Looking for a city trip to the UK and you've been to London before? Why not try Durham?
It's located in the north east of England and is an absolutely beautiful small and friendly city. It had been on my list to visit ever since my late teens when the name appeared on a list of universities. It sounded like an interesting place and after my visit in the summer I can confirm that it is.
As Durham is a small city we were able to find our way around the city centre itself quite easily. In my opinion that was part of its charm as we felt at home very quickly.
Getting there
We visited as part of our summer holiday to Northumberland. It is only about half an hour's drive from the city to the DFDS ferry port from which we sailed back to Amsterdam. Durham is also very well connected by train and so easily reached if you don't want to drive in the UK. There are direct flights from Amsterdam into Newcastle, the closest airport, 5 times a day (at the time of writing) so very easy to get to for a weekend away.
My experience
We stayed in a city centre hotel on a bed and breakfast basis. This gave us the chance to check out some really great restaurants in the evening, all within easy walking distance. Durham offers cuisine from around the world and we made the most of trying Indian, Mexican and Lebanese food. All fantastic.
Durham is a great city to enjoy walking around as most of it is pedestrianised. It is very hilly which was a welcome novelty after many months in the Netherlands. The streets are cobbled so flat shoes are recommended. The cathedral is the centre piece of the city and it dominates the skyline from it's hilly position. We visited on a Sunday, and since it is still an active place of worship, we needed to plan our day around the church services. We wandered around the cloisters where some of the first Harry Potter movie was filmed and saw a model of the cathedral built from Lego! Very inspirational if you, or your children, are Lego fans. We paid a little extra and visited the cathedral museum where we learnt about the history of the city and the cathedral. This was money well spent for us, but I know it is not everyone's cup of tea.
Speaking of a cup of tea, the cafe in the undercroft of the cathedral was a lovely place to sit, relax and enjoy coffee and a delicious slice of cake. We felt we were sitting in a piece of history.
Durham offers great shopping opportunities, with independent shops offering all kinds of inspiring gifts, an indoor market that kept on going, as well as high street chain stores. We had fun exploring and everyone found something to bring back as a souvenir of their visit.
One of the best things we did during our visit was a self-guided photography trail which we found on the Durham Cathedral website. This took us on a very pleasant walk along the riverbank with stopping points and advice for taking the best photograph at each location. We all had a lot of fun with this and were amazed at the results (see below). I highly recommend it, but beware there are a few steep slopes to go up and down.
Pros and Cons
Pros
A beautiful small city within easy reach of the Netherlands for a long weekend away. The relaxed and welcoming nature of the city meant we felt comfortable straight away; and being a city you have all the amenities without the added stress of covering large distances to get around. The hills were fun to climb and the cobbled streets added to the historic feel. On top of all this the range of restaurants and other eating places ensures your whole group will find something they like. We found everyone we met to be so friendly, and although the nightlife at the weekend was pretty lively, it still felt safe.
Cons
It is a small city so after a couple of days you will run out of things to do. If you want to stay in the UK for longer you could use it as a base to explore from using the car or train. The train station is convenient to get to and offers connections across to Manchester and up to Edinburgh.
The final word
Visit Durham! It's beautiful, friendly and historic. I am definitely glad I finally got to go and experience the city, admire the cathedral and wander around its hilly streets.
I would recommend visiting at any time of year. There are enough indoor activities to keep dry on a rainy day and lovely walks to enjoy when the weather is dry. Take flat shoes for the hills and cobble stones and your camera for some amazing photos.
Whenever you visit you are sure to have a great time!
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