Tourism

A celebration event took place at Seaham station on Monday 15 December to mark the historic occasion, attended by local MP Grahame Morris and other local councillors and businesses, who heralded the new services as “invaluable” for the local community. 

Attendees applauded the 10:41am service from Seaham to London into the station, before Grahame Morris MP stepped on board to travel to Parliament, and made a tannoy announcement to celebrate the new services.  

Previously, passengers from Seaham would have had to change services to travel to London, with the journey taking up to four hours. Now, the new direct service will enable passengers to reach London in approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes. 

This new service builds on Grand Central’s proud history of bolstering regional connectivity in the North East, providing direct services from historically underconnected areas like Sunderland, Hartlepool and Eaglescliffe into London. Its services play an essential role in boosting regional growth, supporting an area outside London with a combined GDP of £113bn. 

Earlier this year, Arriva, which operates Grand Central, placed an order for £300 million-worth of tri-mode new trains for Grand Central routes following the extension of its track access rights. These trains will be manufactured in the North East at Hitachi Rail’s Newton Aycliffe facility, and bolster connectivity by increasing seats by 20%.

Services provided by Grand Central can work in tandem with the new Great British Railways, enhancing and complementing the UK Government’s rail nationalisation plans, ensuring that the rail network is making the best possible use of its capacity. 

Chris Brandon, Director at Grand Central, said: “Today is a milestone not just for Grand Central, but for Seaham. For the first time in history, residents here have a direct, reliable connection to London – a connection that reflects the town’s growing ambition and needs. This launch reflects our mission to continue investing in the North East: through our £300 million order of new trains, and through seeking increased track access rights, which will allow us to provide more services in the region for years to come. Our focus remains on delivering the essential services that communities need, at no cost to the taxpayer, while supporting regional economic growth.”

Grahame Morris, Member of Parliament for Easington, said: “It’s fantastic news that Grand Central has launched its new four-a-day stopping service from Seaham to London. This service will be invaluable for my constituents, whether travelling for work or leisure, providing direct connections to both York and London. The East Durham Coastline has been underused for decades, and I’m delighted that Grand Central has recognised the enormous potential of this route and worked hard to make it a reality. This is a major step forward for our constituency’s connectivity and local economy, opening up new opportunities for jobs, tourism, and investment. I will continue to work closely with Grand Central to ensure these services continue well beyond the initial one-year approval period.”

The funding is part of a total of £1.3million awarded through the latest round of Art Fund’s Reimagine programme, supporting innovative collections projects in museums and galleries across the UK.

Beamish’s Reclaim the Stores project will make the museum’s stored collections more accessible, and work towards the reopening of its popular Open Store, which has been closed since the pandemic, giving access to previously unseen parts of the collection.

Rhiannon Hiles, Beamish’s Chief Executive, said: “We are extremely grateful to Art Fund for this funding that will enable us to widen access to our collections and bring a significant, long-term impact for our communities, staff, volunteers, visitors and partners.

“Beamish is a charity and independent museum, with communities and our people at the heart of all we do, so we are delighted that this funding will allow increased opportunities to connect with our collections, broaden the stories we tell, work with communities to co-create displays, increase skills and help towards the reopening of our Open Store.”

Beamish was named Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025, the world’s largest museum prize, and cares for around three million objects in its Designated and Accredited collection.

Helen Barker, Beamish’s Executive Director – Collections and Programmes, said: “Thanks to this funding from Art Fund we will Reimagine what our stored collections can be, making them accessible for display, research, inspiration, learning and enjoyment.

“We will carry out work on our small object stores to optimise use of space, increase understanding of, and access to, the collection not currently on display, build on our community engagement work and invest in additional skills and training for staff.

“We will revisit our Open Store, which has remained closed since Covid, to showcase previously unseen parts of the collection and highlight diverse regional stories.”

Beamish welcomed nearly 839,000 visitors last year and is the North East’s most visited attraction, and among the top paid-for attractions nationally.

The museum has completed its Remaking Beamish project, the biggest capital development project in its 55-year history, and is now looking ahead to exciting and ambitious plans for its future.

Launched in 2020 in response to the pandemic, Reimagine was developed to address the most urgent challenges facing UK museums. This latest round focuses on collections – a cornerstone of Art Fund’s mission and one of the areas of museum practice with the greatest demand for funding. Art Fund’s Museum Directors Survey in 2024 found that 56 per cent of museums cite lack of funding for collections as a major barrier to essential work such as digitisations, collections reviews and acquisitions.

Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund, said: “At the core of Art Fund’s purpose is supporting museums to develop, care for and share the collections that enrich people’s lives. I’m delighted we’ve been able to support Beamish, Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025, through our final round of Reimagine funding, enabling museums to explore their collections, connect with communities and ensure that works of art, objects and their stories are shared and preserved for future generations.” 

This funding has been made possible thanks to support from The Kirby Laing Foundation, Art Fund members and supporters of Art Fund’s Expanding Horizons appeal.

 

VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar competition, now in its 14th year, seeks out champions working in tourism who provide fantastic experiences for visitors, as well as showcasing the variety and quality of England’s tourism offer, businesses and destinations.  

The 10 finalists, individuals or teams, were selected from dozens of submissions from Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs), destinations, employers and colleagues and cover all areas of tourism.

The finalists will now go on to compete for the title of Tourism Superstar 2026 decided by a public vote and run on VisitEngland’s website in February and March 2026.  

VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:  

“Our Tourism Superstar competition truly showcases the diversity of roles in our wonderful industry with all those involved demonstrating their passion for their places of work and destinations. It is their commitment to making visitors leave with magical memories that we are celebrating, and I encourage the public to show their support by voting for their favourite superstar. 

“From volunteers, guides, leaders in astro-tourism to chefs, holiday park employees and events teams, these finalists are already superstars. They strive to continuously improve the visitor experience, and I wish them every success when the competition opens in February 2026. Please do cast your vote!” 

VisitEngland Tourism Superstar 2026 finalists are: 

1. Jimmy Nicol, volunteer guide at Raby Castle, County Durham 
2. Hull & East Yorkshire Volunteers (HEY! Volunteers), supporting culture, tourism and heritage, East Riding of Yorkshire 
3. Dan Monk, Director of Astrophotography Kielder Observatory, Northumberland 
4. Maurizio Bocchi, chef at La Locanda, Lancashire 
5. Coast & Country Parks Holiday Connoisseurs, Coast & Country Parks – Somerset, Devon & Cornwall 
6. Leicester’s Festivals and Events Team, Leicestershire 
7. Mick Hurst, Battle of Evesham Historical Events and Reenactments, Worcestershire 
8. Sheila Hannon, Show of Strength Theatre Walks, Bristol 
9. Badger Hide Guides Volunteers at Wild Haweswater, the RSPB at Wild Haweswater, Cumbria 
10. Cheryl Cade, Tour Guide, Norwich and Norfolk 

The public will be able to vote for their favourite superstar on VisitEngland’s website from early February when the competition officially opens. Short films of all the finalists, carrying out their duties in their tourism roles and promoting their local destinations, will be shown on VisitEngland’s website to support with voting. Voting will run until the end of English Tourism Week which in 2026 takes place from the 13-22 March.

The finalist with the highest number of votes is crowned winner at the end of the competition with the Tourism Superstar award handed out at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2026 event in the summer. 

For more information on VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar competition go VisitEngland Tourism Superstar Awards UK | VisitBritain.org

Tourism is one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, delivering economic growth right across the country.   

For further information contact charlotte.sanders@visitengland.org or on 02075781428 or on 07583682901