How to Spend the Spring Bank Holiday in the North East
The Spring Bank Holiday falls on Monday 25 May this year, and with a long weekend stretching ahead, the North East of England is one of the best places in the country to be. Whether you are travelling with family, a partner, or simply looking for a proper recharge, County Durham and Teesside offer an extraordinary range of things to do, many of them right on the doorstep.
Get Out on the Coast
The North East coastline at this time of year is at its best: fresher than high summer, the beaches less crowded, and the light across the North Sea genuinely breathtaking. Saltburn-by-the-Sea is the perfect starting point, with its Victorian pier, colourful beach huts, and a legendary cliff tramway that children and adults alike adore. From Saltburn it is an easy walk along the coastal path south toward Skinningrove, or north along the sands toward Redcar. The Majuba Beach stretch at Redcar is wide, flat, and ideal for a blustery bank holiday walk, with a fine fish and chip shop or two nearby to reward the effort.
Beamish Museum: Festival of Transport
This May Half Term, Beamish Museum near Durham City is running its popular Festival of Transport, with vintage buses and road steam vehicles travelling around the museum site from 23 to 31 May. The bank holiday weekend is an ideal time to visit. Beamish is always worth a half-day or a full day, and the reconstruction of early 20th-century town life, a colliery village, and a Victorian farm makes it genuinely unlike anywhere else in the country. Families visiting over the bank holiday weekend will find it particularly memorable.
Guisborough and the Moors Fringe
For those staying in Guisborough, the bank holiday is a great reason to explore both the market town and the moorland countryside immediately behind it. Guisborough Priory makes for a wonderful short visit, and the surrounding lanes offer fine walking and cycling. The North York Moors National Park begins almost immediately to the south, with Roseberry Topping, the distinctive cone-shaped hill above Great Ayton, a firm favourite for families looking for a manageable half-day hike with spectacular views as a reward.
Durham City and the Dales
Durham City is always worth a visit, and a bank holiday is a good reason to take it slowly. The riverside walk around the Cathedral and Castle is one of the finest short walks in England, and the cafes and independent shops along Saddler Street and Elvet Bridge are well worth an afternoon. The Durham Dales, to the west of the city, are at their most vivid in late May when wildflowers are at their peak. Weardale and Teesdale both reward a drive, and the waterfalls at High Force near Middleton-in-Teesdale are spectacular after spring rain.
Plan Your Stay with Cozy Quarters
If you are planning a trip to the North East over the bank holiday, arriving a day or two early means you avoid the rush and get the best of the quieter, midweek version of these places. Cozy Quarters manages serviced accommodation properties across Guisborough, Hartlepool, Redcar, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland, and County Durham, all set up with the comfort of home and none of the compromise of a standard hotel room.
Browse our Spring Bank Holiday availability at cozyquarters.co.uk and find your perfect base for exploring the North East this May.