VIRTUAL visitors can now explore the region’s most popular museum after 21st Century technology came to its Edwardian streets.

Google Street View has added 360 degree images of Beamish Museum to its growing coverage of the world.

A Google Street View car and a trekker with a backpack camera who visits the places a vehicle cannot go toured the museum’s streets, including the 1900s pit village, the 1820s Pockerley Old Hall and 1940s farm.

David Watchman, Beamish’s digital communications officer, said: “We were delighted to work with Google Maps to capture these fantastic Street View images, which showcase what an amazing place Beamish is.

“Visitors around the world will be able to get a taste of Beamish and understand the huge scale of the museum before they even arrive”.

He added: “Google Street View is part of the exciting digital developments planned for Beamish in the future, especially as we look towards the creation of our new 1950s Town.”

Among the other landmarks on Google Street View are the Taj Mahal in India, the Pyramids of Giza, in Egypt and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

The trekker was first used to capture the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

The Beamish Street View images can be found at www.google.com/maps.