Museums and Galleries

What does 'museum experience' mean to you? At Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum, it means stepping straight back into the early 1800s and 1900s, riding on the tram to Home Farm, Pockerley Manor and the town with its new Masonic Hall, and swapping stories with costumed staff. At the Weardale Museum it means peeking into an authentic kitchen to see the miners' home life as it was over 100 years ago. At The Anker's House Museum it means gasping at the confines of the 'Anchorite's Cell', where a religious recluse agreed to be walled up for a lifetime of prayer.

At The Bowes Museum it means priceless collections of European fine art including works by El Greco and Cannalletto, and at Durham University Oriental Museum it means coming face to face with an Egyptian cat coffin in the country's only collection consisting entirely of Oriental art and archaeology.

Our wealth of museums is as diverse and unexpected as the treasures within and our galleries are just as multifaceted, from the contemporary exhibitions and workshops at Durham Art Gallery to specialist showcases all over the region such as Consett's Glass and Art Gallery, which houses stained glass, woodcarvings and textiles by around 100 talented artists. Plan your itinerary now.