After hitting the museums last month, I was feeling like I wanted to continue that historical theme. One place that I hadn't been to for a number of years was Beamish. Beamish is an open air museum with several different areas, featuring different time periods that you can immerse yourself in. I quickly worked out that a 2 hour drive each way, plus all that walking round, was not going to be feasible for me to do in one day without absolutely knackering myself out. I'm fairly game for a drive, but I wouldn't wish that length of time on the A1 on anyone! So, this was a trip that called for an overnight stay somewhere. Taking to booking.com, filtering by lowest price first (I am from Yorkshire after all), you can imagine how surprised I was to find the first option being a really snazzy looking 600 year old castle. The historical theme would continue into the accommodation it would seem. Lumley Castle is supposed to be haunted by the former resident from the 14th century, who was thrown down a well inside the castle. The well was on the way to the breakfast room, incidentally. I looked down it, it was very dark but decidedly devoid of visible spirits.
Well rested after a night in a very comfy bed in the former mews of the castle, I got to Beamish nice and early. I had been before a long time ago and I knew from experience that it was an all day job. My last visit was before the 1950s town had been built, so I suspected that I was going to be there for some time! This was also about a fortnight after Channel 4 had shown A Woman of Substance, which had partly been filmed in the 1900s town, so I suspected that area might have some increased foot traffic. I love the 1900s town, as they have examples of shops, a bank, townhouses, and a park. It was also a lovely, sunny day, which really set the place off.
If you've never been to Beamish, it's a cracking day out, but a heck of a lot of steps. All of the towns/houses/farms/villages are set apart, which is great as it means that you can't see one area when you're in another time period. It really helps you immerse yourself, but you definitely need comfy shoes!
The 1950s town was amazing, and it felt like I was stepping back into my great grandparents' house. I spent my time there saying "I remember Grandpa having one of those". Although, to be fair, I do have my Grandma's 1950s Sunbeam food-mixer, which they have in the pantry of one of the houses there. There are also some 1950s shops, including one selling such mod-cons as fridge-freezers, record players, and televisions. I would also love to go back there when they have film showings in the retro cinema, because that was great fun to look round! Incidentally, I would be able to go back at different times of the year, as the entry fee gets you a year's entry, which I think makes it great value.
When I was here, it happened to be lambing season up at the 1940s farm. This meant that there were lots of cute little animals in the barn area, and in the fields. The farm is set up as if Britain is at war, and the Dig For Victory campaign is in full force. Sometimes, there are home guard soldiers going about, as well as the farmer's wives knitting ready for winter. In point of fact, one thing that Beamish does really well, is having people in the houses, or in the shops, who can tell you all about how they would have been lived in or how they operated. It really helps bring the real stories of the buildings to life. I think that my new dream job might well involve pretending to be living in one of the houses here!
I finished my day at Beamish off in the pit village, where there is a church, school room, houses, and (most importantly) a traditional chip shop. The reason why the latter is the most important, is that it sells amazing fish and chips, cooked in dripping, over coal fired fryers. You can keep you sunflower oil, give me a dripping cooked fat chip any day of the week. And, let me tell you, after all those steps, they really hit the spot. To be fair, you could pretty much eat your way round Beamish. There are time period accurate places to eat in every part of the museum. I remember that the bakery in the 1900s town is very good, but this time I sat in the 1900s park and had a very enjoyable ice cream (rhubarb and custard to be precise). I do admire a place that has their logo printed on their ice cream wafers.
I left only a few minutes before closing time, to once again brave the A1 for the journey home. I had been there all day, and still felt like I wanted to be there longer. My big takeaway from this trip, was that I wished I'd gone earlier on that first day, spent the afternoon doing one half of Beamish, then tackled the second half on the second day. I didn't feel like I was rushing, but I was conscious that I had a big area to tackle in just 6 hours. If you can, spending more than one day here would be better. Added bonus: if you're there for 2 days, you can try twice as many of the food options!
How long was I there?
I checked into the hotel the afternoon before, then I was in Beamish for the full length of it's opening times. I arrived at just gone 10am, and left just before 4pm, but it would probably have been worth getting there earlier the day before and having the full couple of days there.
How much did I spend?
Hotel - Lumley Castle Hotel: £74.70
Beamish annual pass: £35
Total spend: £109.70
Would I go back?
Absolutely. I was there in lambing season on the farm, and it was lovely. I would love to go back on a really summery day, as well as at Christmas to see the villages and houses decorated for different festivities. I know that the cinema in the 50s town does seasonal film showings, which would be great fun as well.
Comments
Post a Comment