A NORTH-East open air museum is celebrating after being named among the top ten tourist UK attractions on Instagram – and the leader outside of London.

Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, was given the accolade after Holidu, the search engine for holiday rentals, analysed the popularity of British museums and galleries on the social media platform.

Sally Dixon, assistant director partnerships and communications at Beamish, said: “We’re delighted that Beamish is ranked among the top 10 British museums and galleries on Instagram, alongside attractions such as the Tate, British Museum, V&A and National Portrait Gallery.

“At Beamish, we’re proud to bring the North-East’s history to life for our hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and we also love to share our amazing open air museum with our social media followers across the world. It’s fantastic to see the popularity of the museum being highlighted in this way and, in our Golden Jubilee year, we look forward to welcoming even more visitors during 2020.”

The announcement came as Beamish unveiled a packed events programme for 2020, which marks its Golden Jubilee.

Celebrations will begin with birthday parties around the museum during half-term from February 15 to 23.

International Women’s Day celebrations will be held on March 7 and 8, when visitors will be able to learn more about the Suffragette movement and chant "Votes For Women” as they march down the 1900s Town street.

Mothering Day will be marked by a special Mothering Sunday on March 22.

The Great North Steam Fair will feature a host of steam locomotives and vehicles of all shapes and sizes from April 2 to 5, while Easter Fun at Beamish will feature a range of family activities from April 5th to 13.

The popular Beamish for Horses at Work will be held on April 25 and 26 and May Day celebrations will be held on May 2 and 3.

The Georgian Fair, including a fantastic fire eater, musicians and a visit to the Quack Doctor will run from May 15 to 17 and the region’s brass bands battle it out in the Brass at Beamish contest on June 14.

A display of pre-1939 vehicles by the Morris Car Club at the Morris Car Rally will be held on June 20 and 21, while the museum will celebrate 50 years of the Beamish Reliability Run on June 21.

Starting and finishing at the museum, the event will see an array of cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles registered before 1956 embark on a 150-mile run though Durham and North Yorkshire.

Paul Foster, Beamish’s historic events officer, said: “We’re looking forward to a thrilling year of events for 2020. This will be a very special year for the museum as we celebrate our Golden Jubilee so, as well as the firm favourites such as the Great North Steam Fair and Festival of 50s."

Beamish Museum is open from 10am until 4pm in the winter and 10am until 5pm in the summer. It is closed Mondays and Fridays until February 14.

For more information visit www.beamish.org.uk.