England Guide
The Northeast
Killhope Lead Mining Museum
Opening time: April– Oct daily 10.30am–5pm
Price: £4.50, £6.50 including mine visit
Address: 35 miles west of Durham, A689 between Stanhope and Alston (summer Weardale Motor Services bus)
Website: www.killhope.org.uk/Pages/KillhopeHomePage.aspx
One of the bigger lead mines in County Durham, at the head of the Weardale valley and a windy 1500 feet above sea level, is now the Killhope Lead Mining Museum. It's a terrific attraction, presenting the nineteenth-century buildings and machinery in a way that really brings home the hardships of a mining life. The highlight is descending Park Level Mine on a one-hour tour in the company of a guide who expounds entertainingly about the realities of life underground, notably the perils of the "Black Spit", a lung disease which killed many men by their mid-forties.