Had a look around the newly-built Georgian era Drover’s Tavern at Beamish Museum.

Droving, that is moving livestock across long distances, has existed for thousands of years in Britain. The builders of Stonehenge in SW England feasted on animals brought down from as far as NE Scotland.

For many years, the main industrial centres and big cities in Britain had their meat brought in by drovers. Drover’s roads are still found all across the country today. Some are tarmac-covered and used by cars, but others look the same as they were in the 18th century.

The arrival of the steam train brought this way of life to an end around the middle of the 19th century.