killhope lead mining museum

Thanks for your nice comments and sorry we werent open when you called. We open from 1st April every day up until 1st November 11am to 5pm with the cafe open daily throughout the season from 10.30 til 5pm. If you enjoyed what you saw when you called we are sure you will have a great day out. We look forward to seeing you after 1st April

Decided to take two grandchildren with us,they were far from keen!On arriving they were transformed and loved every minute,particularly the trip into the mine.The staff are very helpful and made the 'adventure' for the childrenThe cafe is great with wonderful home made food an great prices.

Visited again for the first time since I was a teenager. This is a great interactive attraction which gives good insite into the history of mining in the area. You can go down the mine, sift for lead and take a forest walk. Kids love it and I cantbwait to take my daughter when shes a little bigger!

Thank you Derek for taking the time to post your comments. So pleased you had a great day - shame about the squirrels but am sure they will be here next time. Look forward to seeing you again next season. Best wishes.

Thanks for your review. Pleased you visited despite the weather. Although weve had a great summer this high up, the climate is unique and it can be cooler and more damp than lower down but as you found out it doesnt make much difference to the mine tour. Hope to see you again soon.

Thanks for taking the time to post a review. So pleased you had an exciting mine trip. We have noted your comments about the cafe and shop and will pass them on to the relevant people. Hope to see you again soon.

Thanks for taking the time to post a review, much appreciated. So pleased we exceded your expectations, that you found it all very interesting and that we shall see you again.

Thank you for your posted review. Good to hear you enthusiastic comments and that you had an interesting and enjoyable visit

Thank you for taking the time to write a review. Yes the Spar Boxes are wonderful and pleased you enjoyed them so much. Hopefully youll come back to see the rest of the site and have a trip down the mine.

This is a great place, a very warm and friendly welcome. Everyone is very knowledgeable and is willing to share with you . excellent site to give you a snap shot into the working conditions of our ancestors.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this place. We'd been told it was good so off we went. My 9yo - who LOVES rocks - was in his element and the mine tour was really good. Note - I felt a little wobbly when we first went in but soon relaxed. If you really don't like the dark, I wouldn't go in, it's pitch black!Staff were all really friendly and well informed. They all took the time to show my son how stuff worked and made it interesting for him.Cafe is small, but the food was really good.Had a lovely walk around the woods to finish off but didn't see any red squirrels unfortuantely.Ticket is valid for a year - brilliant!

On the site of a galena (lead ore) mine which ceased operation in 1910 in the midst of stunning countryside in Weardale. We found a 2for1 offer on the Thisisdurham website which was nice, and worth taking up if you're planning to visit before the end of September 2014. Also worth knowing that an entry ticket is valid for a year. The high spot of the visit was the guided tour of the mine itself - not for the faint hearted though as it involves low and narrow passages and wading through water that can reach your knees if its been raining a lot. The underground guide was excellent. The nature trails have been badly affected by storm damage in Feb 2014, but you can still do the shorter one that takes about 30 mins to complete, with a chance of spotting red squirrels if you're lucky - it's beautiful. Beware of steep steps though. All in all a fab day out and plenty to keep you occupied for hours.

Spent a good half day here with two young children. The staff were excellent and took their time to engage with us around the site so as to explain what we were seeing and bring the site to life. Worth noting that if the place us very busy that you might not get on a mine tour but space is obviously limited down the tunnel and so there must be a restriction on numbers. There are also restrictions when there has been heavy rain as there can be a strong flow of water down the drainage tunnel; under 4s are not permitted in the mine either. There is lots of hands on exploring of the mine machinery, buildings and the woodland areas too. The small cafe on site serves delicious homemade cakes, soups etc and can be recommended for a tasty snack. Overall a very good day out and to be recommend.

We took our grandson aged 8 & 6 to Killhope last week and we all had an amazing time. The staff are so enthusiastic but very fresh in their delivery. You just didn't feel they had said the same thing a 100 times or more. They really engaged with the boys, who just didn't want to go home! They loved the mine, the washing of the minerals, dressing up of washer boys and seemed to learn so much. My husband & I also found it very informative and very emotive. Would recommend it to people of all ages. We had our grandsons for the whole week and did things with them every day but this was the highlight for them. Thank you

Visited with my primary aged kids and overall we enjoyed it very much. We spent ages raking the washboard for minerals and the kids loved smashing the small rocks to get to the minerals. We then went on a guided tour of the mine which was a much longer tour than I had expected but was informative throughout. The mine runs slightly up hill as it was drainage / access passage and as a result water flows continuosly out of the tunnel. Kids may want to wear socks in the provided wellies otherwise they could get cold. The staff were very helpful and were happy to answer any questions. And finally your ticket lasts for 12 months