Today saw our biannual trip to Beamish Open Air museum. We went in the summer and met up with my sister (Day Sixteen) and we always go at Christmas too – it’s where we see Santa. The museum is a lovely place to visit and is well worth the entry fee (Visit the website) particularly as you pay once and return unlimitedly throughout the year.

This year we were über organised and arrived at 9.40 for a 10am opening. However, predicting a large turn out, the doors opened a touch sooner and we’d seen the big man by 10am.

After seeing Father Christmas and feeding the reindeer, we walked down to the colliery village and explored the mining houses before waiting for the chippy to open. We only had a 30 minute wait but it was well worth being front of the queue (we’ve joined it before when it was an hour wait / coal powered cooking takes a lot longer!) and the chips, cooked in beef dripping, taste delicious – hence the cover picture! Being there early also guaranteed us a seat in the dining area, which gets full quickly.

After lunch we mooched down to the fun fair, where the children enjoyed the shuggy boats (a Geordie thing – use google!) and the steam powered carousel.

We followed in with a visit to the frost fayre where the hubby enjoyed a mulled wine and roasted chestnuts (not my thing) and we bought out tree decorations, which is also becoming a bit of a custom.

Once we’d had a visit at the sweet shop, we took a ride in a Daimler route master style bus from the 2950’s before heading home.

You should definitely visit Beamish. My only advice is arrive for the 10am opening and be prepared for queues 🙂