Pictures of Beamish Open Air Museum

a Museum in the town of Beamish, in the county of County Durham

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About Beamish Open Air Museum

Beamish Open Air Museum lies in a basin of stunning countryside covering over three hundred acres. This is no ordinary museum, but an award winning hands on celebration of a way of life that has long since vanished. The museum, through exhibitions, reconstruction of buildings, machinery and other objects tells the story of the spirit of the people of the North of England during two great periods of change. One, was the start of the Industrial Revolution in 1825 together with the coming of the railways, the other being 1913 when heavy industry was settled in the area.

When the museum was first established in 1970 some of the buildings to be seen where already part of the site, these were the Drift Mine, Home Farm and Pockerley Manor. Others, such as houses and shops had to be taken down from elsewhere in the North and reconstructed. Each is filled with appropriate furniture, objects and machinery.

Features of the museum include the reconstruction of an award winning town, a colliery village and coal mine, railway station and home farm, all set against the background of the 1900's. From the early 1800's there is the 1825 Railway-Pockerley Waggonway and historic Pockerley Manor.

Everything here is brought to life in a natural way, thus nothing appears out of place, but rather as though it has always been there. Visitors are greeted by guides in the costume of the period who are trained to impart whatever information may be required. You will find no technological virtual reality at Beamish, the belief here is who better to impart knowledge than the people whose proud heritage it is.

Whole families can enjoy themselves at Beamish, there are romantic horse driven carriages, trams - including those with open top, buses, trains, vintage cars and tractors, all of which have been carefully restored to present you with the best possible experience of northern life of yester-year. Instantly appealing, especially to the older generation are the tramways and original charabancs which may be used to hop around the site.

Throughout the year the museum offers a full program of interesting events, these include displays of hand made rag rugs from the North Country, a Steam weekend, a rally of the famous Morgan car, and the annual Empire Day Celebration held on the birthday of Queen Victoria in celebration of the end of the Boer War. On this occasion there is a colourful brass band and as is usual at Beamish simply everyone joins in the fun.

Yes there is all of this and much more, it is not at all surprising that this fantastic museum has won numerous awards, for it is surely unrivalled by any other museum in Europe. To miss out on Beamish is to miss a real treat!
Please see below for other recommended attractions and towns to visit near Beamish Open Air Museum.

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Distances and directions shown below are approximate. For true driving distances please visit the AA Route Planner

Recommended attractions near Beamish Open Air Museum

Waldrige Fell Country Park	(3.0 miles, 4.8 km, direction S)	Pictures
Angel of the North	(3.8 miles, 6.2 km, direction NE)	Pictures
Gibside	(4.0 miles, 6.5 km, direction NW)	Pictures
Lumley Castle	(4.5 miles, 7.2 km, direction SE)	Pictures
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St Nicholas Cathedral	(6.2 miles, 9.9 km, direction N)	Pictures
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Herrington Country Park	(6.7 miles, 10.8 km, direction E)	Pictures
Derwent Walk Country Park	(7.6 miles, 12.2 km, direction W)	Pictures
Durham Cathedral	(8.3 miles, 13.3 km, direction S)	Pictures

All attractions in County Durham
Complete A to Z of attractions in England

Recommended towns near Beamish Open Air Museum

Beamish, in the county of County Durham (0.8 miles, 1.3 km)
Beamish is famous for its lovely open-air museum which so vividly brings to life how the folk of the region lived at the turn of the 20th century.
Info | Pictures | Hotels

Gateshead, in the county of Tyne & Wear (5.1 miles, 8.1 km, direction NE)
The urban sprawl of Gateshead rises majestically skywards in a seemingly endless mixture of concrete and glass. Gateshead stretches for almost 13 miles along the banks of the River Tyne.
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Washington, in the county of Tyne & Wear (5.5 miles, 8.9 km, direction E)
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Newcastle upon Tyne, a Historic City in the county of Tyne & Wear (6.7 miles, 10.7 km, direction N)
This important City was known as Pons Aelii in Roman times; the Romans built the first bridge over the River Tyne, it was guarded...
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Penshaw, in the county of Tyne & Wear (6.8 miles, 11.0 km, direction E)
Penshaw lies in open countryside between the urban sprawl of Sunderland and Washington.
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Durham, in the county of County Durham (8.0 miles, 12.9 km, direction S)
Welcome to the City of Durham in the North East of England. Durham as a town reflects the long history of its magnificent castle...
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Jarrow, in the county of Tyne & Wear (9.5 miles, 15.3 km, direction NE)
This is the town that is famous for the 1930's "Hunger March" caused by the intense poverty that followed the closing of the Charles Palmer shipyard. The last of the surviving marchers, Cornelius Whalen died in 2003 at the age of 93.
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Sunderland, in the county of Tyne & Wear (10.9 miles, 17.5 km, direction E)
Sunderland was granted a charter in 1145, the charter gave it market rights and thus the town grew slowly from humble beginnings.
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Marsden Bay, in the county of Tyne & Wear (12.8 miles, 20.6 km, direction NE)
Marsden Bay is a deeply curved bay of soft golden sands, it is surrounded almost entirely by crumbling limestone cliffs which provide a haven for colonies of sea-birds.
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Cullercoats, in the county of Tyne & Wear (13.3 miles, 21.3 km, direction NE)
Cullercoats has many pleasing aspects including a picturesque 19th century church in a commanding position close to the shoreline.
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All towns in County Durham
Complete A to Z of towns in England

Nearby travel help

Chester-le-Street Station	(3.6 miles, 5.8 km, direction SE)
A1(M) Junction 63	(3.6 miles, 5.8 km, direction E)
A1(M) Junction 64	(3.8 miles, 6.1 km, direction E)
Dunston Station	(4.6 miles, 7.4 km, direction N)
Newcastle International Airport	(10.6 miles, 17.0 km, direction N)
Teesside International Airport	(27.4 miles, 44.1 km, direction S)
Beamish Open Air Museum to London	(241.9 miles, 389.2 km, direction S)

Accommodation & Hotels near Beamish Open Air Museum

Hotel Name
Beamish Hall Classic Hotel	(0.8 miles, 1.2 km)
The Beamish Park Hotel	(1.4 miles, 2.2 km, direction NW)
Tulip Inn Newcastle Gateshead	(3.0 miles, 4.9 km, direction NE)
Ravensdene Lodge	(3.7 miles, 5.9 km, direction N)
Gibside Hotel	(4.4 miles, 7.1 km, direction N)
Lumley Castle	(4.5 miles, 7.3 km, direction SE)
Legacy Springfield Hotel	(5.0 miles, 8.0 km, direction NE)
Rowers Hotel	(5.1 miles, 8.2 km, direction N)
The Bewick Hotel	(5.3 miles, 8.5 km, direction NE)
Swallow Newcastle Gateshead Hotel	(5.4 miles, 8.7 km, direction NE)
All of our hotels are available to book online & with special discounts