UK Part 7 (Durham)
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
IF YOU LIKE OXFORD, TRY DURHAM
With ornate collage buildings, gowned academics, dusty bookshops and fleets of bikes, Oxford is just what you’d imagine from a British university city – you can almost feel yourself getting cleverer by association. But Oxford and rival Cambridge aren’t the UK’s only classic university cities. Further north, Durham has a lot of similarities but with a lot less visitors. Like Oxford, it’s a small city that’s packed with history. They’re both set along a river and have cobbled streets, botanic gardens, great museums and a university made up of separate colleges. You can take a self-guided tour of the Durham’s campus (check out University College and St Hild and St Bede for the prettiest buildings), visit the UNESCO World Heritage cathedral and castle, and if you’re there in November you can catch the UK’s biggest festival of lights, Lumiere.
I’ve always wanted to visit Durham, the famous cathedral city in the north of England, ever since I first saw the church out the window of a train on the way to Newcastle. Luckily, my cousins decided to bring us for a day trip to Durham
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| Us having hot chocolates in Durham |
So, I’m finally traveling to Durham, with its historic castle and cathedral on a hilltop peninsula carved out by the River Wear. After the 1 hour car ride from Newcastle, I walk through a pretty market square and a historic cobbled street to get to the church. It’s a foggy day, which lends the air a haunted feeling, and that seems appropriate given the centuries of history surrounding it.
Durham Cathedral dates back to 1093, and is one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the world. As a lover of architectural history, I’m awed by the place. The interior is stunning with its beautiful Romanesque arches and stained glass, and the sounds of the choir—which is practicing for Sunday’s service during my visit—echo off the stone walls, giving the place a welcome warmth.
As I’m leaving Durham city, I am once again afforded a great view of Durham Cathedral. And even though I’ve now seen it up close and on the inside, I still do a double take. It’s just that amazing.
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