of tiny desks, way too small for us to sit in, and play old-fashioned games in the yard. For lunch we stopped at Davies Fried Fish Shop where they serve traditional fish and chips actually cooked in coal fire ranges. They were absolutely delicious. After lunch we visited the colliery yard. At the peak of coal production in 1913 over 165,000 men and boys worked in Durham's gruelling mines. We started at the engine shed where we watched coal being shoveled into the engine of one of the colliery locomotives firing it up. A staff member told us they had to do this slowly as the engine had been cold for a while and if it heated up too quickly it would damage it. From here we went into the wooden Heapstead building. It was right here that workers were lowered into the mine and coal was brought back up to the surface. The lift cages were raised and lowered using the winding engine which you can see in the adjacent stone building. You could actually take a guided tour down into the drift mine. Sadly we didn't have time to squeeze this in on our visit which is a shame because it sounds like it would be such an interesting experience. If you've been down the drift mine at Beamish we'd love to hear about it. We left the colliery and went even further back in time to the Georgian period of the 1820s. Walking by the cow pasture we came to a tiny heather thatched cottage which is actually a recreation of the home of Joseph Headley, an acclaimed Georgian quilter who was murdered in 1826. Just past the cottage is the medieval church of St Helen which was originally built in Eston. After suffering from decades of vandalism the church was dismantled and then rebuilt in Beamish brick by brick. Keep your eyes peeled and you might see numbers on the wall. As part of the deconstruction all the bricks were carefully numbered so the church could then be rebuilt exactly as it had been. Up the hill was the beautifully restored Pockerley Old Hall which would have been let to the tenant farmers who cared for the land. This is one of the original buildings found at the site of the Beamish Museum. In front of the house is the ornamental garden which will probably look much better if you aren't visiting in winter like we did. In the house you'll walk through rooms like a smoky working kitchen complete with a cast iron range and brick bread oven. Downstairs you can also see the dining room, the pantry and the scullery which would have been used for washing dishes and doing other domestic chores. Upstairs you'll find the bedrooms. You'll also see a room where grain was stored and joints of meat were hung ready to be smoked. As time was ticking on we hot-footed it to the 1940s farm area where you can see what farm life was like during the Second World War. Unfortunately during our visit the farmhouse was closed due to storm damage but the cottage was still open. At this point it was museum closing time. Even though we were there from open until close we didn't manage to see everything at Beamish but I do think we managed to squeeze a lot in. If you are looking to visit yourself then stick around while I share some useful information and tips for your trip. Beamish is located in the beautiful countryside of County Durham. If you're driving set the directions to DH90RG. Parking at the museum is free and there seems to be plenty of space. Beamish is accessible by the number 28 bus from Newcastle City Centre or the 8 from Sunderland Interchange. Alternatively Chester-le-Street is the nearest train station so if you can get a train to here you can then catch a bus on to Beamish. Currently if you would like to arrive in the morning then you do need to book your entry slot ahead of time but if you want to arrive from 1pm onwards then you can just show up. Because there is a lot to do I would suggest booking one of the earlier slots and spending the full day there. Tickets are £19.50 per adult, £11.50 per child and student or senior tickets are £14.50. There are also family ticket options available. This ticket then does get you unlimited access to the museum for a full year including daytime events but not evening events. Special events are held throughout the year so check the Beamish website to see what's coming up. Ok next point, Beamish is huge. While I think you could pop into each area in the space of a day, there is simply too much there to explore every corner and take in every detail and they're continuing to expand the museum so really if you live close enough to the museum then you'll probably want to make the most of that unlimited annual access with your tickets. I would suggest having an idea of anything you and your family definitely want to see and prioritising that before you get too distracted by all of the other things there are to see there. If there isn't anything in particular that you already know that you want to prioritise, then I would suggest focusing on the 1900s town and the 1900s pit village and colliery. My advice would be to start in the 1900s town so you can visit the shops with lower crowds and shorter queues. In the spirit of not rushing to fit everything in, I'd also say take the time to talk to the staff. They are all very welcoming and share lots of information on the history of their area. I learned about things that were completely new to me, for example a staff member in a store of the 1900s town explained the use of a cash ball that rolled along a sloped track on the ceiling to carry money between the sales desk and the cash office. Given that the museum is so big, let's talk about getting around. You can walk the grounds and there are signs telling you the distance to walk between the different areas. Even if you are happy walking, I would suggest still having a ride on the tram at least once, as it's free and it is an experience in itself. If you do want fish and chips, then we found that there was a long wait. This may ease once the fish and chip shop at the 1950s front terrace is up and running, but in our experience waiting for food did eat into valuable exploring time, so I would suggest bringing some food with you in case queues are huge. In an ideal world, you would save your visit for a good weather day, but we can't let the potential of a bit of rain stop us from day trips up, we'd probably never go anywhere. Do make sure you bring waterproofs and an umbrella though, just in case, as in many areas there will be little shelter from the elements. Well behaved dogs are allowed around the museum if they're kept on a lead, but do know that unless they are an assistance dog, then they are not allowed into all of the buildings and exhibits. If you've been to Beamish and have any tips that we missed, then do share them in the comments. If you're looking for other activities in County Durham, then we do also have a video of things to do in the city of Durham, which I will link here. We also have videos of other places to visit in the UK, so I'll leave a playlist here if you're still looking for more ideas. Thanks for watching, I hope you have a great stay at Beamish.