From steam trains and medieval castles to Viking battles, flying birds and a 1950s high street, this is how to spend a long weekend discovering Durham as a family.
If you’re looking for inspiration for UK family getaways and staycations, Durham deserves a place on the list. With castles, countryside and some seriously impressive family attractions, there’s more than enough to fill a long weekend. Better still, for those of us in Yorkshire, it’s practically on the doorstep; Bishop Auckland is around an hour and 20 minutes by car from Leeds. But wherever you’re based in the UK, Durham has plenty to tempt families north.
Recently, I headed there with my husband James and our two sons, Isaac (aged eleven) and Elijah (aged nine) for a three-day trip for H&N Magazine. From trains and castles to spectacular live shows and living history, we packed a lot into one weekend and discovered just how much Durham has to offer for family getaways.
Friday: A Steam Train Adventure and Hotel Check In
Our first stop was Locomotion in Shildon, which was always going to be a winner. Like most nine year old boys, my youngest Elijah is our family’s resident train obsessive, so if there is a railway or locomotive involved in a trip, he wants to know about it! There really is something for all the family here though, as Locomotion has the largest undercover collection of historic rail vehicles anywhere in Europe.
The museum tells the story of Shildon’s important place in the development of the modern railway and there’s more than 100 vehicles on display across its Main Hall and New Hall. We were visiting just as Locomotion’s Summer Festival was getting underway, which adds even more to the family appeal.
LEGO Week kicked things off, with impressive LEGO creations on display, brick pits and engineering-themed build challenges. Trains and LEGO in the same place was essentially a dream combination for our boys!
The festival runs throughout the school holidays, right up to 31 August, with a pop-up sandy beach, train rides and a changing programme of free hands-on family activities.
Flying Scotsman is also visiting throughout August, with rides and special experiences on selected dates. The best thing is that entry to Locomotion, including the Summer Festival, is completely free.
Price: Admission and Summer Festival entry are free. Some train rides and special experiences cost extra, including selected Flying Scotsman rides at £5.
Where to Stay: Park Head Hotel
From Shildon, we headed to Bishop Auckland and Park Head Hotel, which was the perfect base for our family getaways weekend.
The hotel has 38 en-suite rooms, alongside a restaurant and bar, free parking and family-friendly accommodation. We stayed in two double rooms, which worked really well for us as a family. Having separate rooms but located next to each other gave us a little more space at the end of a busy day, while still keeping everyone close, (family suites are also available).
We also ate at the hotel during our stay. The Oak Room serves freshly prepared dishes with an emphasis on local produce, while breakfast offers both continental and cooked options. After a full day exploring, being able to come back to the hotel and eat without having to get everyone into the car again was very welcome. The service was also a big highlight. The staff were friendly, attentive and genuinely welcoming throughout our stay, which always makes a difference when you’re travelling as a family.
The hotel’s biggest advantage however, was its excellent location. Park Head is just minutes from Bishop Auckland and its attractions, including Kynren, and well placed for the other stops on our itinerary. It meant we could spend more time exploring and less time getting from A to B!
Price: Main Building – rooms from £80 per night. Courtyard – rooms from £85. Family rooms – from £105. Rates vary by date and availability.
Saturday: Deer, A Castle and The Storied Lands
Saturday began with a visit to the stunning 14th-century Raby Castle, set within 200 acres of parkland. As a family, we genuinely enjoy visiting castles and heritage sites, but this one felt particularly special. The gardens are beautiful, and we were totally enamored spotting the estate’s deer roaming through the parkland.
Inside the castle, we explored grand rooms brought to life with spectacular floral displays as part of the summer ‘Castle in Bloom’ experience, before heading back outside to discover everything Raby has for younger visitors, such as The Plotters’ Forest. This is a huge woodland adventure playground packed with climbing structures, walkways and opportunities for imaginative play.
Other summer experiences include ‘The Hidden Garden’ which is inside the Riding School, complete with a mini maze, giant garden games and family activities. It’s a great mix of history and beauty from this quintessential English castle, combined with plenty of play and adventure too.
Price: Family Summer Saver Explorer ticket for two adults and two children, £65.80 online. Individual online tickets cost £20.12 for adults and £14.88 for children aged four to 15 during the summer promotion. Under-fours go free.
And then it was time for the main event…
Kynren – The Storied Lands
If you’re planning a trip to Durham this summer, Kynren needs to top your ‘must-visit’ list.
New for 2026, Kynren – The Storied Lands is the UK’s first live-action show park. It is a unique concept; instead of rollercoasters and traditional theme park rides, your day takes you between five spectacular live performances and immersive experiences, each transporting you into a completely different world.
Land of the Vikings
If Locomotion was Elijah’s highlight, then Land of the Vikings was absolutely Isaac’s moment. At eleven, he is at exactly the age where a live Viking battle involving warriors, weapons, fire and plenty of dramatic fighting is going to beat almost anything I could suggest we do on a Saturday afternoon. Mind you, we all thoroughly enjoyed the pace and drama of this epic show!
This experience throws you straight into a Viking world, beginning in the settlement before building into a huge live-action performance where warriors clash and battles unfold in front of you.
The Lost Feather
The Lost Feather is an awe-inspiring show. In this performance, more than 250 birds take to the skies above a purpose-built arena inspired by a giant nest, swooping remarkably close over the audience as the story unfolds.
Owls, vultures, parrots and other birds soar overhead accompanied by an original score recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra. It is a beautiful and very moving experience.
The Trusty Steed
This one was my personal favourite. Having spent years of my childhood at stables and riding whenever I possibly could, the moment the horses entered the arena for The Trusty Steed, my former horse-girl self was thoroughly delighted.
The show combines medieval storytelling with horses, trick riding, stunts and plenty of action. I loved the horsemanship, James and the boys were completely enthralled too. (Apparently you don’t need to have spent your childhood obsessed with horses to appreciate somebody performing spectacular stunts on one).
The Legend Of The Wear
Next, the action moved to the water. The Legend of the Wear takes inspiration from the North East’s famous Lambton Worm legend and transforms a huge lake into the stage. Water, special effects and live action bring the story to life, with the production centred around a young local hero and a lakeside village. It’s a great example of how Kynren takes stories rooted in the North East and turns them into something theatrical and fun for the whole family.
Victorian Imaginariums
Our fifth family getaways experience was Victorian Imaginariums, which takes a different approach. Rather than simply sitting down to watch a performance, you explore an outdoor Victorian world filled with characters, theatrical encounters and unexpected moments.
And that variety is what makes The Storied Lands work so well as a family day out. Five experiences, five completely different styles and so much happening between them that everyone stays enthralled throughout.
Price: Kynren – The Storied Lands Advance Saver tickets cost £30 for adults and £20 for children when booked online in advance. Children aged three and under go free when seated on an adult’s knee. The ticket includes all five daytime experiences and a personalised itinerary guaranteeing a seat at each show.
The Grand Finale: Kynren – An Epic Tale of England
Kynren saves its biggest spectacle for after dark. Kynren – An Epic Tale of England is a 90-minute outdoor spectacular taking audiences through 2,000 years of English history on an enormous 7.5-acre stage. There are Romans, Vikings, medieval battles, Tudor drama, horses, water effects, pyrotechnics and mass choreography. There is even a full-size steam locomotive crossing the stage, which naturally earned another enthusiastic response from Elijah.
I did wonder whether, after spending most of the day watching live performances, the boys might finally have reached their limit, but they absolutely hadn’t, as for 90 minutes, all four of us remained completely absorbed!
One of the most remarkable part of Kynren, is that most of the people performing are actually local volunteers. Around 1,000 volunteers, known as the Archers, help bring the production to life and range from children to people in their eighties, contributing across the entire production, from performing and horsemanship to costumes, animal care, backstage operations and visitor experience.
This is truly impressive and adds another dimension to the show. It really does feel like you are watching an entire community come together to create something extraordinary.
Performed as the sun disappears and darkness falls across the huge outdoor stage, with pyrotechnics, fireworks and a fabulous musical score, it was a spectacular end to an already unforgettable day.
Price: Kynren – An Epic Tale of England tickets start from £30 for adults and £20 for children. Children aged three and under go free when seated on an adult’s knee.
Sunday: Stepping Back In Time at Beamish
Our last family getaways day was spent at Beamish, The Living Museum of the North. This is a huge open-air museum spread across 350 acres, bringing different periods of North East history to life. Although we had visited Beamish before as a family, one of the great things about this place is that you can return and still discover something new each time.
You can wander from an 1820s landscape to a 1900s colliery and Pit Village, explore an Edwardian town, experience wartime life at the 1940s Farm and step into both a 1950s farm and town. Heritage trams and vintage buses transport you around the site, making getting from one era to another part of the experience.
This the uniqueness of Beamish; you actually ride the era-specific transport, enter the shops and houses, talk to costumed characters and quite literally walk through time!
This time, we were particularly excited to explore the 1950s Town, which had still been under construction on our previous visits. The recreated post-war town includes Front Street, shops and homes, John’s Café, the Grand Cinema and Welfare Hall, bringing another era of North East life into Beamish’s already enormous journey through history. The atmosphere in the 1950s Town was so much fun. We watched members of the public swing dancing to fifties music before discovering live music inside the Welfare Hall, where Jeanie and the Jolly Boys were performing songs from the era – it really felt like we were in a real community hall in the 1950s!
We also explored Rowley Station, which we hadn’t properly experienced before. This is a recreated Edwardian railway station and surrounding railway community, complete with station building, signal box, goods yard and original railway structures relocated to Beamish. We were lucky enough to visit on one of the summer dates when the steam trains were running, so we hopped aboard! With our resident train fan Elijah obviously delighted, it was another lovely way to experience Beamish.
Price: Beamish Unlimited Passes cost £35 for adults and £20.50 for children aged five to 16. A family ticket for two adults and two children costs £85.50, while under-fives go free. Tickets give unlimited daytime visits for 12 months.
Why Durham Works for Families
There was so much variety packed into one weekend during our visit. We went from trains and castles to woodland adventures, live-action battles and entire towns brought back to life. There was history everywhere, but crucially for Isaac and Elijah, it rarely felt less like a history lesson and more like a true adventure.
Three days gave us a brilliant introduction, but there was still plenty left to explore. Whether you’re travelling from nearby Yorkshire or further afield, Durham combines big days out, beautiful surroundings and family experiences that make it a brilliant choice for a UK getaway.
Sometimes the best family getaways and adventures really are closer than you think.
Information, Prices and Booking Details
LOCOMOTION
Address: Shildon, County Durham, DL4 2RE
Summer Festival: 18 July–31 August 2026, with free family activities, a pop-up beach and train rides. Flying Scotsman visits 1–31 August, with rides and experiences on selected dates.
Admission: Free; selected additional experiences are chargeable.
Opening: 10am–5pm during summer opening.
Website: https://www.locomotion.org.uk/
PARK HEAD HOTEL
Address: 13 Park View Terrace, New Coundon, Bishop Auckland, DL14 8QB
Rooms: Main Building rooms from £80 per night; Courtyard rooms from £85; family rooms and one-bedroom suites from £105; two-bedroom suite from £125. Prices vary by date and availability.
Facilities: 38 en-suite rooms, restaurant and bar, free Wi-Fi and complimentary parking.
Website: https://parkheadhotel.co.uk/
RABY CASTLE, PARK & GARDENS
Address: Staindrop, Darlington, DL2 3AH
Family Summer Saver Explorer: £65.80 online for two adults and two children during the 2026 summer promotion.
Individual Summer Saver tickets: Adults £20.12; children aged four to 15 £14.88; under-fours free.
Website: https://www.raby.co.uk/
KYNREN – THE STORIED LANDS
Address: Bishop Auckland, DL14 7SF
Advance Saver tickets: Adults £30; children £20. Children aged three and under go free when seated on an adult’s knee. Gate prices are £40 for adults and £30 for children.
2026 season: 18 July–12 September.
Website: https://kynren.com/
KYNREN – AN EPIC TALE OF ENGLAND
Duration: Approximately 90 minutes.
Tickets: From £30 for adults and £20 for children, with different seating categories available.
Website: https://kynren.com/
BEAMISH, THE LIVING MUSEUM OF THE NORTH
Address: Beamish, County Durham, DH9 0RG
Opening: Daily, 10am–5pm until 23 October 2026.
Unlimited Pass: Adults £35; children aged five to 16 £20.50; family of two adults and two children £85.50; under-fives free.
Website: https://www.beamish.org.uk/
*Prices and opening information correct at the time of writing and subject to change.
Review and some images by Victoria Reddington @vic_reddington
Some images supplied
