Everything you need to know about booking a stay at Beamish's new self-catering cottages

For the first time, visitors to the much-loved Beamish Museum can stay overnight at the North East’s most visited attraction.

Bookings are now live for Potter’s Cottage and Drover’s Rest, giving you the chance to travel back in time to the 1820s and live as a Georgian would (almost).

If you fancy booking a stay, here’s everything you need to know about the two new additions:

How many do they sleep?

The two cottages are designed for couples or solo travellers, so only sleep up to two people each.

There’s an upstairs bedroom in each cottage with a double four-poster bed. However, there would be space in each of the bedrooms for a travel cot.

What’s in each cottage

The cottages each have a double bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and dining area as well as a living room area.

There’s shared land in front of the cottages with picnic benches overlooking the landscape.

The kitchens are fully equipped for a self-catering stay with a fridge-freezer, kettle, toaster, oven, hob and microwave, as well as dishes and cutlery.

Each bathroom has a roll top bath as well as a shower.

The living rooms have TVs (hidden in period furniture of course) and also have wifi, phones and underfloor heating.

Can I park at the cottages?

Yes, although the cottages are on museum land in the 1820s landscape, they are situated on the edge of the main attraction and can be accessed via a side road so you’re not driving through the museum itself. There is car parking available right next to the cottages.

It means you can bypass the main Beamish carpark.

Can I go into the museum after hours?

Although you get admission to the museum included as part of your stay, this is only during regular museum opening hours. There is no access to the other areas of the museum at night.

However, as well as having your own food in the cottages, it also means you can access the many food places within the museum during opening hours, such as its famous fish and chip shops.

Drover’s Tavern, serving Georgian fare, is also just next door to the cottages.

Are the cottages dog-friendly?

One of the cottages, Potter’s Cottage, is dog-friendly.

Are the cottages accessible?

Because the cottages are old buildings, they have narrow staircases, with the bedrooms in each also upstairs, which wouldn’t make them accessible for all.

Are the cottages original?

Yes, Pockerley Manor is one of the original buildings which were already on site before Beamish Museum existed - instead of being brought onto site or recreated.

The neighbouring cottages were agricultural buildings which have been brought back to life and curated with items from the museum’s collections which would have been typical for a cottage of this type in the late Georgian period.

Some features, such as an indoor bathroom, wouldn’t have been typical until the later Victorian period, but have been incorporated to make the cottages more user friendly.

Prices and how to book

The cottages can only be booked for a minimum of two nights off peak, priced £356 for two people staying two nights.

In peak-season, which starts in mid July, the minimum stay is three nights, with the price of a cottage for three nights coming to £598.

You can book via Host & Stay here.

Access is via a lock box. Check in is 4pm and check out is 10am.