Durham, England 2023

Date: 2nd June 2023

Travelled: 0 kms Durham return via P+R

Visited: Durham

Stayed: Durham P+R. £5, N54.79580, W01.52170

Budget: 11 days @ €105 per day

We spend a quiet evening with one other motorhome in the P+R. The parking site set aside for motorhomes must be at least a few acres. It’s separated from general parking by a locked gate. The security guard tell us they’ve had problems with ‘travellers’ coming in with caravans and refusing to move. Pretty sure he was referring to Gypsies or Roma as there also known here.

There’s no particular hurry so it’s a lazy start and we find ourselves on the 10 am bus to Durham, 10 minutes later the bus drops us in central Durham, less than 100m from Market Square pictured below.

Outside the Old Town Hall, a bronze to the Durham Light Infantry.

Durham stands defensively on a loop in the River Wear in north east England. Famed for its massive cathedral housing the relic of St Cuthbert and the Prince Bishop’s Castle that is now the centrepiece of Durham University. It also stands as the backdrop for the Inspector George Gently TV series.

Enough background we continue walking…

Near the top of the hill, the Cathedral. It has a lovely lawned area (come cemetery) at the entry. It is a mammoth building its size and wealth reflect those who sort Saint Cuthbert’s of Lindisfarnes (687 AD) blessing and healing powers long after his canonisation.

The Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and Saint Cuthbert of Durham or Durham Cathedral.

After the cathedral with the very long name we go over to the university information office pictured below to collect out tickets (£7 pp) for a guided tour of the castle now university. You cannot visit the castle unless on a tour.

We have some time to spare so we wander the universities archeological museum which is very interesting. But a highlight of our visit was the Cosin’s Library established in 1669. The curator gave a most interesting talk on the library and its history and how it became the basis for the transition of the Castle (Bishop’s Palace) to a University in 1882.

Our tour starts promptly at 1.15 and we spend the next hour wandering the castle as our guide rolls through local history and which Bishop built what.

Inside the Castle walls its lunchtime and some of the students are playing croquet on the lawn.

The dinning room scenes in Harry Potter movies were supposed to be filmed here at Durham University, but there was a scheduling problem so they built a set based on this room in a studio.

So that was Durham, we wander over Elver Bridge once again to a little restaurant overlooking the Wear enjoying a very late lunch whilst watching the rowboats pass by. Pam thought the French SB + C blend excellent and the lager was lager on a sunny afternoon in Durham was as good as it gets.

Michael + Pam

Leave a comment Cancel reply

One thought on “Durham, England 2023”