A day trip to Durham

***Storyline:* *50 years later***

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of vacations in Northumberland: Alnwick, Seahouses, the North Sea seashore, the Farne Islands, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles, Lindisfarne (Holy Island) and the Durham city centre. My memories are fond but somewhat fuzzy. Details are somehow lost or buried over 50+ years. We had discussed the possibility of visiting the maritime locations on this list but decided that it wasn’t practicable on this trip. More reason to return at a later date, I think. However, Durham was just 45 minutes by train from our base in York, therefore a good candidate for a day trip.

It was another blue-skied morning as we walked to York station. We were early, as usual…we didn’t mind hanging around for a while, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the station.

A bit of an aside here…as in many other parts of the world, the UK was more directly affected by World War II than was North America. Memories of those dark times are still strong, and the heroics of the “Few” airmen who defended the country from the air bombardments in the early days of the war are recognized even today. I mention this because of one of the trains that came through York station while we were there: it was decorated with paintings of WWII-vintage aircraft – Hurricane and Spitfire on the side we saw, and a “Memorial Flight” crest. Memorial Flight is a Royal Air Force-operated organization that maintains WWII planes and flies them each summer at festivals around the country.

We hopped onto our “ordinary” train for the short ride to Durham. The lovely blue sky once again turned grey, then started to pour as we arrived at our destination. We donned our trusty and ever-ready raingear and headed to the old centre. Fortunately, the rain was intermittent during the day, but the temperature could have been more comfortable.

Our direction was easy to determine, as the castle and cathedral dominate the skyline. It was the cathedral that I remembered…having just followed my parents around the last time I was there, I had no recollection of other landmarks.

Founded in 995CE, Durham, formerly Dun Holm (Hill Fort Island in old Norse – the Danes having conquered much of what is now northeast England) was known as the resting place of Saint Cuthbert, an important saint and historical figure. Its cathedral and neighbouring castle are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And with a population of just under 50,000 Durham is not too large to get around on foot.

It was Sunday and many other visitors had the same idea as us, hence the town was full of people. Besides, it was the day the students were returning to their residences from their mid-term break.

From the town square, bordered by St. Nicholas’s Church and the Town Hall, the walk up to the cathedral and castle is on narrow cobbled streets; there are many coffee shops, pubs and restaurants to choose from, and given that Durham Castle is home to the university, it was natural to see that the majority of people enjoying the outdoors was a bit younger than us.

Building of the cathedral began in 1093, some 27 years after the Normans defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Durham was strategically important and the Bishop of Durham was granted princely powers in order to maintain control over the people. Durham’s Prince Bishop was sometimes described as England’s second monarch. The cathedral is a lovely piece of architecture, and I well-remembered the majesty of the simple but imposing interior. Having visited many grander and more elaborately-decorated churches in the intervening years does not take away from the appreciation of this almost 1,000 -year old structure.

The town centre lies on a peninsula within the arms of a “U”-shaped bend in the river, which would have made it easy to defend. In fact it has been claimed that the castle is the only Norman keep in the UK never to have been breached. Fortunately, we didn’t have to worry about sieges, and there is now a pleasant walk along the riverside that we enjoyed until it was time for our pre-booked castle tour.

This turned out to be a highlight of our day. As mentioned above, the castle houses part of Durham University. Founded in 1832, it is known as the third oldest officially recognized university in the country, after Oxford and Cambridge. What a treat for the 100 or so students in residence to be able to live and study in a castle whose construction was begun in 1072!

Our tour was well-presented by a mathematics student, and we enjoyed the delivery of facts and anecdotes about the castle, the history of Durham and the university. Well worth the time and the £5 (£4 for over-60s) admission. We were not allowed to take pictures in most areas because of the students moving through their residences.

Finding that we were ready to eat before our return to York, we were reminded that things work differently in different places in the world. We’re used to restaurants that open before noon and close at 10pm or later. Not so here. Especially since it was Sunday. We hoped to have a bite at a place overlooking the river, however it was already closed. Then it took us a while to find a restaurant that was open, but when we did, we enjoyed a Spanish-style meal and headed back to the train.