Hi.I'm 39 and making a comeback here after my recent lul
Hi.I'm 39 and making a comeback here after my recent lul
Member since:22.08.2000
Reviews:179
Members who trust:53
Durham itself is a nice cathedral city .There are plenty of riverside walks , a wonderful catherdral and plenty of history waiting to be discovered . Durham also has it's share of students with it's highly acclaimed university and botanical gardens . There is also a respectable shopping centre too with such stores as JJB sports , Currys and M&S
It is a fine place to visit and spend the day , but this op will concentrate as others have done on the Beamish open air museum in County Durham near Stanley.
My partner and I went to Beamish museum on 13 August 1999.Beamish is set in a lovely picturesque valley , with open countryside all around.
We had a two for one voucher enabling us to gain admission for a total of £10 . Normally admission is £10 per adult in the summer.
This is not cheap, but we spent five hours looking round - so I gues we got value for money ! Beamish has a high reputation and attracts visitors from all parts of the globe and rightly so.
It is well worth a visit . It is no ordinary museum . It is a living , working experience of life as it was in the Great north at the turn of the last century.
You can travel round the vast open air site by " free " trams or you can walk round at your own pace. There is also a vintage bus and cars to travel on too! We went underground as we sampled the drift mine. A geniune former coal mine , now fitted out for visitors .The guide left us in no doubt as to what the miners did when they wanted to go to the toilet !! The hard hat didn't suit me though!
Above ground there is much to see. The jubilee confectionery , set in the 1913 re - created town , complete with dentist , pub and Co-op supermarket , bank , cafe and houses lets you witness cindar toffee being made . The smell frankly makes me feel sick but there you go ! All the kids were engrossed though , especially with the freebies at the end .The town also a bandstand and park - ideal for scoffing any home made sarnies you may have made !
Also at Beamish are shire horses and animals and my favourite part -a re- created 1913 pit village . This contains miners homes as they were which you can look in and the village school which again is fully accesabile. Coming as I do from a mining town this was fascinating .Most of the homes had gardens at the front where the occupents grew their own produce .
Also of interest is a restored railway station and signal box dated 1913. This enabled the visitor to see the set up of a booking office , platform , waiting room , goods shed and weighbridge house . There was also a steam engine and tracks , although I have to say I wasn't overly impressed with this feature . The track only was a few hundred yards in length and you couldn't ride on the train .
For the younger visitors there is a fairground with older style rides such as helter skelter and merry go round.The snag here is that there is an additional small fee payable to go on it.
The final attraction is Pockerley Manor set in 1825 .This is a fortified farmhouse , with formal gardens a small orchard and yard . The gardens although accessable along with the manor were in a quite poot state and neglected in parts.
All in all although tiring and expensive Beamish is very interesting almost eductional indeed . The downside though is poor public transport . The nearest railway station is Chester - le - St around five miles away , and the buses only take you quite close , but not inside the complex.
Telephone number for more info 01207 231811 Dogs are allowed ,and it is a non smoking site .
The museum is signposted on the A693 towards Stanley off the A1 ( M) road in the North East of England
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Jun 8th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
