THESE photographs offer a magical glimpse into the Christmas of bygone eras.

This season visitors to the Beamish Museum in County Durham are being treated to the wondrous sights, sounds and mouth-watering tastes of traditional festivities in the 1820s, 1900s and 1940s.

Guests visiting the new Beamish Bazaar in The Town park, were able to find vintage gifts, presents and local festive food.

Roving musicians entertained the night-time crowds with a violin and an accordion, as vintage electric trams and buses travelled down the wet cobbles in the authentic Edwardian town centre.

An illuminated steam carousel turned under the cover of darkness at the famous open air museum in Stanley, County Durham, while Santa Claus answered children's wishes in his fireside grotto.

Bloggers Paul and Julie, who write for Canny Campers, compared Beamish to other "winter wonderland" attractions that have made the headlines recently, saying: "Unlike these quickly arranged winter wonderland events, Beamish Museum has an established history of well over 40 years."

They added: "It has had many years to mature and take you back in time to a

Christmas that has not yet been replaced by Amazon, stress and present buying."