Baliffgate Museum and Gallery

Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery is a volunteer-run, award-winning local history museum in Alnwick, housed in a Grade II listed former church in the town's historic Castle Quarter. Spanning 10,000 years of Alnwick and North Northumberland's past, the permanent displays across the lower floors bring the region's story to life through artefacts, photographs and audio-visual exhibits. Well-behaved dogs on short leads are welcome throughout the permanent exhibition floors.

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am–4pm and Sunday 11am–4pm, with Bank Holiday Mondays included. A changing programme of temporary exhibitions runs in the top-floor gallery throughout the year, though dogs are not permitted on the gallery floor as the exhibits there belong to external lenders. If you're visiting solo, taking turns is the practical plan. There's four-hour free street parking directly outside and a large free all-day car park a short walk away.

It's the kind of place that rewards a return visit — the permanent collection keeps giving, even if your dog's main contribution is a thorough sniff of several thousand years of Northumberland history and a hopeful look at the gift shop on the way out.