Sights in Durham
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Durham Cathedral
Durham's most famous building - and the main reason for visiting unless someone you know is at university here - has earned superlative praise for so long that to add more would be redundant; how can you do better than the 19th-century novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, who wrote fawningly: 'I never saw so lovely a magnificent a scene, nor (being content with this) do I care to see better.' Let's not go nuts here. There's a splendid view from the top of the tower, but you've got to climb 325 steps to enjoy it. The cathedral has worthwhile guided tours. Evensong is at 17:15 from Tuesday to Saturday (Evening Prayer on Monday) and at 15:30 on Sunday.
No building is that beautiful…
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B
Durham Castle
Built as a standard motte-and-bailey fort in 1072, Durham Castle was the prince bishops' home until 1837, when it became the first college of the new university. It remains a university hall, and you can stay here.
The castle has been much altered over the centuries, as each successive prince bishop sought to put his particular imprimatur on the place, but heavy restoration and reconstruction were necessary anyway as the castle is built of soft stone on soft ground. Highlights of the 45-minute tour include the groaning 17th-century Black Staircase, the 16th-century chapel and the beautifully preserved Norman chapel (1080).
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C
Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum
If you can't get enough of war and the uniforms people wear to fight them, you won't want to miss the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum, 500m northwest of town. The history of Durham's County Regiment and its part in various wars from 1758 to 1968 is brought to life through anecdotes and poignant artefacts; there's a small art gallery with changing exhibitions.
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D
Oriental Museum
Durham and its environs have other museums that may be of interest, including the Oriental Museum, 3 miles south of the city centre in the university campus. It has a good collection that ranges from fine Egyptian artefacts to a monster of a Chinese bed. Take bus 5 or 6.
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E
Durham Heritage Centre
Near Durham Cathedral, in what was the St Mary le Bow Church, is the Durham Heritage Centre, with a pretty crowded collection of displays on Durham's history from the Middle Ages to mining. It's all suitably grim, especially the reconstructed prison cells.
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F
Museum of Archaeology
Durham and its environs have other museums that may be of interest, including the small Museum of Archaeology, located in a converted riverside mill building.
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G
Crook Hall
Crook Hall is a medieval hall with 1.6 hectares of charming small gardens, about 200m north of the town centre.
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