Michael and Pam's Travels Our European Motorhome Adventures and other Travels
Michael and Pam's Travels

Durham, England 2023

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Date: 2nd June 2023

Travelled: 0 kms Durham return via P+R ย ย 

Visited:ย  Durham ย 

Stayed: Durham P+R. ยฃ5, N54.79580, W01.52170  

Budget: 11 days @ โ‚ฌ105 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. Itโ€™s separated from general parking by a locked gate. The security guard tell us theyโ€™ve had problems with โ€˜travellersโ€™ coming in with caravans and refusing to move. Pretty sure he was referring to Gypsies or Roma as there also known here.

Thereโ€™s no particular hurry so itโ€™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.

Durham, County Durham, North East, England, DH1 3NG, United Kingdom
Outside the Old Town Hall, a bronze to the Durham Light Infantry.
Still in Market Square, we donโ€™t know why Neptune rates a statue.

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 Bishopโ€™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 walkingโ€ฆ

The Elvet Bridge circa 1180

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 Cuthbertโ€™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.
The Chior
The Alter
The Chapter House (parliament)
The Cloisters

After the cathedral with the very long name we go over to the university information office pictured below to collect out tickets (ยฃ7 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 Cosinโ€™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 (Bishopโ€™s Palace) to a University in 1882.

The Cosinโ€™s Library

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.
St Nicholaโ€™s Chapel a thousand years old.
The carving on each pillar signified something important but it escapes me now.
The oldest original arched doorway in England, so she said.
The staircase has a dreadful lean, we where asked to walk is single file close to the wall
The College dinning room, see below
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

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