Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Essentials
GETTING THERE
Durham lies on the main London-York-Edinburgh rail line,
with trains from London's King's Cross taking about 2
3
⁄
4
hours (at around £110 for a
round-trip). There are also direct trains from Leeds (p. 633), Manchester (p. 562),
and Birmingham (p. 466). Daily
National Express
(
&
0871/781-8181;
www.
nationalexpress.com) buses to Durham from London take 6 to 7
1
⁄
2
hours. London to
Durham by car is a straightforward 270-mile run up the M1, then the A1, taking you
4
1
⁄
2
hours or more.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Durham Tourist Information Centre,
2 Millen-
nium Place (
&
0191/384-3720;
www.thisisdurham.com), is open Monday to Sat-
urday 9:30am to 5:30pm, Sunday and bank holidays 11am to 4pm.
Durham Dales Centre,
Castle Garden, Stanhope (
&
01388/527650;
www.
durhamdalescentre.co.uk), is open daily 10am-5pm.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Durham's
Regatta
(www.durham-regatta.org.uk), dating
back to 1834, attracts 600-plus crews to compete over a weekend in June, and also
includes street theatre and a fireworks finale on the riverbanks.
Exploring the Area
DURHAM
A pleasant stopover venue for those en route to Northumbria and a charming base
for exploring the Durham Dales, this attractive university town is dominated by
Britain's largest and best-preserved Norman stronghold, William the Conqueror's
Cathedral
(
&
0191/3864266;
www.durhamcathedral.co.uk). Breathtaking
to view, this was the first English building with ribbed vault construction and also
the first stone-roofed cathedral in Europe—this latter feature was an architectural
necessity because it was not only a church and the final resting place of St. Cuthbert
from nearby Lindisfarne but also “half Castle 'gainst the Scots.” Within it you can
see Cuthbert's shrine, cross, and coffin, plus the former monks' dorm with its ham-
merbeam oak roof. Young visitors are kept engaged by audio-visual displays; those
over 1.3m (4 ft. 3 in.) tall can climb the tower for superb views. The cathedral's
award-winning Undercroft restaurant champions local produce.
The whole of Durham's city center is now a conservation area, home to more than
600 listed buildings.
Durham Castle
(
&
0191/334-4099;
www.dur.ac.uk/university.
college)—also Norman, and, like the cathedral, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage
site—is now home to University College, part of the city's highly regarded university,
and visitors can stay within its historic walls when the students have gone home for
the holidays. There are also tours most afternoons in term time and every morning
during vacations.
Otherwise, Durham is a delightful and compact city to wander around, especially
along the river (where you can boat in summertime). If you like Far Eastern and
Islamic art, the
Oriental Museum
(
&
0191/334-5694;
www.dur.ac.uk/oriental.
museum) has an outstanding collection; its new children's trails, plus its program of
family activities, means kids will enjoy it, too. If you are in the area with kids, head 6
miles outside Durham to Langley Park, where there's a
Diggerland
theme park.
DURHAM DALES, HERITAGE COAST & BEAMISH
Though coal- and iron-mining were the mainstays of the Durham Dales west of the
city, the latter are now part of the
North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural
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