Beamish open air museum, County Durham, for families
The massive Beamish open air museum in County Durham includes farm animals, restored cottages, tramways and a mine tour.
Why visit Beamish in County Durham?
Beamish is a massive open air museum, with a series of original, replica and relocated buildings spread across a 350 acre site. The aim is to show what the North East of England would have been like in the past – specifically between the Industrial Revolution and the Second World War.
The concept comes from the open air folk museums of Scandinavia, although it’s a lot more ambitious that a load of wooden houses at the edge of a forest. There are several different sections to Beamish, including a 1900s town, a pit village and colliery and a 1940s farm.
A tramway connects the different sections of Beamish, which also includes a Victorian railway station, Pockerley Old Hall and Pit Pony Stables.
Beamish with kids
Beamish is absolutely prime school trip territory, and can often come across as worthy rather than fun. However, the freedom to explore is crucial to its appeal. There’s no set route that anyone has to follow and no ‘correct’ way of tackling the enormous site.
This allows children to hone in on what they’re interested in, whether looking at how people used to live in the miners’ cottages, seeing how different education used to be inside the school house or just running around in the woodlands.
Some parts they’ll enjoy, some they’ll be bored by. But there are so many parts, that pretty much every child that visits Beamish is going to find something unexpectedly interesting. Let them poke their nose into all the buildings at their own pace.
Beamish open air museum review: The best bit
Arguably the most exciting thing to do at Beamish is the tour of the Mahogany Drift Mine. The guides take visitors inside the mine, giving an idea what life would have been like for the miners working underground, digging out coal.
With everyone given hard hats to wear, there’s an element of adventure to it that’s missing from much of Beamish.
Infants, juniors or secondary?
Children in the later years of primary school are clearly the target market at Beamish. But kids younger and older than that will find something to latch onto, with the farm animals being particularly popular with infant age children.
Beamish entry prices
The entry prices to Beamish are very expensive, with adults charged £27.95 and children paying £17.25. There’s free entry for those under five years of age, while there’s also a series of family tickets, with prices varying according to the make-up of the group.
The saving grace of these prices is that the tickets are valid for repeat visits during the year. And this is the sort of attraction best tackled over several visits, in fairness.
Prices were last checked and updated on 06 November 2024.
Full day, half day or a couple of hours?
There’s certainly enough to see and do at Beamish to make a visit last a full day, although enthusiasm may start to lag towards the end.
Attractions near Beamish, County Durham
Attractions near Beamish that can be potentially visited in the same trip include:
- The Angel of the North in Gateshead.
- Seven Stories in Newcastle
- Adventure Valley in Brasside.
Nearby cities
Beamish is on the A693 between Stanley and Chester-le-Street in County Durham.
Cities within a 90 minute drive of Beamish include Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland and Carlisle.
Is it open on Mondays?
Between March and October – and during the local school holidays and half term – Beamish is usually open every day. However, opening hours vary during the winter months, with this County Durham open air museum usually open from Wednesday to Sunday.
More information
For more information, visit the Beamish website.
