Durham

Introducing Durham

The best way to arrive in Durham is by early-morning train on a clear day. As you emerge from the train station, look across the River Wear to the hilltop peninsula, and you’ll see the main reason for coming in all its resplendent glory. England’s most beautiful Romanesque cathedral, a masterpiece of Norman architecture, rates pretty high on our brilliant Britain list. Consider the setting: a huge castle, the aforementioned cathedral and, surrounding them both, a cobweb of cobbled streets usually full of upper-crust students attending Durham’s other big pull, the university. It’s all so...English.

OK, so the university may not have the hallowed prestige of Oxbridge – it was only founded in 1832 – but its terrific academic reputation and competitive rowing team make the disappointment of not getting into Oxford or Cambridge that bit easier to bear.

Once you’ve visited the cathedral, there’s little else to do save walk the old town streets and find new spots from which to view Durham’s main attraction. We recommend that you visit as a day trip from Newcastle unless you’re planning some in-depth exploration of the surrounding county, in which case Durham is a tidy base.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009