THE dale’s heritage is being celebrated as part of the UK’s largest festival of history and culture.
Venues across the region will open their doors this month for Heritage Open Days, giving visitors the opportunity to take part in activities and tours.
In the upper dale, Middleton-in-Teesdale will be stepping back in time with a village trail, looking back through the past 150 years to see how the shops, cafes, and buildings have changed. This will mark the 150th anniversary of the railway opening.
Cafes and restaurants in the village will be serving up themed menus and visitors are being encouraged to dress up for a period of their
choice.
The trail will take place from September 13 to September 16 from 10am to 4pm. The village’s masonic hall will be hosting an exhibition about the opening of the railway in Teesdale by the Teesdale Heritage Group.
There will also be a scale model of the Middleton-in-Teesdale railway station. The exhibition will be open on September 15 and September 16 from 10am to 4pm.
The Fitzhugh Reference Library, in Market Place, will showcase its collection of photographs, books and documents from the County Palatine of Durham on September 13 and September 14 from 10am to 1pm and again on September 15 and September 16 from 10.30am till 3pm.
A display of handcrafted items will be displayed at Fresh Craft and Interiors, above Cafe Fresh, where visitors will have the chance to sew together their own item from September 6 to September 9 and again from September 13 to September 16 from 10am to 4.30pm. There will also be a sewing workshop on September 9.
In Newbiggin, Dr Margaret Bradshaw will be on hand at Wynch Bridge End cottage to explain all about the Teesdale flora – a unique assemblage of plants found nowhere else on the planet.
This event will take place on September 15 from 11am to 3pm with a talk at 1pm. In Barnard Castle, the church tower at St Mary’s Parish Church will be open to the public on September 8. Access to the ringing chamber and the clock chamber will be available from 2pm till 4pm.
Barnard Castle School chapel will be open to the public on September 8, 9, 15 and 16 from 10am to 4pm.
A display of documents and books from The Bowes Museum’s collections will also be open to the public in the museum’s purpose-built Reference Library and Archives Reading Room on September 8 from 11am till 3pm. Booking is preferred.
In Whorlton, Thorpe Light Railway will be giving visitors the opportunity to learn about its history and hear about future plans on September 15 from 12pm to 4pm.
