When you think of England gone by, what do you imagine? Impressive cathedrals, castles of grandeur, stories of Bishops and Royalty amongst perfectly manicured gardens? Or perhaps it’s afternoon-tea, museums of artefacts, and a jolly chin-wag over a cuppa? Well, for those who are searching for the quintessentially British experience, I think I’ve found the perfect answer: Durham!
Located in the north-east of England, just below Newcastle, Durham City is famous world-round for its UNESCO listed Castle and Catherdral, but what many people don’t realise is Durham isn’t just a city, it’s a whole region compromising of four different areas; Durham Dales, Vale of Durham, The Durham Coast and the city itself.
I think Durham is one of those Europe hidden gems that really captures the essence of a county, so it’s surprising more visitors to England, or indeed us local folk, aren’t aware of how great a destination it is.
So while some people make the mistake of passing through on a day-trip, for those who stay a little while, you are rewarded with the chance to explore some slightly off-the-beaten-path gems in England. I recently spent four-days experiencing the best of Durham, and I’ve detailed it all below as well as in the video guide above, so you can get an idea of what you can experience during a long-weekend visit to Durham.

Durham Cathedral on Palace Green
Start in the city of Durham
Durham city itself makes for an ideal weekend break in England as it’s relatively compact and easy to explore on foot. With lots of fantastic restaurants and a cool bar scene, partly due to the university population that lives here, and its UNESCO attractions, if you don’t have time to spend a long-weekend exploring Durham, then you can happily fill two days just in the city.
Durham sits along the River Wear, and the riverbanks are perfect places to grab a coffee, enjoy a stroll, or hire a boat and head out yourself on a sunny day.
Around Market Place, you’ll find some of the best architecture in the city, and also a fair few independent shops and stores, especially in the Inside Markets courtyard. For more boutique shops with some arty designs, head to Fowlers Yard, a small selection of shops on a cobbled street with plenty of hidden gems to discover.
While you’ll find plenty of traditional pubs and fish and chip shops in the city, there is also some funky place to grab a coffee or meal. Flat White is a top coffee shop and cafe, and with the faded wood and bright light inside it’s a bit of an Instagrammers dream. For delicious food, I had a couple of great meals and highly recommended Zen for fantastic Thai, and Lebaneat for tasty vegetarian meals – and of course, there is Greggs, a fab bakery chain which I unashamedly love!
Durham also has a fair few green spaces to enjoy, both in the parks nearby the river, Wharton Park, and the Botanic Gardens which are just outside the city-centre near the University Campus. But of course, the main draw to the city is the UNESCO Catherdal and Castle which are both found on Palace Green.
With the tallest and narrowest tower of any Cathedral in England, you need to like steps and not dislike tight spaces to make it to the top, but for those that do, you’ll be rewarded with fantastic views.
As Durham city is reasonably compact, you can admire right out across the Durham Dales, with greenery as far as the eye can see, or autumn oranges if you visit in October as I did. It’s undoubtedly the best views of the city and region you’ll get, and I’m glad I ignored my fear of heights to make it up here.
Alongside the Cathedral, just off one of the cloisters is the Open Treasure Museum, with a collection from around the world, but with a particular focus on local discoveries and gems such as the original Sanctuary Knocker and sword of St. Cuthbert.
You can venture into the stone cellars, and go through air-tight rooms with ancient maps. The collection rotates from time to time, and I spent a solid hour walking through the open treasure rooms, so allow for this, time to climb the tower, and of course marvelling at the Cathedral itself – I was here for four hours in total.
Discover Durham Castle, now home to the University
The second part of the Durham UNESCO World Heritage site is Durham Castle, which due to now being the University, is open by tours only which can be booked online.
The tours take around 45-minutes to an hour, and times vary, but it’s well worth booking on to one if you can. You’ll feel like you have stepped into the Harry Potter set, and infact, they did request to film the grand dining room scenes here, but for some reason, it wasn’t possible.
in 1072 Durham Castle was commissioned by none other than King William the Conqueror, and its history is long and varied, most notably as the home of the Prince Bishops of Durham, and also having been a palace also over the years.
You’ll be filled in on the key history during the tour, where you can expect to see lavish suite rooms used by Bishops, the aforementioned grand dining hall which students use a canteen and is the breakfast room during B&B months, an ornate chape, underground carvings, and a museum of artefacts lining the hallways among other unique highlights.
Step Back in time at Beamish, the Living Museum of the North – the best I’ve ever visited
Hands down, Beamish is the best museum I’ve ever visited – and even with a full day here, I would gladly return for more. Luckily, given the scale of the place at 300-acres, if you buy a day-ticket, you get to return as much as you want within a year.
Beamish, the Living Museum of the North is home to countless interactive experiences that are well worth travelling for, and you can really get an idea for the history of England here as it plays out in front of you.
If you’re not familiar with the concept of a living museum, it basically works like an ordinary museum, but with interactive elements and actors playing the characters that would be typical of the museum experiences; think museum meets interactive theme park. Before you ask, yes, as an adult, I was utterly entertained – I don’t think you can write this one off as just for the kids.
Head to the Dales for impressive Raby Castle
It’s a tough call, but I think Raby Castle was the castle winner for me, even more so than Durham Castle!
Set amongst the rolling green hills of the Durham Dales, Raby Castle is fairly unique in it being privately owned, and not part of English Heritage that operates many of the castles across the country. If you know me, you know I love visiting Scotland for all the castles, greenery and lochs, so Raby Castle was the perfect picture for me.
Multiple rooms are open to the public, each dressed up in all their glory, though one of my favourite parts of the house was the kitchen, which is a vast space in blues and whites adorned with bronze cooking equipment, and at times would have seen up to 40 people working in here! It’s no surprise given the impact of the castle that it has been used as filming locations for various productions, including Victoria.
The area around the castle is open for dog-walkers and ramblers, and there is also a lovely little cafe here situated in the old horse stables. If you are after a traditional English Afternoon Tea in a rather spectacular setting, you can’t go wrong here, although the menu is full of delicious dishes and daily specials, alongside the coffees and cakes on offer. If you have a car, you can quite easily do Raby, Bowes and Barnard in one day given their proximity to each other in the Durham Dales.
Stroll through the old market town of Barnard Castle
Between The Bowes Museum and Raby Castle I briefly stopped in the adorable market town of Barnard Castle, which was like stepping back in time! Quaint independent pubs, cafes and shops lined the streets, with old houses and brickwork framing them.
The ruins of Barnard Castle itself sit just behind the town, although if you are short on time then Raby Castle in its grandeur should be the prioirty as not that much remains of Barnard Castle. Another set of ruins, Egglestone Abbey, sits just a little further down the River Tees.
Sadly I was only able to visit the gallery inside on my visit as they were still putting the finishing touches in, but from the sneak peek I did get it seems like it’s going to be as fun and interactive as the other museums, I saw in Durham. With audio in each room, and a ‘lived in’ theme throughout the castle (think banquet tables with half-eaten feasts and wardrobes you can rummage around in) they have done a fantastic job of bringing the castle truly back to life!
Another part of The Auckland Project worth visiting is Bishop Trevor Galley which is on the main square just down from the tower. The gallery focuses mainly on local artists telling the stories of the mining communities of the region, and with coal being such an important part of Durham’s history, there is quite a large collection of artwork here.
You could easily spend a full-day in Bishop Auckland alone between the attractions here and if you are here on the weekend in August or September, try and tie your visit in with the open-air performance of Kynren, telling tales from England gone by, which did take place against the backdrop of the castle but from 2020 will be set in its own park with new attractions!
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