Durham (England)

By plane

User:Robin Widdison

• Durham CathedralDurham bishopric was founded in 995 AD by monks from Lindisfarne, fleeing Viking raids, and bringing their holy relics with them. Early Norman bishops were of royal status - hence their title "Prince Bishop" - and they built the present cathedral from 1093. It's a magnificent structure, part of a World Heritage Site, with a soaring nave and 66 metre tower. The relics of Saint Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede, and hundreds of ancient artefacts, are on display in the Open Treasure exhibition (M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su from 12:30PM, adults £7.50). The northwest (or "Galilee") tower can be climbed on Fridays & Saturdays, adult £5, 137 steps and a fair bit of pigeon poo. The cathedral is a working church, please respect services and private prayer, and there may be part-closures at short notice eg for funerals.

• Durham CastleOriginally Norman, but much altered in the 19th century, and part of a World Heritage Site. It's now part of University College Durham, and can only be visited on a one-hour tour, conducted by current students. Some of them reside within The Keep, the oldest student accommodation in the world, dating from 1073.

• Durham Indoor MarketVictorian covered market. Smoker or not, visit the amazing tobacconist and the sweetie shop in the corner, with hundreds of jars of real traditional sweets. Extends outdoors across the market place.

• Kingsgate BridgeA striking 1960s concrete span designed by Ove Arup although it is an acquired taste

• Botanic Garden

  address: South Rd DH1 3TN
  10-hectare gardens run by Durham University.

• Oriental Museum

  phone: +44 191 334 5694
  address: Elvet Hill Rd DH1 3TH
  Attached to Durham University, this museum displays artefacts from far east (China, Japan, Korea), central Asia (Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Afghanistan), South Asia (India), Southeast Asia, Near and Middle East, and Egypt. Search their data base for material not on display.

• Walk the scenic meander on the River Wear, for great views of the cathedral. There are footpaths both sides.
• Hire pleasure boats on the river, from Easter to Autumn.
• Watch a performance at the modern Gala Theatre complex, or ice-skate here in late December and early January.
• Participate in a Ghost Walk, contact the Tourist Information Office within the Gala Theatre for dates and times.

• Durham Walking Tours90-min walking tour through the heart of Durham City. Meet outside the tourist information office every week day at 2PM.

• Durham University CampusIf you or a family member might want to study at Durham, there are three ways to find out more. Best are the Open Days, with a chance to interview staff and current or recent students. Next best are the Discover Durham campus walking tours, held in Oct & Nov. And for a taster, take the virtual campus tour.

• Diggerland

  address: Langley Park, Co. Durham, DH7 9TT
  Diggerland is a JCB-themed amusement park where visitors young and old can get behind the "wheel" of various items of construction machinery (Dumper Trucks, Mini Diggers, Giant Diggers, etc.) Events are also run by arrangement, such as JCB or Dumpster Racing.
• Watch cricket at Riverside Stadium in Chester-le-Street, 8 miles north. This is home to Durham CCC, who play in Division Two of the County Championship. County matches normally last 3-4 days. The stadium also frequently hosts international or "Test Matches", lasting up to five days. The stadium is 200 yards from the railway station, frequent trains take less than ten minutes from Durham or Newcastle.

• There are some "one-off" shops near to the Cathedral which are definitely worth a visit.
• Fresh produce from the Farmers' Market, or the French Market (check dates with Tourist Information)
• Local people do their "big shop" at Gateshead's Metro Centre, one of the largest shopping malls in Europe. It's on the A1 west of Newcastle, or change trains at Newcastle for Metrocentre, or take hourly direct bus X22 from Durham.

• Esquires Coffee

• Saddlers, on Saddler Street, near the Market Place
• Vennels, opposite Saddlers, up an alleyway (or "vennel" in local dialect)
• Pancakes, on Crossgate, at the junction with Neville Street
• Cathedral Undercroft Restaurant, 9AM-5PM. Serves traditional lunches too.

• Nine Altars CaféAlso serves light meals, beers and wine.

• Durham Indoor Market

  , located in the city's main square, offers traditional local food such as pease pudding (most traditionally used in a ham and pease pudding stottie bread sandwich).
• Fish & Chips are common traditional local food due to the proximity to the North Sea and its cod fish. Some long-standing fish & chips stalwarts of Durham are Stanton's on Neville Street, Bell's in the market place and - outside of the city centre - K.S. Davison in Bowburn.

Budget

• Café Cenno, upstairs in the Durham Indoor Market, with a splendid vista of the railway viaduct and river on one side, and the market stalls on the other. Bacon and eggs, etc. Free Wi-Fi internet access is available when purchasing food and drink.
• The Garden House Pub, through the park behind the railway station, serving excellent Pub Grub and considerably cheaper than city centre pubs and restaurants.
• Romeo's on Elvet Bridge for a chintzy Italian restaurant.
• Wetherspoon's on North Road and Lloyd's opposite the Gala for basic but hearty pub meals: burgers, curries, etc.
• Stantons Fish and Chips, fish and chips, and crackin' pizza n pasta!
• Gregg's or Cooplands Bakery, for affordable pies, pasties, bread, sandwiches, cakes and drinks. Various locations across the city, on Saddler Street, North Road and New Elvet.
• Ruby's Roast, cheap beef sandwiches and burgers. Great after a night out, but even more so at other times.
• La Spaghettata, for wonderful and very cheap Italian food. Prices around £6-8 for a main course.

Mid-range

• The Bridge Hotel, under the viaduct, for large portions.
• The Almhouses Restaurant, on Palace Green, between the Castle and cathedral.
• Bella Mamma at Neville's Cross (a mile west of the railway station) for a classy Italian meal.
• Bella Italia, Italian restaurant underneath Cafe Rouge (formerly Pizza Hut) in Silver Street at the end of Framwellgate Bridge. Ask for a table in the conservatory overlooking the River Wear.
• Court Inn, next to the Crown Court. Best to book a table, and look out for the prisoner peaking through the window in the dining room! Specials during the day.
• Kwai Lam, Chinese cuisine on Saddler Street
• Ché Vitas adjoined to the Travelodge at the foot of Gilesgate Bank. Yet another Italian, reasonably cheap and good food.
• Chiquito's, ASK, Nando's and Slug & Lettuce. Typical decent chain-restaurants in the complex next to the Gala.

Splurge

• Zen

  phone: +44 191 384 9588
  address: Court Lane DH1 3JS
  A trendy bar and Thai food.

• Fat Buddha

  phone: +44 191 383 1390
  address: Unit 6B and 6C Walkergate DH1 1SQ
  Asian fusion cuisine and trendy bar.

• Or, eat like a true citizen of Durham and have a mince pie and sticky bun from any of Durham's many bakeries.

• For the cheapest pint in Durham try one of the College bars if you have student ID (£1.20/pint for lager).
• For the cheapest non-student pint in Durham, try the wonderfully unadulterated Colpitts Hotel at the top of Allergate, where you can pick up a pint of Samuel Smiths Old Brewery bitter for £2 and play a game of pool or darts; the larger Swan and Three Cygnets also sells Sam Smith's at a slightly higher price, with a beer garden overlooking the River Wear.
• For the trendiest drink in Durham, try a cocktail at Hide on Saddler Street, or the newly opened Fabio's Bar, conveniently straight over the road.
• For the scariest pint in Durham, try The Shakespeare Tavern , the "most haunted pub in England" - drinks only.
• For the most interesting pint in Durham, try one of the plethora of local real ales on sale at The Woodman at the bottom of Gilesgate Bank (around one kilometre from the Market Place, past the Gala Theatre and up Claypath). Be warned that they will not be to everyone's taste and may be considerably stronger than your standard tipple!
• Try the Victoria Inn on Hallgarth Street (near Durham student's union) for a slice of Victoriana and raging fires in the winter. A fantastic range of whiskeys and real ales lead The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to vote 'The Victoria' the best pub in Durham.

• Fishtank, possibly the smallest club in the world (it is above Stantons Fish & Chip Shop on Neville Street, hence the name), but offering up an impressive programme of alternative music.
• Klute, Elvet Bridge, think school disco every night of the week, voted the second-worst nightclub in Europe by FHM magazine in 2013, but it became the worst by default after an arson attack destroyed the previous holder of the title, and now proudly wears that title.
• Studio, the closest Durham has to a non-student nightclub.
• Loft, owned by the same people as Studio, and is next door.
• Loveshack, in the Gala Theatre complex, near the railway station. It is Durham's largest club and has a modest cover charge and reasonable music.
• Ebony (formerly Épernay), champagne bar, near the Gala theatre. Glass of champagne from £5. Bottles from £30.

• Farnley Tower Hotel

  phone: +44 191 375 0011
  address: The Avenue, DH1 4DX
  13-bedroom hotel in converted Victorian mansion, 1 mile west of city centre.

• Travelodge

  address: Station Lane, Gilesgate DH1 1LJ
  Durham used to have four railway stations: this one was Durham Gilesgate, whence the last passenger train departed in 1857. The former station house is now the Travelodge, a reliable budget chain.
• Premier Inn on Freeman's Place DH1 1SW is another chain budget choice.

• The Bridge Hotel

  address: 40 North Road, DH1 4SE
  Hotel established in 1864.

• The Garden House

  address: North Road, DH1 4NQ
  B&B accommodation.

• Radisson Blu

  phone: +44 191 372 7200
  address: Framwellgate Waterside DH1 5TA
  Reliable 4-star chain with 207 rooms: Standard, Business, Suites and The Presidential Suite. All rooms are equipped with TV and free internet access. The hotel includes its own Italian restaurant and 2 bars and a health club.

• Durham Marriott Hotel Royal County

  phone: +44 191 386 6821
  address: Old Elvet DH1 3JN
  4-star hotel, part dates back to the 17th century, modern amenities plus historic charm. Rooms have work-space, hair dryer, a/c and high-speed Internet.

• Beamish is the North of England Open Air Museum, five miles west of Chester-le-Street, north of Durham. Extensive "skansen"-type museum with reconstructed buildings from around the northeast, big enough to host its own tram network. Waggonway bus 28/28A runs here from Newcastle via Gateshead and Chester-le-Street, M-Sa every 30 mins, hourly Sunday.
• You're bound to see the colossal Angel of the North statue as you travel north by road or rail from Durham into Gateshead and Newcastle. By road exit A1(M) onto A167 and follow the footpath. Or take Angel Bus 21 north from Durham, the bus stop is at the foot of the statue.
• Newcastle upon Tyne is the throbbing heart of the North East, with excellent shopping, clubbing and art. Take the train, see "Get In".
• Locomotion is a branch of the National Railway Museum in Shildon, near Bishop Auckland, 20 miles south of Durham. The collection is mostly Victorian steam era from around the north of England. By car follow A167 then A689 then signs to Shildon; buses also run via Bishop Auckland. Shildon has its own railway station: travel to Darlington and change to a local train towards Bishop Auckland.
• York, 60 miles south, is a must-see.
• The Durham coastline is often industrial or muddy. The coast improves at Whitby, a pretty North Yorkshire harbour town noted for crab-meat, Goths and vampires. It's 60 miles southeast, in summer use the daily direct X60 Arriva bus. Or take the train changing at Darlington and Middlesbrough: the line between Middlesbrough and Whitby is very scenic. The North Yorks coast south of Whitby has cliffs and fishing coves all the way down to Scarborough and Bridlington, but you'll need a car to explore them.

• Barnard Castle is a pretty market town with its ruined castle overlooking the river Tees. It's on A688 about 25 miles southwest of Durham. The stand-out attraction here is the Bowes Museum Newgate DL12 8NP, in a vast French-style mansion.
• High Force is a 71-foot waterfall, where the River Tees plunges over Whin Sill, the hard band of rock that elsewhere underpins Hadrian's Wall. It's 15 miles northeast of Barnard Castle along B6277.
• Escomb Saxon Church, one mile west of Bishop Auckland, has been in use since the 6th century.