Durham Christmas Festival & Beamish

From a morning pickup in your local area, we travel to the picturesque city of Durham for its traditional Christmas Festival. Browse the wide range of Christmas gifts, sample some festive food and drink and take in the wonderful seasonal atmosphere. There’s also time to enjoy dinner at leisure in Durham before continuing to the hotel for our overnight stay.

Durham Christmas Festival & Beamish

We head to the ever-popular living museum of Beamish, where we experience the magic of Christmas from different points in British history. Discover the seasonal sights, smells and tastes of Christmas past as we experience Victorian festive traditions or browse homemade gifts from the Home Front. Take a step back in time as we meet costumed characters at the 1940s farm and early 20th-century Pit Village, and enjoy catching a tram through The Town; a typical market town from the years leading up to the First World War. We rejoin the coach in the afternoon for our journey home.

On day 2, travel to Beamish to step into a living museum where Christmas unfolds across eras of North East England. Meet costumed villagers, peek into coal miners’ cottages warmed by coal-fired ranges, and ride a heritage tram through The Town decorated with garlands and shopfront glow. Explore the 1900s Town, the early twentieth-century Pit Village and the wartime rhythms of the 1940s Farm, with scents of baking, woodsmoke and seasonal treats in the winter air.

Beamish preserves everyday stories through original buildings and working exhibits, from printing presses to pithead gear, illuminating the region’s industrial backbone and community life. Hear brass band carols, chat with the Home Guard on the Home Front, and sample traditional sweets as you trace how families once prepared for the festive season. After an atmospheric morning and early afternoon, we rejoin the coach in the afternoon for the journey home.

On day 1, arrive in the cobbled city of Durham for the Durham Christmas Festival. Wander artisan stalls clustered around Palace Green and inside the Victorian Market Hall as you join a festive visit scented with mulled wine, roasted chestnuts and spruce. Fairy lights ripple on the River Wear while you pause for photos and reflection beneath the towers of Durham Cathedral. As dusk gathers, enjoy a free evening to find dinner at leisure in the historic centre.

Set within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Durham Cathedral and Castle, the festival echoes a centuries-old tradition of winter fairs and Advent gatherings. Meet local makers from County Durham and Northumberland, hear carol singers in medieval lanes, and warm your hands around a spiced drink before we continue to our hotel later that evening. The setting’s stone walls, candlelit windows and crisp night air capture the city’s living heritage at Christmas.