Ideas For a Visit to Consett in County Durham

Consett, County Durham, in the north east ofAfter the demise of the steel industry (which at
England, is a relatively small town with a populationthe height of steel production in the 1960's
of around 30,000. The town is on the easternemployed over 6,000 workers), Consett became
bank of the River Derwent.one of the worst employment black spots in the
During the mid 1800's it was nothing more than acountry.
small hamlet with a population of only a fewThis has been slowly addressed and the
hundred people.unemployment rate of Consett stands at around
Then mineral resources were found, along with4% and the crime rate is amongst the lowest in
the technology to refine these from the raw orethe United Kingdom.
into iron.An absolute must for any visit to the area is a
The hamlet became a booming town as moretrip to Beamish, a museum that shows a lot of
and more people came in to extract its hiddenthe history of the local industry in and around
wealth. Iron ore was found in vast quantities.Consett.
Nearby there was limestone and coking coal, bothConsett is surrounded by fantastic countryside,
major constituents in refining the iron from thestunning scenery and breathtaking views. It is on
ore.the northern most edge of the Pennines. The
This formed the basis of the steel makingtown itself is extremely picturesque. Hospitality
industry around Consett.from the local people is what you would expect
Many blast furnaces were constructed and thefrom those 'Up North'.
steel industry boomed. The steelworks dominatedConsett is the birthplace of several famous
the town from the mid 1800's all the way throughpeople. Perhaps the best known of these is
to 1980, when sadly the last furnaces closedRowan Atkinson, who plays the part of the
down due to economic pressures and rising costsimmeasurable fool 'Mr Bean' and is also famous
of extracting and importing the raw materials.for his role in 'Blackadder'.