This week I am having a cheeky little staycation. Having not really had any time to take my holidays this year, I had a week spare so I decided to take it at the end of November as work is about a quiet as it is going to be.
Lyns had the Monday and Tuesday off and I have always wanted to go to Beamish, the living history museum, so we though we would have night away. Seeing as it was dad’s birthday on the Monday, we invited nana and grandad to come with us. Lyns was working on the Sunday night so we headed up on Monday afternoon after she had got up. It was going to be our first night in a hotel with James, but more on that later.
With Lyns sleeping on Monday morning, James and I headed into York early on so we would not make too much noise around the house. We got into town and first things first, breakfast. Lyns had introduced me to a little independent cafe called Bruks so we headed there for a sausage sandwich for me and a scone for James, as they had no teacakes. The sausage sandwiches are probably the best ones in York, the sausages are amazing, real meaty butchers sausages, definitely recommended.
The face I got when I asked if I could try some of his scone
After we had finished our breakfast we headed off to the Castle Museum as James wanted to explore the Victorian street. However, as we were walking across it started raining. Conveniently we were outside the Jorvik centre. Now, it must be at least ten years since I have been here and certainly not since it was flooded so I decided to take James in. It was £11 for me and James was free. Not too expensive for us two but there is not a lot there and would be pricey for a family.
James loved the ride round. We went round and he was a little apprehensive the first time but by the time we got to the end of the ride he was in full swing and giving me a running commentary of what he could see. As soon as we got off all he kept saying was ‘again, again’. Luckily there was no queue so we headed back and went round on the ride again. In fact, it is the only time I have ever walked past and there has been no queue, I suppose that is the benefit of going mid week on a wet November day.
After the Jorvik centre we were running a little short on time but James still wanted to see the Victorian street at the Castle Museum, or as it turned out, the street toilet, so we headed across. We had about forty five minutes there so we had a quick wander around the street and then headed to the 60s area, so James could play in the space ship, and then through the prison before heading out. After the museum, we jumped straight on the bus and headed home to wake mummy up.
We were staying at the Beamish Hall Hotel, which is about ten minutes from Beamish. It is a grand old country house and whilst it is a little dated it was perfect for our night away. It also had a lovely restaurant, called The Stables, where we went for dinner with mum and dad. Even better, it has its own micro brewery and the beer was great.
Before dinner though, we got settled into our room. We have never stayed in a hotel with James before and he could not quite grasp the concept as we usually stay in cottages where we have the run of the house. It was lovely to see him unpacking and wanted to get himself settled in. After we had all showered and changed we headed out for dinner.
‘Where do my clothes go Mummy?’
What to draw on?? The children’s packs here were great
Grandad with his I’m the boss badge
Not a bad burger really!
The food in the restaurant was lovely. I had a burger and what a burger it was. They did all sorts on the menu and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their food. James ate off the children’s menu and I would have been more than happy with the portions. For the five of us, including drinks, it was less than £100 which for the meal it was, was really reasonable.
We were back at the hotel room by 8 and said good night to nana and grandad. At this point, James was hyper active, so we did what any reasonable parents would do and put his earphones and a tv programme on for him to watch. Ok ok, not great but it did settle him down. Once he had settled it was story and bed. With his sleeping right next to our bed, getting him to sleep was interesting. The only way we could think to do it, was to pretend we were asleep and hopefully he would fall asleep. This was about 9 o’clock. Lyns and I promptly fell asleep and when we woke up James was asleep so we called it quits, turned the lights off and got our heads down.
After breakfast in the morning, it was time to head to Beamish. I was really excited, Lyns not so much. We stepped outside and it was cold, very cold. Luckily though, we had all brought our woolies with us. After the short drive to Beamish, we all kitted up and then Lyns announced, ‘I did not realise there would be this much walking’ when she saw how large the site is. Luckily, I had packed her walking shoes which she mocked me for bringing but wasn’t she glad I did. If you have never been, there are trams and buses to take you around the site. With it being this time of year and rain forecast, there were very few people around and a lot of the time, it did feel like we had the site to ourselves. We did not have to wait for anything.
Keenly waiting for the first tram of the day
The first thing we did was to jump on a tram to head to the Edwardian Town. James was in an absolute grump when we got off the tram and Lyns and I both thought, here we go, he is over tired but no, turns out he would have spent the whole day going round on the tram if he had been given the choice. Every time he saw one he squealed and wanted to get on and he was adamant that he had to sit at the top.
Getting off in the town, we headed to the sweet shop where they were making Jam and Creams. It was really interesting to watch the process, and even more enjoyable to try the sweets afterwards. James wanted to try one, so with our hearts in our mouths we let him have one of the hard boiled sweets. For me personally it was terrifying watching him eat it, however, he was very good and stood still until he had sucked it into nothing.
After the sweet shop we had a wander around the other shops in the town. We bought some ginger bread in the bakers for James and when we got to the garage, the gentleman running the shop let James play with some of the old fashioned car horns, much to his delight, James’ that is.
If only this was still the case
After the town we walked down to the fun fair which is there for the Christmas period. James loves a carousel! You have to pay extra for the rides but it was only the carousel that James had eyes for.
After the town, we jumped back on the tram and headed to the colliery and pit village. There is a lovely fish and chip shop here and we treated ourselves to some lunch. Nana and grandad had come earlier in the year and apparently the queue was about an hour long. Today though there was no queue.
After lunch Grandad, James ands I headed down the pit. The gentleman who took us down had worked in the pits for over twenty years before Beamish and his knowledge was outstanding and he clearly had a passion for the mines. It was a really interesting trip and I have no idea how people used to work down the mines. The one we went down was mere metres below the ground and had a working height of over four feet. Some of the mines had a height of eighteen inches. How people worked there in those conditions, I will never know.
Torn between the embarrassment of wearing my hat and the fact it was keeping her warm
Pill box outside the 1940’s farm
Me being told off for standing on the road
Lyns loving the fact that this tram had an enclosed upstairs
Yey!!! The tram is nearly here
The bandstand in the town
The last tram of the day
I could have gone on about all the different places we visited and the experiences we had but that would take all the fun away for anyone who has not already visited. Hopefully though I have given you a flavour of it. Despite the fact is was really cold, the six hours we were there absolutely flew by and with your ticket you can go back anytime for a whole year free of charge. We will definitely be going back. It is absolutely worth a visit and even Lyns who, by her own admission, said it was not her thing, really enjoyed it. As for the little man, who went home with nana and grandad, well he said nothing, as soon as he got it the car he was collecting zzz’s, must be a sign that he enjoyed it.