Culture

The North Pennines has a distinctive culture which has developed as a result of the relationship  between local communities and the landscape. Artists and poets like J.M.W. Turner and W.H. Auden were inspired by the landscape of the North Pennines and contributed to the culture of the area through their acclaimed work.

Aspects of the past lives of lead miners are explored at Killhope Museum in Upper Weardale, from their daily toil to their mineral collections which are proudly displayed in spar boxes. The collections on display in the nearby Weardale Museum showcase what domestic life was like during the same period and documents the expansion of Methodism in the region. The Bowes Museum’s impressive galleries display examples of fine and decorative art spanning the 14th to the 20th centuries. There are numerous excellent agricultural shows which take place during the summer and the famous Tar Bar'l Festival which lights up the streets of Allendale on New Years Eve.


Beamish Museum

A view of our Edwardian Town Street © Beamish Museum
Beamish Museum is a living and working open air museum that shows what life was like in the Geordian, Edwardian and Victorian eras. Beamish stands in 300 acres of beautiful County Durham countryside. Within our site you will find Pockerley Old Hall, The Town, Rowley Station, The Fairground, Home Farm and The Pit Village. With so many things to see, Beamish is a wonderful day out for people of all ages.
Location:
Beamish Museum, Beamish, County Durham, DH9 0RG.
Facilities nearby
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Blanchland

Blanchland © NPAP/Shane Harris
The small village of Blanchland, with its honey-coloured cottages, is perhaps the most attractive settlement in the North Pennines. Blanchland means 'white lands' - almost certainly a reference to the white habits (cloaks) of the Premonstratesian monks of the Abbey. The village has a tea room, shop, pub, childrens' playground and easy access walks.
Location:
Blanchland in the Upper Derwent Valley (NY966504).
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Facilities nearby
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Bowlees Visitor Centre

Bowlees Visitor Centre    © NPAP
Bowlees Visitor Centre, run by the North Pennines AONB Partnership, is a fantastic base for exploring Upper Teesdale, with footpath links to Low Force, High Force, Newbiggin and the Pennine Way. The Centre provides information and displays on the geology and landscape, wildlife and people of Upper Teesdale and the wider North Pennines. You'll find a delicious range of food and drinks and our shop stocks nature inspired gifts and books. You'll find a range of special events are running at the Centre throughout the year. You can also hire the venue for family get-togethers, parties and meetings. We have a range of outdoor cooking facilities which can be pre-booked. The Centre is dog-friendly and you'll find free Wi-Fi access, an iGlass (24-hour information touch screen) and an electric car-charging point. Follow the Richard Watson Trail from the Centre - a 2¾-mile circular route exploring the life and times of Richard Watson, Victorian lead miner and poet. The most popular walk is probably the High Force-Low Force Round. The Centre is also an official Dark Sky Discovery Site.
Location:
Newbiggin, Bowlees, Middleton-in-Teesdale, Co. Durham, DL12 0XE (grid ref - NY906281). 01833 622145.
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Facilities nearby

Errington Reay Pottery

Elegant handmade pots © Errington Reay Ltd
Errington Reay is the last commercial pottery in Britain producing salt glaze garden pots. We still only practice traditional ways of hand throwing which together with specialised salt glazing give Errington Reay pottery it’s truly unique textured finish. Visitors are made welcome at the pottery where they can view the large selection of garden pots. Ample parking is available and a good range of quality seconds can be purchased from the shop.
Location:
Errington Reay - Outstanding Handmade Pottery, Bardon Mill, Hexham, Northumberland, NE47 7HU.
Facilities nearby
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High House Chapel

High House Chapel © Weardale Museum
Historic Methodist Chapel - High House Chapel, Ireshopeburn, is the oldest purpose built Methodist chapel in the world to have been in continuous weekly use since it was built in 1760. Writing in his book England’s Thousand Best Churches Simon Jenkins said “This is the country where the fires of Methodism took hold, fanned by an absentee Anglicanism. There are many chapels in these parts, many are early and handsome and Ireshopeburn is the best.” His chapel and society in Weardale became one of John Wesley’s favourites and the story of Methodism is well told in the folk museum next door. The chapel is open to the public during museum hours 2-5pm, Wed-Sunday, May 1st - October 31st and every afternoon in August. Also Easter and bank holidays. Services are held every Sunday at 10.45am
Location:
Ireshopeburn, Co. Durham, DL131HD.
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Killhope Lead Mining Museum

Washing Floor at Killhope © Killhope Museum
A visit to Killhope, the award winning North of England Lead Mining Museum, is a unique and unforgettable experience. Killhope is a fully restored nineteenth century Victorian lead mine, where you can experience for yourself the life and work of the lead mining families of the Pennine dales. Our enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff are here to help you get the most from your visit; they are what make Killhope a multi award wining venue. Killhope is famous for its huge working waterwheel, but there is much more to Killhope. You can experience the mineshop where miners lived. You can work as a 'washerboy' looking for minerals and galena (which is the lead ore). You can see the working machinery (which Fred Dibnah admired so much) in the 'jigger house'. But above all, Killhope's award-winning mine tour is unique. From the moment you put on your hard hats, cap-lamps and wellingtons, your visit becomes an unforgettable adventure! Killhope holds the largest collection of Spar Boxes which sits alongside Magnificent Minerals and the Pennine Jewels. Two permanent commissions, Letters of Lead and Language of Lead, part of museumaker, a prestigious national project. We also have an array of art works and installations which adorn our visitor centre and site. You can stroll round Killhope's woodland paths (maybe with a nature backpack). You will see some wildlife and red squirrels. Take a break in Killhope Cafe and sample our wonderful home made soups, pasties and cakes. Our gift shop stocks a wide range of books, maps, keepsakes and souvenirs. Killhope - a great day out in the country for all the family!
Location:
Near Cowshill, Upper Weardale, Co. Durham, DL13 1AR.
Terrain:
Steep sections
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Muggleswick Grange

Muggleswick Grange © NPAP
Perhaps the most spectacular medieval ruin in the AONB, Muggleswick Grange was built during the mid-1200s for the Prior of Durham and originally lay in the grounds of an enclosed park. Muggleswick is of national importance because standing remains of monastic granges from this time are very unusual. A grange was a farm owned and run by the monastic community to provide food and materials for the parent monastic house and to sell surpluses for profit. A 1464 document shows that at Muggleswick there was a hall, chapel, grange and a dairy, and a large stock of oxen, cattle, calves, sheep, pigs and lambs. The Grange may originally have consisted of several buildings arranged around a courtyard, but today much of the site is occupied by later buildings, themselves perhaps dating back to the 17th Century and built with stone plundered from the Grange ruins. The imposing east gable includes a large lancet window, later blocked and modified to function as a chimney.
Location:
In Muggleswick, between Edmundbyers and Castleside.
Terrain:
On road sections
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Ninebanks Tower

Ninebanks Tower © Natural England/Charlie Headley
The turbulent days of the Border Reivers are evoked by Ninebanks Tower. The sandstone tower is all that remains above ground of a large medieval house, to which the tower seems to have been added in about 1520. The four storey tower has inverted shields on a second floor window lintel which possibly relate to Sir Thomas Dacre (1515 – 1526), the ruler of Hexhamshire. Ninebanks is not classed as a defensible structure because the walls are considered too thin; it may have served as a lookout.
Location:
Ninebanks village.
Terrain:
On road sections
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Raby Castle

Raby Castle © Dugald Cameron
Home to Lord Barnard's family since 1626, Raby is one of the finest medieval Castles in England. Built by the mighty Nevill family in the 14th Century, Raby remained in the Nevill family until 1569 when after the failure of the Rising of the North, the Castle and its lands were forfeited to the Crown. In 1626, Sir Henry Vane the Elder purchased Raby and the Castle has remained in the Vane family ever since. Highlights include an impressive gateway, a vast hall, a medieval kitchen and a Victorian octagonal drawing room. The rooms display fine furniture, artworks and elaborate architecture. Enjoy the deer park, walled gardens and carriage collection. Sample the menu in the stable tearooms. Events take place throughout the summer.
Location:
Staindrop, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham, DL2 3AH
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Shildon Engine House

Shildon Engine House © NPAP/Elfie Warren
Shildon Engine House was built around 1805 to house a Cornish pumping engine, which kept the network of lead mines operating underneath from flooding. Towards the end of its industrial life in the 1840s, an enormous steam engine was installed in a final attempt to keep the mines dry enough to work. Following decommissioning, the engine house was converted to a series of flats for mining families. It was finally abandoned around 100 years ago and has been derelict ever since. The Engine House is a dramatic reminder of a once thriving lead mining community of 170 people. The population declined after the mid-1800s when cheaper lead began to be imported from abroad, and young Shildon families emigrated to the gold-mining areas of Australia and America. Facilities are available off site in Blanchland.
Location:
On the outskirts of Blanchland.
Terrain:
Off road sections
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Facilities nearby
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The Bowes Museum

The Bowes Museum © The Bowes Museum/Mike Kipling
This magnificent museum has undergone a major transformation, creating a stunning 21st century visitor attraction in beautiful grounds. It contains a wonderful collection of fine and decorative arts housed in an array of stunning new galleries. The silver swan automaton is a must see! Exhibitions, guided tours, family activities, fine dining and shopping add up to a wonderful day out.
Location:
Barnard Castle, Co. Durham, DL12 8NP.
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The Garden Station

The Garden Station © The Garden Station
Originally a country railway station on a line running through the Langley woods, this garden is a beautiful and tranquil place. The Garden Station sells perennial plants throughout the summer. There are also artwork displays inside and outside the station and a wonderful fairtrade café. A woodland walk was created in 2003 along the old railway track between two arched bridges and it is bordered by plants which thrive in woodland conditions. A wide range of art and craft and sustainable living courses are available from the station throughout the year.
Location:
Langley on Tyne, Hexham, Northumberland, NE47 5LA
Terrain:
Off road sections
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Facilities nearby
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Watercolour Painting with Gordon Lamb

Gordon Lamb painting © Jean Lamb
Gordon Lamb is a professional artist with a distinctive style, who specialises in painting with watercolours. Keep your eye on his website for information about upcoming classes. If you are visiting the area or if you simply want to have a one-off taster, a single session with Gordon can be tailored for beginners or the more advanced. Gordon also runs workshops for art groups, retreat groups or business groups seeking a creative professional development session at your chosen location.
Location:
Various
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Weardale Museum

Weardale Museum © Weardale Museum
“Outstanding Volunteer Run Museum” – but don’t take our word for it, this is the verdict of Renaissance North East and the Arts Council for England who have also awarded the museum full accreditation. This small folk museum is packed with fascinating stories from the past including a hands on lead-miner’s kitchen and The Weardale Tapestry, a beautiful 16 foot free-style embroidery depicting Weardale’s history. The Museum houses a truly amazing genealogy resource which can print out family trees for those with Weardale ancestry. Visit also the historic and beautiful High House Chapel, the oldest Methodist Chapel to have held continuous weekly services since it was built in 1760, and one of John Wesley’s favourite chapels. Open 2-5pm, Wed-Sunday, May 1st - October 31st and every afternoon in August. Also Easter and bank holidays.
Location:
Ireshopeburn, Co. Durham, DL13 1HD.
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Weardale Railway

Steam train, Stanhope Station, Weardale Railway ©
The Weardale Railway runs from Stanhope to Bishop Auckland and stations in between. The railway runs a heritage timetable and has a number of special events through the year, including steam services. There is a ticket office, café and shop at Stanhope Station.
Location:
Stanhope
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