Accessible Britain

117 Beamish Museum, County Durham
Address: Beamish, County Durham DH9 0RG Web: www.beamish.org.uk Tel: 0191 3704000; bookings
0191 3704026 Hours: Apr–Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov–Mar 10am–4pm, closed Fri & Mon Dates: closed
25 Dec Entry: [D]£18.50 [C]free [A]£18.50 [5–16s]£10.50 [Con]£13.50 [Fam]£34.50–£48.50
Beamish is a huge and utterly compelling open-air living history museum. Aspects of
England in bygone times are brought vividly to life through the museum’s authentic
eighteenth-century hall, 1940s farm, Edwardian town and early-twentieth-century
pit village and colliery (with much more besides), all spread over a three-hundredacre
site.
Friendly, talented staff in period costume shed further light on how life was lived
in those times, and visitors are encouraged to interact with their surroundings to
find out more. Enjoy a pint of ale in The Sun Inn or a packet of sweets at the Jubilee
Sweetshop, both in Edwardian Town; explore a drift mine on an underground tour of
the colliery; try out some freshly baked bread in Pit Village, and while you’re there,
practise your handwriting skills on a slate in the village school. You can also discover
what life was like on the Home Front at the 1940s Farm, as well as taking a ride
behind a steam locomotive, or hopping on and off the museum’s fleet of beautifully
restored working trams.
Beamish takes accessibility very seriously, and all staff undergo annual disabilityawareness
training. The car park has a good supply of disabled bays, close to the
entrance, which has excellent access. The museum is spread over a wide area, but a
THE NORTHEAST AND YORKSHIRE
Beamish Museum
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