Beamish - The Living Museum of the North
About This Museum
Beamish isn't your typical museum with quiet exhibits behind glass. It's a huge, open-air place where entire towns and a pit village from the Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian eras have been brought back to life. You'll find costumed townsfolk going about their day—the baker might be pulling fresh bread from the oven while the banker chats about local gossip. The whole experience feels less like a history lesson and more like you've genuinely stepped back in time.
Collection Highlights
You can ride on a beautifully restored tram through the town, visit a coal mine to see what life was like for miners, and pop into the sweet shop in the 1900s town square where they make traditional candy right in front of you. Don't miss the row of pit cottages, each decorated for a different time period, or the horse-drawn farm vehicles at Home Farm.
Visitor Information
Wear comfy shoes because it's massive and you'll be walking a lot between areas—thankfully, the old-fashioned trams and buses are part of the fun and can give your feet a rest. It's one of those places you can't really do in just an hour; plan for most of the day to soak it all in.
Architecture & Building
The buildings aren't one style but a collection of real historic buildings—from stone-built Georgian manor houses and cozy Victorian terraced shops to sturdy Edwardian municipal structures—that were carefully taken apart from their original locations across the North East and rebuilt here.
Contact & Location
Address: Stanley, County Durham, North East, England, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 191 370 4000
Website: Visit Website
