Welcome to Hopetown Darlington
What's coming up?
Saturday 8 November
Micro North Model Railway Exhibition
The Carriage Works
Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 November
Steampunk Weekender
Site Wide
CHRISTMAS IS COMING
Experience the magic of Christmas at Ho-Ho-Hopetown Darlington
PLAY OR RIDE
We're thrilled to bring you Playtown on the Platform, an immersive outdoor playscape designed around discovery, learning and adventure.
Just across our glorious Goods Yard, the Hopetown platform has been transformed into an engaging zone-based playscape, where children can play and learn whilst out in the fresh air. They might even spot live trains going past!
This event is completely free of charge and is aimed at under-7's, although everyone is welcome to come and enjoy!
Parents are responsible for their children within the play area!
The rope has snapped and the coal wagons are hurtling down the hill. There’s nothing to stop them – until local children derail them with logs and save the day! Sounds exciting? It’s a true story! Those children lived near the Brusselton Incline, a Georgian feat of engineering which was part of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.
Based on the Brusselton Incline, Wagon Woods is Hopetown Darlington’s outdoor adventure play park designed and built by CAP.CO, the experts behind adventure play at Sandringham Estate, Blenheim Palace, and The Plotters’ Forest at Raby Castle.
With intersecting rail-track walkways, a chimney to climb, and a 50 metre boardwalk through the trees, Wagon Woods has been 3.5 years in the making. Developed in consultation with local primary schools and childminders, the play park includes an accessible incline track with interactive features and a companion slide suitable for wheelchair users.
Including a specially-designed toddler area, Wagon Woods is a day out for all the family.
Bring friends and make new ones to have fun, solve puzzles and make discoveries together.
The railway-themed time travel immersive experience ride!
Join Georgie and Stephen on a vivid journey through passenger rail travel, travelling across continents and through time - from 1825 to the present day and into the future!
From Locomotion No.1's first steam hauled passenger railway journey right here in Darlington to the Japanese bullet train and the Eurostar - see the impact Darlington's pioneering past has had on societies and cultures across time and around the world.
Located on the platform at North Road Station Museum, Experiment! is an extraordinarily vivid immersion into passenger rail travel.
Buckle in for North East England's only railway-themed simulator-style ride, which involves moderate rocking and tilting motions.
Each ride can accommodate nine people. Passengers in groups of ten or more will use multiple ride slots and may share it with people outside their group.
DOWNLOAD OUR APP
There are 11 QR codes to find dotted around Hopetown Darlington, including one on Skerne Bridge! Scan each QR code and you will meet an important character from Darlington's railway history. Each character is very knowledgeable and friendly - good luck finding them all.
After scanning a QR code, tap the screen to place the historical character into the real-world, and they will tell you about the area in which you are standing. Make sure to take a photo with your favourite character.
To help you out, you can enable subtitles by selecting the CC button. Don’t forget to bring your headphones with you!
The Hopetown Darlington app is designed for exclusive use at Hopetown Darlington. If the app does not appear in your app store, then unfortunately your device does not support it.
Need help during your visit?
Seek out a member of the Welcome Team. They're more than happy to help