After a couple of nights on a CL that was handy for Bamber Bridge, we took a scenic route across the Yorkshire Tales to Durham. We nipped up the M6 to J37, took the A684 via Hawes to Leyburn then headed for the A1 for a quick sprint up to Durham. It was a beautiful drive with plenty of open views. Somehow it looks so different from the Peaks but we could not decide how.
Hawes is a pretty market town well worth a visit. We only had time for a short stop but it was bustling with market activity. We had stopped on the way to view the Dales and met a lovely
Dutch couple who had already been to the market and stocked up. They were really enjoying their 3 weeks visit to England.
After we had finished stretching our legs in Hawes, we completed our journey to Durham Caravan and Motorhome club site ready for our trip into the city next day.
The trip into Durham was easy, if a little dicey. We had to walk to the park & ride via the busy dual carriageway, slip road from the A1 and 4 lanes of traffic on the road past the P&R! That got us awake and active. The trip to the city centre was £2 for me and free for Clyde, and took 10 mins. Once there we quickly found the Durham Pointers(local guides). They were very helpful and provided city maps and guidance. We had a look around the covered market then headed to the Cathedral.
We visited Durham twice and on the second visit, on Saturday, there was a rather nice market taking place. It added a real buzz to the place and it was certainly a lot busier that our visit on the Thursday.
The river Wear flows around the centre of Durham and there are several bridges affording pretty views.
After enjoying the market place and some of the cobbled streets, we made our way to the Cathedral. As ever, it is undergoing some restoration work. We parted with £3 each to enter, so added a little to the coffers. I had just taken a picture of the impressive interior when I discovered that photographs are forbidden, oops!
In fact, the exterior was also very attractive and on my second visit, I was able to explore the cloister and photos were allowed there.
On the Saturday, we had decided to visit the castle. We bowled enthusiastically into the Heritage Centre to purchase a ticket, to be informed that we had to join a tour, and they were all sold out! We were not the only visitors to be disappointed. Oh well, that’s back on the to do list. As I had been thwarted, I decided to have a look at the Open Treasure exhibition in the Cathedral instead. Clyde took the opportunity to do his own thing for an hour and then we met up for a cream tea. Shocking impact on the waistline, but had to be done.
This was as close as I got to the castle.
Our visit to Durham was great and we broke it up with a day at Beamish open air museum. I will write up on a separate post.