No silver dot for 2009 then - it was too busy a year in the end (wedding, honeymoon, house buying) a...
No silver dot for 2009 then - it was too busy a year in the end (wedding, honeymoon, house buying) and the Ciao gremlins didn't help matters! Ah well...silver by Easter? :-)
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Beamish - the North of England Open Air Museum - is situated in County Durham, close to the cities of Durham and Newcastle. As a museum studies student, I visited Beamish last year on a jaunt (sorry, educational visit), and am now going to exploit this opportunity to write an op on my experience there; I hope you will all find it useful! :-)
● Location North County Durham - travelling from Newcastle, it took us about half an hour to reach Beamish; I believe it is about the same coming from Durham. The museum is well signposted from the major roads in the area with large brown notices, and also from the smaller roads that you need on get on for the last stage of the trip, as this is a rural location. A trip to Beamish takes up most of the day, but if you are coming from the north, you may want to include a stop at the Angel of the North in Gateshead (as we did), which is well worth a look close up, as it has come to be a representation of the North East and is really quite stunning. Beamish is open 10am to 5pm (4pm in winter), and it is recommended that you allow around 5 hours to get around everything adequately.
● Entrance The entrance building is very obvious from the car park - it has to be really, as this is where they relieve you of your money! The charges displayed when I went were £12 for adults, £9 for concessions and £6 for children, although it is apparently cheaper for the winter programme when
less is on offer (unfortunately though, I could find no information on when this started, although it is probably after the October half term holidays). The entrance building also houses a coffee shop and the obligatory gift shop, which was rather lacking in my opinion, as it seemed to house little else but overpriced and irrelevant goods. Still, as Beamish has to raise 96% of its own funding (the government will only give a small subsidy to them), then I suppose you can't really blame them for trying to take as much money off visitors as possible; it just comes a little too soon after paying the high entrance fee for my liking though.
● The site Upon leaving the entrance building, you enter the open-air museum itself. The site houses a number of buildings in five groups (colliery village, home farm, the town, Pockerly manor and the 1825 railway), most of which were dismantled, brought there and rebuilt to save them from decay or demolition at other locations around the region - the five are linked together by a footpath, bus service and tramway. You may visit the five in any order that you choose, although it is obviously easier to begin at the colliery village as this is closest to the entrance, and then progress around the other points on foot or by tram (although I recommend that you do take the tram at least once during your visit).
The colliery village is set in 1913, and features four pitmen's houses, a Methodist church, a school and part of an old drift mine that used to operate from the site. You are free to wander around as you please and talk to any of the demonstrators that are based at various buildings (all in period costume of course!). The miners are especially worth listening to, as they are all currently ex-pitmen, so they really know what they are talking about - it has been a delibrate policy at Beamish to employ men who have previously worked in mines for this display. Tours around the mine last about 10-15 minutes and run regularly through the day, with the last being at 4.30pm; avoid if you have a bad back or are claustrophobic though, as the tunnel can get pretty low in places.
The home farm is also set in 1913 (a prosperous time for this region) and features many rare animal breeds - for this reason, Beamish has currently closed this exhibit off to prevent foot and mouth disease from reaching their stock. I therefore cannot comment on it, other than to say they hope to reopen it for the new summer season in 2002.
The town, as the name suggests, is a reconstruction of a 1913 town centre, with a number of shops, a tearoom (unfortunately also expensive), park, pub, stables and several houses. The confectioner is a good place to visit, as you can watch demonstrations on how sweets are made, as well as buying a bagful (which are very, very yummy I can tell you). You may also recognise a few places around the town that have been used as sets for Catherine Cookson adaptations on TV! The town also has a railway station, but at the time of writing this is closed for redevelopment; when open though, it is possible to go on a short steam train journey. It may be worth warning readers that the toilets are actually right next to the stables, which may cause a problem in those who are allergic to horses; there are others in the tea room over the road though.
Pockerly Manor and the railway are set in 1825, unlike the rest of Beamish. The manor consists of a farm building, where you can explore domestic and living rooms, and where you are actually allowed to touch and handle some of the displays, rather than them being roped off. There is also a kitchen garden and some wonderful views over the countryside from the back of the manor. The railway is a recent addition to the museum, and was built as a result of a Heritage Lottery grant - it is basically a reconstruction of Stephenson's rocket that you can ride on a short stretch of track near the manor. A must for all rail enthusiasts!
(N.B. In winter, only the tram and town are available).
● My experience Although I have to admit that the initial entrance price does seem a little steep, Beamish does provide a full day out (if you go in summer), all the staff I met were knowledgeable and able to answer any questions, and it is an excellent museum with a real variety of items on display. As you go around, you never feel as if you are in a museum though, as there are no glass cases and few ropes blocking areas off, and you are actually encouraged to handle certain items - I feel that this enhances the experience and allows you to learn a lot without even realising it. I feel mean saying it, but I do feel that Beamish plays up the nostalgia and Catherin Cookson appeal a bit too much - after all, happy visitors spend more money - and I have to ask just how rose tinted their version of the past is. What they have got is very good, but perhaps a bit more balance might be in order? I mean, where are the Victorians who couldn't afford the middle class luxuries of the sweet shop and bank? Where are the working children? I think this is a distinct case of groups being ignored because they are too difficult to represent, or who spoil the view of the past as the museum wants it. Hopefully they will appear with some of the attractions planned for the future though.
The museum runs an educational programme for primary age children, who are taken around the sites in period costume. While they look very sweet though, the large groups of them can block some displays in small rooms and get a bit noisy, so if you notice any, they are best avoided!
One tip I would offer though is if you are coming on a limited budget or as a family and the weather looks good, then bring sandwiches which you can eat in the town park - it will save you a lot of money. This is especially important when you consider how many novel and temoting ways there are to spend you money, such as having your photo taken in period style or buying sweets from their very own sweet factory and shop. :)
For more information, phone (0191) 370 4000.
http://www.beamish.org.uk/
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P.S. If you haven't noticed yet, I am the writer formerly known as s_roberts.
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Nov 20th, 2002
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