Its a good day out in there and if the weather is fine Mowbray park is interesting also.read more

Only popped in as we were short of time and had a quick look around spending most of our time in…read morethe house. A definite longer visit next time we visit Sunderland.

Good day out and very interesting to see how a colliery village functioned as a community hub with…read morefamily's all living in the rows of Ashington

Iv been wanting to visit here for a while. I certainly was not disappointed. Opened my eyes to the…read moreworkings of a pit and the catastrophes that took place to retrieve the commodity that keeps us warm and provided power nationally. The cutter building was really well put together and informative. Plenty of parking and access to the QEII park. Love cafe and plenty of toilets. Annual pass at £7 bargain.

Bede's World is a brisk walk away from Jarrow metro station and is thankfully quite well sign…read moreposted. On arrival the staff on the front desk were polite and helpful. The only criticism being there didn't appear to be a guide book for sale. The front desk leads to the museum which explains who Bede was and tells you some fascinating history about Great Britain. It's quite possible to spend several hours in the museum but I decided instead after an hour or so to take a look outside. The gardens are a real treat and it was great to see such well cared for animals. Next time I am near Newcastle I will definitely try and visit again.

Took my children today. Age 4 and 18 months. Both got in free which is a bonus…read more We went for the Halloween activities. The storyteller was fantastic! She was very enthusiastic and had the children loving the story. Will have to visit again!

The National Glass centre has free entry and hosts the end of year show for Sunderland University…read moreGlass Students, they also operate a tour where you can watch the glass making process. There is a reasonably priced cafe and a shop where you can purchase items made by both the students and established artists. The building itself is impressive with a glass roof which you can walk on. There is a large free car park and it is situated a short walk away from the metro line. A great day out for all that family.

There is free entry to the glass centre You can watch the…read moreartists blow the glass and go look at the glass galleries There is free parking outside or it is a short walk from the metro station There are free talks and a gallery where you can see what glass is made from and loads of information about the history of glass There is a really nice resteraunt here and a shop where you can buy all sorts of things made from glass for good prices If you have a free afternoon it is worth a visit They do differen courses as well if you have ever been interested in making something from glass

I accidentally stumbled upon this place on a day trip from Hadrian's Wall. Really cool little…read moremuseum with gruesome and interesting history. I like places that are off the beaten path, so this satisfied my curiosity. They have cool exhibits with wax figures, costumes you can try on, and part of an old dungeon. They also have good student discounts. The Gaol is situated in old Hexham, right by the Abbey. Go ahead and satisfy your macabre sense of humour!

Built in 1311 it was one of the first buildings that was built to be a proper jail. you can get…read morestuck in the stocks outside or go down to the dungeon though not for long. There is a commentary from people who used to live in the times of the border reviers which comes on autmotically and lots of info about the jail break here in the 1600 and the lives of the prisoners It also has the border libary and a film on a riever raid, you are much better going to one of the bastles or towers on the borders to get a fee of what it would be like in riever times it has a nice little shop in it a intersting place to learn more about the history of Hexham but it is very hard to imagine being imprisoned here The only eerie thing is the skull of Sir john fenwick a jacobite who was beheaded for treason

Exceptional, not-to-be missed gallery/museum. As an American visitor, I think some of the 4-star…read morereviews come from Brits and other European visitors who are used to the expansive and impressive collections, such as the British museum. It is small, as they have noted, but the quality of the curation more than makes up for its size, which isn't that small in comparison to our pitiful museums in the US. I was most impressed with the curation of the 19th century works with more modern pieces. The galleries tell a story. This isn't a museum to rush through. Reading the descriptions of each piece really helps you see the total theme of each exhibit. That is some detailed work by the museum staff, and one that should be applauded. Also of note: what a fantastic museum gift shop! Perfect for those local artisan gifts and museum pieces that you won't find in other shops. That alone is worth a stop (and doesn't require a ticket to enjoy).

Laing is a smallish but distinguished, well-maintained gallery of "traditional" art, with an…read moreemphasis on the 18th and 19th centuries (both British and international). It is housed in an ambitiously designed building that fuses old and new architecture. It looks much bigger from outside, the actual galleries are few and small. Expect to spend nor more than 1 hour at this place, which makes it perfect for a rainy day (which this was). Laing Art Gallery is located on the corner of New Bridge St. and John Dobson Street (opposite of the bus stop where many of the cross-country bus services, by like Megabus, stop). Its permanent collection is free of charge. and contrary to what I had read previously in forums, I DID take non-flash photos and didn't do it secretly, so it's allowed. Don't expect too much though: While there are indeed several masterpieces by British (Holman Hunt, Burne-Jones, Alma-Tadema) and international painters, the total number of paintings is low, and there's mostly exactly 1 painting per master. This might have to more with the size of the exhibition space than the actual collection, as their website claims that paintings are exchanged regularly to "show the impressive range of art". Anyway, compared to the faux and crap modern art at The Baltic Centre on the other side of Newcastle's city centre, Laing is pure gold. There are also examples of local and regional crafts and arts. See some photos for reference.

South Shields Museum & Art Gallery is a free museum funded by the council, in South Shields city…read morecentre. It has recently been refurbished, though I have not been inside for over a year now so am not sure what the refurbishment entailed! Bearing in mind that is it free it is obviously worth a look around. I particularly like the Catherine Cookson-esque street scenes, and also... the old fashioned sweetie shop. It sells loads of classic old sweets - it's always packed with kids, for obvious reasons! Definitely try the cinder toffee and the cola cubes!!! For the more cultured types there are often art displays upstairs. There is WC access too so it is easily accessible to all of the public. You can find out more about the current displays and exhibitions by going to their website: http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/southshields/

Based at the bottom of King St the Shields museum is funded by the council and is free for anyone…read moreto go inside. The displays vary all year round and have quite a bit of local history inside of them. Although the museum itself is quite small some of the diaplya are very informative and appeal to people of all ages. I think that the council could do more to promote this place as very few people know about it and even more so know that it is free to enter and have a look around. The museum is ideal for people who are on there way to the beach to take in a little history of the town and will get you to know the place a little better.

I love the exterior of this building but the interior is a major disappointment with 5 floors of…read morenothing, a total waste of space. This is supposed to be a building to house contemporary art but the art was very minimal and nothing that excited or inspired or touched me in any way. The only good thing I can say about this gallery is the roof top terrace gives a fabulous view of the bridges and the shop has some cool things but apart from that, it left me uninspired and disappointed.

I came across it by accident. It was a very foggy Saturday morning in Newcastle and my head was…read morebegging for a cup of coffee. First I spotted the cafe, then the bookstore, which was a treasure trove of sorts, then I noticed the label Free Entry and I was already walking towards the reception desk. The receptionist met me with a very warm smile eager to welcome me and tell me about the exhibitions - from all five floors, only two were open. The ground floor contained an installation by Jordan Baseman and the second floor had a pharmacy exhibit by Damien Hirst. Baseman's work consisted of three audio/video clips with disturbing stories of people being sexually harressed or somehow psychologically damaged or scarred. The second exhibition was a bit disappointing: in a very small room the whole arrangement was that of a pharmacy store with the counter installed in too. Only after reading the brochure I realized the artist's idea behind it, which I found a bit fa-fetched and untruthful. I spent almost an hour inside because of the shop and the cafe which treated me with a great service: I bought a melting chocolate flapjack and a hot cup of espresso. For such a lovely architectural design, I though it was a bit of a shame that they do not to use the whole space for art, I am sure there is a lot of interesting art that could be and should be made available to the public.