Welcome to Hopetown Darlington
RAILWAY PIONEERS (S&DR200)
Until 22 June | 10am-5pm | Exhibition Hall | Free of charge
The first exhibition at Hopetown Darlington celebrating the bicentenary!
In celebration of start of the S&DR200 bicentennial anniversary festival, three iconic locomotives are on show in the historic Grade II listed Carriage Works. See
- The original Locomotion No.1 (yes, it's back from Shildon!)
- Penydarren
- Steam Elephant
UPCOMING EVENTS
- SATURDAY 10 MAY, 10AM-5PM
- Free of charge
Visit Hopetown Darlington with your four-legged companion for a fantastic outdoor fun day presented by Great Paws and Hopetown Darlington.
Complete with trader stalls, have-a-go areas, dog photography spots, and a 7.5 acre site to explore, this is the perfect doggy-training event where you can learn new training tips, have a bit of friendly competition with other owners, and make new friends. Have-a-go areas include Hoopers, a search area, and a rocket run.
There are a limited number of tickets, so book early to avoid disappointment!
This event takes place in the outdoor spaces of Hopetown Darlington as well as the Clocktower Café; dogs are not permitted in other indoor areas (such as North Road Station Museum, The Carriage Works, and the Viewing Gallery). This is an event for dogs comfortable around other dogs and people, and leads are to be used around the site. Please ensure that your dog is comfortable attending an event with loud noise, food, children, and many other dogs. And... remember those poop bags.
- SATURDAY 17 and SUNDAY 18 MAY, 10AM-5PM
- Free of charge
Have you got a passion for wheels and motors? If so, you’ll love to hear that classic vehicles are returning to the heart of railway heritage for our inaugural Classic Vehicle Rally.
Head on down to Hopetown Darlington to see some of the most beautiful classic cars and motorbikes from decades gone by and chat to their owners. There will be plenty of polished-up vehicles on display for serious enthusiasts and casual visitors to enjoy and pose for those amazing selfies.
If you would like to display your vehicle, please complete this form. There is now limited availability.
There will also be vintage stalls for you to rummage through and peruse too. Speaking of which, we still have stall availability. If you’re interested please email kelly.mcstravick@darlington.gov.uk.
It’s a fantastic day out for enthusiasts and families alike. Admission is totally free of charge.
- SATURDAY 5 and SUNDAY 6 JULY, 10AM-5PM
- From £3 per person
It's back! Comic Con is returning to Hopetown Darlington this summer.
Our first Comic Con was so popular that we couldn't wait a whole entire year for the next one, could we? So this July, and in partnership with Cute Fox Events, we're bringing you Hopetown Summer Con!
And this time, it's here for the whole weekend! Summer con promises to be a great value day out for all the family offering attractions such as photo opportunities, walkabout characters, traders and lots more – including celebrity guest appearances.
Confirmed celebrity guests and walk around characters include:
- Art the Clown - Terrifier (Saturday only)
- Dene Michael from Black Lace (Sunday only)
- Phil Fletcher and Hacker T Dog (Sunday only)
- Saracen - Gladiators (both days)
- Scorpio - Gladiators (both days)
- Back to the Future Delorean (both days)
- L&P Paranormal (both days)
- Face Painting and Balloon Modelling (both days)
- Cosplay Competition (both days)
- Chewbacca (both days)
Keep checking back for updates.
The star attraction will be the DeLorean DMC car. Made famous by the Back To The Future film-series, sit in the car for the ultimate photo opportunity. "Great Scott!"
There'll also be plenty of photo opportunities, face painting and a cosplay competition, too:-
Dust off your cosplay or get the sewing machine whirring for the cosplay competition at 4pm each day! Who will you come as? There are two age categories: Under 14 and 14 and over. There'll be special trophies for the winners and certificates for our runners up. You can only enter by attending Summer Con.
We'd love to see as many of you in costume as possible.
Get in touch with jeffycu@gmail.com to enquire about trade stalls.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are bookable in hourly slots. Please select the time you wish to arrive for Summer Con. You must arrive within your selected hourly time slot, but you are able to stay for the rest of the day once you have arrived. This is to help us manage capacity on the day.
Adults (18+) - £5.00 each
Children (5 - 17) - £3.00 each
Under 5’s – Free
- SUNDAY 10 AUGUST, 10AM-5PM
- Free of charge
Darlington Pride is back this summer and there are plenty of activities lined up across the whole weekend!
Pride is all about inclusivity and celebration, and for 2025 Pride in the Park is coming to Hopetown Darlington! Come and join the fun, celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, and create a party atmosphere!
Hopetown’s luscious outdoor spaces are the perfect location for a relaxed, family-friendly pride picnic with crafts, face painting, live music by Tracks Darlington, bubbles and storytelling. There will be delicious lunches and sweet treats available from the Clocktower Café, or feel free to bring a picnic and join in the fun!
The fun starts at 10am until 5pm with the main event running between 12pm until 3pm.
To find out more about Darlington Pride 2025 visit enjoydarlington.co.uk/pride
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 of 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