Celebrate Christmas Victorian style

9th November 2010

Categories: Visitor News

It’s hard to believe that before the reign of Queen Victoria we Britons hardly celebrated Christmas. It was in the 1830’s that the Victorians began our traditions of decorating Christmas trees, drinking mulled wine and parcelling presents.

If you want to go back to the true spirit of Christmas celebrate a Victorian themed yuletide in Durham this year. Stay at the Victorian Townhouse at 2 Victoria Terrace, a stylish boutique style B&B, www.durhambedandbreakfast.co.uk and visit Durham’s Victorian style Christmas Festival (December 3-5, 2010).

The Durham Christmas Food Fair, part of the city’s Victorian Christmas Festival, has a large local food producers’ section uniquely housed within the cloisters of the World Heritage Site of Durham Cathedral. 

The food fair boasts a wide selection of local food and drink stalls and includes free live cooking demonstrations featuring executive chefs from Durham University, the Cathedral Undercroft and many local hotels.

 The atmospheric location of Durham Cathedral is a wonderfully festive place and visitors also get the chance to carry out some essential Christmas shopping at the festival's Victorian themed stands and explore the delights of Durham in December.

To complete your Victorian Christmas in Durham, take to the ice at a special outdoorskating rink at Beamish, The Living Museum of the North.

A Beamish Museum spokeswoman said: “Skating was an incredibly popular winter pastime for Victorians and Edwardians. As soon as ponds, rivers or lakes were frozen and weight-bearing, they’d be out in the fresh air testing their skills.”

The rink will be added to the outdoor museum’s pit village attraction, in a field near the pit cottages. It will be open every weekend from November 20 until February’s half-term school holiday.

The 20m by 10m rink will have real ice and cater for up to 66 skaters at a time. It will be decorated in Edwardian style with festoon lighting and fairground-style organ music.

There is a skate hire hut and drinks stall. Tickets for a 15-minute session, including skate hire, will cost £5 for adults and £4 for children.

For more information about skating, call Beamish Museum on: 0191-370-4000. www.beamish.org.uk  

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