Things to Do in Durham with Kids
Things to Do in Durham with Kids – A drive down the east coast took us to County Durham for a long weekend filled with family friendly activities, from time travel and beach treasure to Gruffalos.
Beamish // Hamsterley Gruffalo Trail // Raby Castle, Deer Park & Plotters Forest // Locomotion // Durham Coast // Hunting for Seaglass // Durham Cathedral // Riverside Walk // Row boats // River Cruise // Wharton Park // Where to Stay
Vale of Durham – Things to Do in Durham with Kids
Beamish Museum – North of Durham City
Beamish is amazing, unmissable and vast – allow a day for it. Basically you tour a selection of towns, villages, farms and a mining village dating from the 1820s to the 1950s. So many of the houses and shops house costumed actors who are brilliant at engaging children and adults alike. Going back to school in 1913 was one particular highlight. In one 1820s home we made lavender bags, in the 1900s the dentists demonstrated his hand-powered drill (!) and my son’s unexpected high point was the drapery, when the shop assistant showed him how money was transported to the cash office in tiny wooden balls rolling in metal contraptions overhead!
In some shops, such as the sweet shop, bakery, tea room and chipper, you can even make purchases. And you travel between each town in a vintage bus or tram. What’s not to love?
Book tickets and time slots here. Beamish doesn’t sell traditional tickets, instead they issue memberships, so your ticket lasts all year. A family pass (2 adults/2 children) currently costs £54.00.
Locomotion – South of Durham City
FREE I’m not much of a trainspotter but this large, free museum has a mix of offerings and a play area for kids. While Mr Husband took in the great snow ploughs that cleared the lines in the historic blizzards of 1955 and 1963, I headed towards Queen Alexandra’s private carriages. Luxury! From cattle and horses, to people and princesses, this museum covers all sorts of passengers. Some hands-on activities, such as shunting carriages into the correct order, challenged the wee ones too. Website here.
Durham Dales – South West of Durham City
Hamsterley Forest Cycling & Superworm Trail
FREE Hamsterley is renowned for it biking trails and hikes, but we went for the kid-friendly option of walking the 1.5 mile Gruffalo/Superworm Trail. My boys loved puddling in the river and finding all the Julia Donaldson characters in the deep dark wood. Facilities here are good, including several playgrounds and natural play areas dotted around, a cafe, ice cream shack and toilets.
Raby Castle, Deer Park and Plotters Forest
Raby estate offers up three main attractions, which you can choose to visit individually or all together – touring the castle, exploring the deer park, and playing in Plotters Forest. We opted to explore the deer park, which allows you to photograph the exterior of the castle up close, then wander through the grassland in search of deer. You can get surprisingly close to the animals, and my kids were delighted that the deer weren’t in enclosures. A ‘Scavenger Hunt’ also entertained my 7 year old, ticking off items he found in the deer park.
Next we headed for the kids play area called Plotters Forest. When we arrived my youngest child asked why it was called the Plotters Forest? [He sensed a plot!] It’s named after the Rising of the North, when Raby’s owner, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, led an uprising against Protestant Queen Elizabeth I with the aim of replacing her with the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots. It didn’t end well. The kids meanwhile played, climbed and slid through this woodland play area. It’s relatively easy for parents to follow their kids on a walkway, so you don’t have to climb and slide too (unless you want to!). A café at the top means you can chill out as the kids play.
A yurt café back near the carpark/castle offers coffee and cakes, and simple lunches. Prices vary depending on which parts of the estate you visit so take a look here. And keep an eye out for forthcoming events, including spooky halloween fun, here.
Durham Heritage Coast – East of the City
Durham boasts a huge stretch of beautiful coastline, with a host of walks, watersports and activities to consider. We opted for seaglass hunting!
Seaglass Hunting – Things to do in Durham with Kids
FREE We headed to Seaham because we’d read that you could find beautiful seaglass on the beach. We hoped to find one or two pieces, but in fifteen minutes this was our haul (photographed above). Kids LOVE this activity. It’s a real life treasure hunt. Seaglass is easy to find because this area was home to bottleworks and glass making factories during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. In Seaham itself was situated the largest glass bottle works in Britain – The Londonderry Bottleworks, which operated from the 1850s to 1921. Apparently these companies, for the most part, simply threw waste glass into the sea, and over the years it’s eroded to become beautiful seaglass. We loved this simple but rewarding experience, and Junior (aged 7) has trotted into school today with seaglass to show his teacher.
Durham City
Durham Cathedral – Things to do in Durham with Kids
Families sometimes head to the cathedral due to its Harry Potter connections as filming took place in the Cloisters, the Cloister Garth and the Chapter House. My kids are often quite awestruck by the size, scale and architecture of a building such as this, and their instinct is to explore. My youngest spotted a teddy bear and marched up to an official to inquire further, and it turns out there is a trail of 8 teddy bears for littles ones to find. We went round that cathedral about 3 times searching for tiny bears.
Children aged 8 and over can climb the tower and get views out across Durham. There is a charge to do this, so read more here. We’d wanted to climb the tower but didn’t quite make the age limit – next time.
Riverside Walk – Things to do in Durham with Kids
FREE The cathedral is by the water, which is flanked by many bars and restaurants too. [It looked like a fun destination for a girls weekend.] We took a quiet riverside walk with the kids, it’s such a green, calm space and cost us nothing.
Row Boats on the River – Things to do in Durham with Kids
Walking alongside the river we enjoyed watching folk on the row boats, which can be hired just next to Prince Bishop’s Shopping Centre car park, just a few minutes walk from the cathedral. Some rowers made it look easy and romantic, others, not so much 🙂 Find prices here.
River Cruise – Things to do in Durham with Kids
River Cruises also set off from this point. It is kinda hard to find out when and how often they depart, but I’m usually a big fan of a city tour by water.
Wharton Park – Things to do in Durham with Kids
If you want to find space for little legs to run around consider Wharton Park.
For lots more info, ideas and inspiration about Durham and County Durham browse This is Durham. They’re currently bringing together a host of memorable moments you can enjoy, so discover more here.
Where to Stay
We stayed near the sea, at the Inn Collection’s Seaton Lane Inn in Seaham (where the seaglass is found). The family rooms featured a bunk bed for the kids, always popular. The common areas are smart, colourful and trendy, plus v relaxed. The dining is informal, smart pub grub, and the activity pack for mini diners is fantastic, jam-packed with stuff to do. You can dine in the pub area or the restaurant itself. We tried potato wedges and chicken wings for starters, and gammon steak and prawn linguine as mains. We’re also fans of the Inn Collection having eaten at their Bamburgh Castle Inn, in Seahouses, Northumberland.
In Durham city centre we’d also looked the Radisson Blu hotel as it has a pool, so a few options there. Wherever you choose to stay in Durham, you won’t be short of things to do. Enjoy.
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