Beamish boost.

BEAMISH is celebrating the busiest-ever October in its 39-year history.

The County Durham open-air museum was visited by more than 38,000 visitors last month. Only October 1995 comes close to that figure, with almost 34,000 visitors.

New special events - including two Halloween evenings - have tempted many local people back to the attraction, many who have not visited Beamish since their schooldays.

A spokeswoman said: "Beamish represents great value for money, which is high on the list of priorities for most of us these days. The Beamish Unlimited Pass, introduced in April, takes value for money just one step further. For the cost of a standard day ticket, it allows unlimited free visits for 12 months."