Born out of a need to preserve the unique history of the North East of England, Beamish museum first opened it’s doors in 1970 with artefacts donated from around the region.
Today the Beamish open air museum is one of the most popular attractions in North East England and features faithfully reconstructed pit cottages, shops and even a bus and tram system. All the staff are dressed in appropriate costumes to help give visitors a real idea of how the area was during the early 1800’s and 1900’s.
Many of the buildings were moved stone by stone from their original locations to the new site to prevent them being demolished, and then rebuilt along with internal features to give the museum a true sense of history.
The museum prides itself on showing everything in context rather than simply behind glass screens with hands on exhibitions to engage both adults and children. As the site is over 300 acres currently, the tram and bus services provide a welcome break from walking and give a new perspective of the buildings and open air site.
Useful links:
Beamish Official web site
Attractions in and around Beamish
Hotel accommodation in Beamish
