Take no notice of the mini-map - it is wrong. The museum is located on Grand Parade. The address is…read morecorrect. We visited on a drizzly June Sunday in 2010 and were pleasantly surprised. Admission was cheap and it passed an hour or so. The exhibits remind you of a bedroom quickly tidied with the arrival of visitors. There is no logic to the displays, they simply are. Famous names sit next to anonymous teddy bears. Virtually every type of toy is represented. Modern toys and games sit alongside favourites of days gone by. We were able to show our 11 and 8 year olds toys which we had as children. The museum is well worth a visit.

Very good free museum at the University of Newcastle. The Great North Museum focuses on natural…read morehistory for the most part, with interesting sections on world cultures as well. The exhibits are interesting and informative, but also interactive enough to keep everyone's attention. When we visited, there was a special exhibition on the amazing Gertrude Bell. It tells her life story, including her fascinating archaeological work in the middle east, and her efforts to establish a National Museum in Baghdad. A truly interesting woman. There is a good shop and a café on site, so you can definitely spend a few hours here and not get bored. Highly recommended in Newcastle.

Fantastic free museum for adults & children. Well worth a visit if there m the city. Some…read moreinteresting items on display. Shame about screaming kids during school holidays!

Finally had the opportunity to visit the museum with its history and all related to James Herriot…read more So glad. It is very interesting. Lots of activity for the kiddies too. Allow about and hour and half.

I have allways loved the James herriot books and was keen to visit this place. I wasn't…read moredisappointed and there was so much to see.It was more real than I could have dreamed.A lot is just as it was and you could imagine them in the dining room and the dispensry was amazing. We sat in the gardena and it was like something out of my childhood and I allmost expected to see a young Herriot sleeping in a pram.A lot of the kitchen stuff etc. were things I remembered seeing in use years ago.I watch the repeats of the programmes with new eyes.

Interesting museum with a displays about various aspects of the criminal justice system locally…read more Quite expensive for a small museum but worth the money. There is a rather good audio commentary but unfortunately it does not work as intended because there is a very poor mobile signal and the free Wi-Fi does not work in the main exhibition areas, it only works close to reception. Doubtless this is due to the thick walls of the former jail, but if the investment in Wi-Fi that covered the whole place could be made, it would enable visitors to make full use of some good material (which I listened to later when connected elsewhere). Anyway, that aside, it is an interesting place with plenty of exhibits and explanations about the misery of being a prisoner in that building, and memorabilia relating to the police.

Great day out packed full of interesting things to see. I've been coming here since I was a kid,…read moreand always enjoy a visit, learning something new about the local history each time. With free entry, and in town, it's definitely worth including it in your day travels.

Another nice and interesting museum in Newcastle, definitely a city of cultural delights. The…read moreDiscovery Museum mostly focuses on telling the story of the city and of the Northeast in general. It goes through the good times and the bad times in the city, including the coal mining boom, the poverty, the World Wars, the politics, everything is covered. There are real life examples- interviews with real Newcastle people over the years, and plenty of interesting memorabilia as well. It's a very cool place. There are also sections devoted to science and technology, and the discoveries made by people from the area. There is a good café with excellent prices, and a nice little shop too. A big advantage of this museum for families is that the exhibits are quite interactive, and should keep children interested as well. Best of all, it's all free. However, if you can, please do donate to keep important institutions like this one accessible to all.

When I travel here from the US, I always look forward to seeing something historical in the areas I…read morevisit. The Haugh Museum was such a pleasant experience. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly. They have a real nice tea room which serves bacon sandwiches, tea cakes and pots of tea in the cutest little garden summer houses each one decorated with war time history. Attention to detail is very nice on the eyes. Great place for selfies.

A nice little museum on the edge of the world. But if you are interested in the past & military…read morehardware then a great place to visit. Little and big boys place to be. A nice little cafe which sells hot & cold food in pleasant surroundings and right beside the sea to boot.

We visited the Beamish Museum 7 years ago and came back for the second time. It is a great living…read morehistory museum. We visited this time specifically the 1900's and 1950's villages. Most houses and shops are accessible with people in period outfits providing explanations. Of course, we also bought stuff in the vintage shops. Getting around happened on the great vintage bus and tram service. Altogether, a great day out. Note: tickets are not cheap, but valid for a year. Do book online to avoid the queue.

Wow! I visited from Edinburgh and had the best time! Beamish museum is such a magical place, like…read morebeing on a movie set with people all in traditional clothing walking around, working in the 1900's chemist where you can buy soaps, lip salve, and other things, the confectionery shop and bakery for pies and cakes and sweets, sit in the sun inn pub for a pint, ride on the many trams for free as the conductor yells 'hold tight' as you travel very slowly around the town, jumping on and off at various tram stops eg: 1900's town, Rowley station, 1900's pitt village, 1940's farm, 1950's town and farm where you can go into an air raid shelter and visit the homes and some of the residents. There is also the 1820's colliery, Pockerley waggonway, old hall and the transport depot all to explore. It is such an experience and I found myself grinning from ear to ear the full 6 hours I was there. Everyone keeps in character that at one point when i was visiting the community hall the lady was sweeping the floors talking about cleaning up after entertaining children and I couldn't tell if she was playing a character or if it was real as there were schools of children visiting that day but thats how it is, its a full immersive experience and I honestly loved it!

Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' is brought to life in this walk-through attraction - a series of 10 scenes…read moreusing sounds and new electronic special effects, eerie life-size models and live actors. A cape weighing 56 kilos and worn by Christopher Lee in his 2nd 'Dracula' film is on show. They say it is an educational and historical tour, ideal for school partiesI think more of an old fashioned fun house thing. Dracula and Whitby were thrown together in a most dramatic manner, to say the least. A terrifying storm lashed the coastline and the Russian schooner, Demeter, somehow managed to gain the safety of the harbour. The Dailygraph newspaper summed up the strange event thus: The searchlight followed her, and a shudder ran through all who saw her, for lashed to the helm was a corpse, with a drooping head, which swung horribly to and fro at each motion of the ship. No other form could be seen on deck at all. A great awe came on all as they realized that the ship, as if by a miracle, had found the harbour, unsteered save by the hand of a dead man! However, all took place more quickly than it takes to write these words. The schooner paused not, but rushing across the harbour, pitched herself on that accumulation of sand and gravel washed by many tides and many storms into the south-east corner of the pier jutting under the East Cliff, known locally as Tate Hill Pier. But, strangest of all, the very instant the shore was touched, an immense dog sprang up on deck from below, as if shot up by the concussion, and running forward, jumped from the bow on the sand. Making straight for the steep cliff, where the churchyard hangs over the laneway to the East Pier so steeply that some of the flat tombstones - 'thruff-steans' or 'throughstones,' as they call them in the Whitby vernacular - actually project over where the sustaining cliff has fallen away, it disappeared in the darkness, which seemed intensified just beyond the focus of the searchlight. Bram Stoker found some of his inspiration for Dracula after staying in the town. He stayed in a house on the West Cliff (the Crescent). Stoker found a general history book at the Whitby Library (which was near the Quayside originally). He tells us so at the top of a sheet of his notes taken from William Wilkinson's 'An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia' (1820). These notes contain the only reference to Dracula (the historical figure) in all of Stoker's papers. There seems to be little doubt that Whitby is where he discovered the name. Prices Adult £1.95 Child £1.50 Concession £1.50 Family £6.00 (2 adults & 2 children)

The Dracula Experience has been in Whitby for donkey's years, and still seems to be a very popular…read moreattraction! It is situated on Marine Parade, opposite the Lifeboat Mooring. It is open all year round, including Christmas and New Year! I visited the Draculsa Experience a couple of years back with my niece who was 13 at the time. We kind of knew what to expect, and we weren't disappointed! Although there's really not much to the attraction itself it does have it's charm; it's basically just a walk-through telling the story of Dracula, with waxworks and spooky noises to give it that authentic spooky feel! There was a live actor on when we visited (at least i hope it was an actor) and he was following us around touching us with his long rubber hands! We thought this was hilarious as we kept telling him to go away and making the sign of the cross at him! I would recommend the Dracula Experience for adults and older children; it would probably be too scary for most under sevens. It is a daft laugh and you can't knock it for some cheap entertainment!

good value great place to visit always well maintained grounds and interesting exhibitsread more

The museum and grounds,with playpark,offer a great value day out.The museum is free to enter,and I…read morewas pleasently surprised with what was inside.There is safe open fields outside where the children can run about etc all day,plus the playpark.We never tried the food place,as we took a picnicits more fun that way isn't it? There was not one moan from any of the children..(5, altogether,from 2 to 14)..they all seemed very happyand interested in the museum.Never got into the Owl sanctuary as it was closedand looked quite expensive anyway.But we all enjoyed the dayand look forward to going again.

A great local history museum, with free entry and is right near the huge Albert park, so is well…read moreworth a visit. Great displays on local life and the local industries. Also info about the War and Victorican era. There is also an interactive section for kids. They also have a small cafe, which sells a selection of drinks and snacks.

Lovely little cafe situated at the front of the museum. Only a few seats so if you are a small…read moregroup (2 people) they generally tend to share tables. Staff are great and attentive, very reasonably priced considering most cafe 'tea houses' will charge you almost £10 for a sandwich now. Food was made fresh and I would prefer going here to many other places in Middlesbrough for a light bite to eat or tea with my friends.