Deck the Halls in County Durham 2025

Duration

4 Days

Departure Dates

8th December 2025

Prices from

£500 Per person

Enjoy a fantastically festive tour to Durham to experience the magic of Christmas from a bygone time. Soak in the festive atmosphere at the incredible Living Museum at Beamish, visit Auckland Castle in all its Christmas glory, and discover a monumental Neapolitan Nativity. Explore the world's first railway town and its unique museum collection plus enjoy free time in the historical city of Durham to create Christmas memories.

Overview
Itinerary
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Departure Dates
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Durham ©Shutterstock

4 days from £500

DEPARTS

Monday 8 December 2025

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Experience Christmas from a bygone time at Beamish – The Living Museum of the North
Visit Auckland Castle festively decorated for Christmas
Discover the monumental Neapolitan Nativity at the Faith Museum
Explore the world’s first railway town at Shildon
View the unique collection of railway vehicles at the Locomotion Museum
Enjoy free time in the historical city of Durham

Also included in your Tour Fare:

3 nights’ bed & breakfast plus 2 evening meals and 1 lunch
Services of experienced Railtrail Tour Manager

DAY 1

Journey from your home station to Durham and, on arrival, we will make our way to the Royal County Hotel, our hotel for the next three nights. We enjoy free time to explore our new surroundings before meeting for our first evening meal together.

DAY 2

After breakfast this morning, we travel by coach to Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, to experience the magic of Christmas from a bygone time. A living, working experience featuring a recreated town including an Edwardian bakery, a coal mine, a local pub, and school amongst other things, all linked together by a historic tram system. After our nostalgic visit, we enjoy lunch together before returning to Durham for an evening at leisure.

B, L

DAY 3

Today, we journey to Bishop Auckland and make our way to Auckland Castle, one of the best-preserved bishop's palaces, where we explore the impressive rooms adorned in fantastic, traditional Christmas decorations. We can also visit the Faith Museum, home to a monumental Neapolitan Nativity and using over 421 individually carved figures, this is one of the most impressive examples outside of Italy. Afterwards, we make a stop at the Shildon Locomotion Museum, the world's first railway town housing the largest undercover collection of historic railway vehicles in Europe, before returning to Durham in time for our final evening meal together.

B, D

DAY 4

After breakfast, we bid farewell to Durham and make our way to the station for our homeward journeys.

*Important Note: Christmas at Beamish and Christmas at Auckland Palace have not been confirmed for 2025 at the time of tour compilation. We do reserve the right to make substitutions and changes to the itinerary should it be deemed necessary.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner

HOTEL

Durham Royal County, Durham

Sitting at the heart of this vibrant city, the Durham Royal County offers a stylish restaurant and bar serving delicious cuisine alongside craft beers and creative cocktails plus a fitness centre. The modern bedrooms provide an en-suite bathroom with complimentary toiletries, a hairdryer, flat-screen TV, ironing facilities, free Wi-Fi, and tea/coffee making facilities.

FARES

Fare Region	First*	Standard
London: Kings Cross	£735	£629
Greater London	£755	£639
South of England	£765	£645
East Anglia	£815	£669
South West	£869	£689
Heart of England	£789	£659
Midlands	£689	£585
Yorkshire	£679	£599
North East	£555	£535
North West	£729	£625
South Wales	£809	£665
North Wales	£845	£689
Scotland	£685	£605
Join & Leave at Hotel	£505
Single Traveller Supplement	£120
Deposit	£75

*Please Note: Some local and regional train services are Standard Class seating only and First Class ticket holders will travel in standard class accommodation for these sections of their journey.

£5 tour discount for holders of National Railcards

3 nights’ bed & breakfast plus 2 evening meals and 1 lunch

Rail travel & seat reservations from your Home Station to Tour Base (Standard or First Class)

Rail & coach travel, with transfers as described

All excursions & admissions as detailed

Services of experienced Railtrail Tour Manager

Leisurely Tour Suitability Description

Important – Please select the number of passengers before proceeding to ‘Book Now’

Number of passengers:

Date	From Price	Book Now	Callback
8th December 2025	£500 Per person	Book Now	Callback

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Durham Royal County, Durham

Beamish, Living Museum of the North

Auckland Castle

Faith Museum

Shildon Locomotion Museum

Beamish1 ©Shutterstock

Beamish2 ©Shutterstock

Auckland ©Auckland Project

Faith Museum Nativity ©Auckland Project

Locomotion Museum1 ©AdobeStock

Locomotion Museum2 ©Dreamstime

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