Redcar / Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Kirkleatham Museum · Photo: The original uploader was MRacer at English Wikipedia.
A free museum in a grand 1710 building with a school-holiday owl centre next door, a free lift to the top of Redcar's seafront tower, and then Saltburn's Victorian pier and Britain's oldest water-balanced cliff lift for a short, cheap ride.
Museum · 10:00–11:30 (1h30m)
Free local history museum: seaside, steel and an Anglo-Saxon princess; picnic grounds.
A free local history museum in a grand 1710 building near Redcar, with displays on the area's seaside, maritime and steel heritage and an Anglo-Saxon princess burial. The grounds have space for picnics and play, and the Owl Centre is next door.
Photo: The original uploader was MRacer at English Wikipedia.
Food stop · 11:35–12:45 (1h10m)
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS ONLY: owls and birds of prey with flying displays. Lunch at the museum cafe.
13:00–13:40 (40m)
Free lift up the seafront tower for views along the beach.
An indoor and outdoor family attraction in Redcar.
Photo: habiloid
Nature & gardens · 14:00–15:45 (1h45m)
Walk the Victorian pier and play on the sands below (lifeguards late May-early Sep).
Yorkshire's last remaining pleasure pier, a Victorian iron structure running about 200 metres out over Saltburn's sandy surfing beach. Walking the pier is free; the beach has RNLI lifeguards in the summer season and a seasonal dog-free zone either side of the pier.
Photo: Norms360
Railway · 15:50–16:20 (30m)
Ride the water-balanced cliff lift back up to town.
Britain's oldest working water-balanced cliff lift, carrying people between Saltburn town and the pier and beach in two small carriages. It reopened after refurbishment with new handmade carriages, and a ride is a short, cheap thrill for younger children.
Photo: Oliver Dixon
North EastWashington
Flamingos, ducks and woodland hides fill the morning at the wetland centre, followed by a short look round the 17th-century house linked to George Washington's ancestors. Finish by climbing the grassy hill to the Greek-temple folly that watches over Wearside.
WWT Washington Wetland Centre → Washington Old Hall → Penshaw Monument
North EastCorbridge / Chollerford
A flatter, younger-child-friendly take on Hadrian's Wall: walk down a real Roman high street and see the Corbridge Lion, then head up the North Tyne to a cavalry fort in parkland with a bath house, a museum of carved stones and a coffee house.
Corbridge Roman Town - Hadrian's Wall → Chesters Roman Fort and Museum - Hadrian's Wall
North EastStockton-on-Tees
Walk through a recreated Victorian street of shops inside Preston Hall and let the children loose in the parkland play areas. In the afternoon, cross the Tees to an RSPB reserve with a glass-fronted visitor centre, wild play area and level paths between hides.
Preston Park and Museum → RSPB Saltholme
