Angels & BEAMISH

On a northern tour around Durham, Nigel Hutson journeys into the living past and soars to angelic heights

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W e'd received an invitation to attend a caravan and motorhome preview day, which was to be held in the North-East, and this is when the conversation started.

Kay suggested that it had been a long time since we'd visited Beamish open-air museum (we checked, it was exactly 20 years!), and I said that we'd never actually been to have a look at the Angel of the North, despite passing by on the A1(M) on numerous occasions, and so it went on. Decision made: rather than a quick dash for the day, we'd take the caravan to the area and spend some time exploring.

Our chosen site was the CAMC site Durham Grange, which is literally just off the A1(M) road. We received a warm and friendly welcome from the wardens and chose our pitch (in the shade as the UK was in the middle of a heatwave at the time). The site is beautifully kept and if it weren't for the constant traffic noise, you'd never guess that you were so close to civilisation. Please don't let the mention of traffic noise put you off, we soon got used to it, and because it is constant, it's not as though there are sudden noises in the night to wake you - I'm a very light sleeper but slept soundly!

A living museum

A 10-mile drive the following morning saw us arrive at Beamish - The Living Museum of the North, to give it its full title. While entry isn't cheap, the tickets are valid for 12 months. Once we had our tickets, we were advised to hop on either one of the trams or old buses that circulate the whole site and go to the furthest point from the entrance, the 1900s Town, because it was the end of term and lots of school parties were expected. On that note, it was lovely to see the children later in the day being totally absorbed in the museum.