Durham travel guide
South of Newcastle-upon-Tyne lies the compact and friendly university town of Durham. Its cathedral and castle, caught in a loop in the River Wear, are a Unesco World Heritage site.
On the north side of Millennium Place lies St Nicholas’ Church, once part of the city walls, and Guildhall, with a Tudor doorway and balconies. South of the square, Saddler Street and Owen Gate lead to Palace Green. From here there is a grand view of the city’s finest buildings, including the legacies of a 17th-century benefactor, Bishop Cosin, the elegant 17th-century red-brick Bishop Cosin’s Hall and Bishop Cosin’s Library, a favourite backdrop for photographs of students who have just graduated. A gateway to the right leads to University College in Durham Castle. Across the Green is the Cathedral, once voted Britain’s favourite building.
The Durham Heritage Centre on North Bailey has exhibitions and audio-visual displays of the city. Riverside Walk, a pleasant path beside the river, leads to The Upper Room, a sculpture of The Last Supper carved from 11 elm trees by Colin Wilbourn, and the Old Fulling Mill, home of the Museum of Archaeology. Prebends Bridge (1777) affords a classic view of the cathedral.
Places to visit in Durham
Durham Castle
Tel: 0191 334 3800
One of the finest Norman palaces in Britain, Durham Castle was the domain of the powerful Prince Bishops of Durham, who had their own parliament, laws, coinage and army. It was the only northern stronghold not to fall to the marauding Scots, and is now occupied by University College.
Cathedral
Tel: 0191 386 4266
Durham’s spectacular Romanesque cathedral, dramatically sited above a meander in the River Wear, is one of Europe’s finest. Inside, massive columns stride down the nave like a petrified forest; boldly incised with spirals, lozenges, zigzags and flutings, their impact is stunning. Largely completed by 1133, it was the first major English church to be covered entirely by stone vaulting and is the finest example of early Norman architecture. Its outstanding features include the Galilee Chapel, with a tomb of England’s first great historian, the Venerable Bede (died 735) and the Chapel of the Nine Altars, which contains the remains of St Cuthbert. The Treasury Museum contains other relics of the saintly Bishop of Lindisfarne.
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