What a fabulous place. The volunteers are extremely knowledgeable and make the visit come to life. It wasn't a steam day when I visited but I will definitely try and come back on a steam day if I'm in the area (I live in Hertfordshire) So much history and the workmanship of the buildings and engines stands testimony to our wonderful ancestors

What a fantastic place. We arrived, semi by chance, on the first day of steaming in 2026. We were greeted by the boiler men, who were very conversational particularly after explaining I work at a other steam engine site. One of the boiler men then volunteered to give our family group a private tour explaining every little bit and the history, why it was built, how long,, the amount of water etc. All very very interesting to see and such beautiful machines. And for over 300 tonnes such a soothing sound and smell. I feel we were privileged with the tour, however without I feel a lot of this information would not be available or easily accessible so definitely speak to the volunteers all of whom are very helpful.

Only open on bank holidays, donations welcomed! Very interesting, the people friendly and knowledgeable, loved showing and explaining how the machines worked. Homemade food in the cafe tasty, roaring fire in there reminded me of my youth 😍

What a really great experience watching Ryhope Pump House in action this Easter Weekend. The engineering and design behind it is absolutely phenomenal. Thanks to Dave Smith an absolute top man showing us around and giving us an unofficial tour and allowing our Belle to help keep the fire burning, great to see it steaming away 😀 #northeast #british #pumphouse #ryhope #ryhopeenginesmuseum

What a brilliant day out, especially as the engine was actually running, which apparently only happens on certain days. The scale of the engineering is amazing. There was also a classic car show on at the time which made the day even better. Definitely worth a visit if you get the chance.