Durham is a small university town in north-east England near Newcastle. It is home of the University of Durham, one of the ancient universities in England. On any train along the north east railway line running from London to Edinburgh, the train pulls into the small Durham station to the view of the splendid Durham cathedral and castle. Both castle and cathedral are on the Unesco World Heritage list. Durham has a beautiful medieval charm with a famous cathedral, castle and a cozy city center.
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| Durham Castle & Durham Cathedral |
The Durham Castle sits atop the hill adjacent to the Cathedral. It is both an ancient castle and student accommodation.The Castle is a university student residence during the time Durham University is in session, but functions as a B&B when the university is on break with rooms available for anyone to stay. It is very cool and quite an experience to actually stay in an ancient castle which is about 1000 years old. Apparently one of the Harry Potter film was filmed in the Castle's Dinning Hall. I am not a Harry Potter fan, so no idea which movie it was. The downside of Durham castle is that you can't just explore it by yourself, as it is a fully functioning part of the university.
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| View of the castle as you approach |
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| River Wear |
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| Narrow cobblestone street around the Durham Castle |
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| Durham Cathedral and the Palace Green |
The center of Durham is very, very small and surrounded by the wear river on the three sides forming a peninsula with the Romanesque Durham cathedral sitting on the top dominating the view. Durham is very hilly, so be prepared for inclines and cobbles. There are many small stairs and shortcuts to take to get to the top. The majority of the city center along with the castle is part of the ancient University of Durham.It is made up of magnificent cobbled streets that run between Georgian houses, most of them are now university student halls, and ancient bridges crossing over the river. They house the university library. The students take classes in the castle, so sometimes the castle is closed for visitors. Although small, still very enjoyable to wander around and relax.
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Durham Market square
The other significant point of interest is the Durham Market Square. Just off the square is the Town Hall, and some sort of open air market . The city itself is doesn't have a lot of people, except for the the university students who tend to stay around the center.The small streets around the market square has lots of shops and cafes.There are lot of good pubs and restaurants that are frequented by students.
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