We travelled by car to Durham and was a little worried about the roads as the weather has been so bad and there had been a lot of snow. The roads were fine, but there were white blankets of snow as we travelled via Cumbria. We had originally booked into the Marriott Royal County Hotel but changed at the last minute to the brand new Radisson SAS Hotel as the leisure centre at the Marriott was closed for refurbishment. We booked the Radisson online and they had an offer of 20% discount for a two night stay which was £60 per room per night (Room only). The Hotel is a 4 star which opened in November 2008 and has a lovely leisure centre, parking for 130 cars (which you do have to pay for - it was £6.50 per 24 hours) and free Internet access for guests. It is in a great location, on the banks of the River Wear and is a five minute walk from the shops, restaurants and market.
There is also a Premier Inn on the other side of the River which is called Durham City Centre and rooms are from £61 per room per night, so I would try and book the Radisson or Marriott if you can get a similar price rate as they both have leisure facilities. Durham is a Market and University Town (the University is the third oldest in England) and is known for its ancient cathedral. Durham is also home to a Castle, both the Cathedral and Castle are World Heritage Sites.
We had a walk round the Cathedral which is huge and offers free entry, although there are donation boxes. You are not permitted to take photographs inside the Cathedral, although you can buy a licence pass if you wish to take photos for educational purposes and this is £15. There is a nice cafe inside the grounds of the Cathedral which I would recommend. The Stained Glass windows in the Cathedral are beautiful. The Castle is a five minute walk from the Cathedral and is also a stunning Building. The Castle is part of the University but is open to the public for tours.
We had a walk along the river which was really nice and you have stunning views of both the Castle and Cathedral. After we visited the Cathedral we headed to the market and shops. Although the shopping centre is not as big as Newcastle, there are quite a few shops in Durham. There is the indoor and outdoor market and most high street shops such as Marks and Spencer, British Home Stores, Monsoon among others. The streets are cobbled and quite hilly (good for the calves....). There are also two Oxfam shops, one selling clothes and accessories and the other selling books, DVD's etc. I noticed that the Oxfam shop had a pair of Jimmy Choo Shoes in the window (I have never seen designer items like that in an Oxfam Shop before!!!)
I found the people very friendly wherever we went and when we checked into the Hotel on the Friday, the head of housekeeping approached us and told us if we wanted anything to let her know... The one thing that I could not understand is that I could not get network for my mobile in the Hotel. I have been to some remote places in the world and been able to get coverage but not in the Hotel in Durham which was a bit of a pain as I had to keep going outside in the cold to use my phone or check for messages. There are a few restaurants in the city centre in an area called Walkergate and a few pubs that offer food such as Wetherspoons. There are also pubs such as Yates and Walkabout if you fancy some nightlife...
One thing that surprised me about Wetherspoons was their dress policy. We met up with a friend of ours in Durham and went for lunch in Wetherspoons, he was wearing tracksuit bottoms and was told that the policy is that tracksuit bottoms are not allowed to be worn in their pub. The thing I find bizarre is that as good as Weatherspoons is (and the food is great), it is not exactly Gordon Ramsay or a classy wine bar. I remember jeans not being allowed to be worn in some pubs years ago but never tracksuit bottoms, this was in the afternoon as well so I do not see the harm - but what do I know!!!!
There are other attractions to see and do in Durham in addition to the Cathedral and castle such as the Oriental Museum (part of the University), Durham Miners Heritage Centre and Durham Light Infantry Museum and Art Gallery. Since having a baby last year, it is now interesting to see how hard it can be sometimes getting in and out of shops that have very narrow paths. After pushing the pram around all day I certainly felt it the next day on my legs after walking up and down the hills.... The next day we were planning to go to Beamish but decided we would leave it until our baby boy was a little older and could enjoy it.
Beamish is an open air Museum and has costumed staff and demonstrates two stages of the North East's History. We ended up going for a look around the shops at the Metro Centre in Gateshead as it was so cold and did not want to be outside. On the way to Gateshead we stopped off at the Angel of the North Sculpture at Gateshead, our friend had recommended we see it although he thinks it is a monstrosity. It is known as 'Gateshead's Winged Wonder' and is twenty metres high and fifty four metres wide. It overlooks the A1 at Gateshead and was created by Anthony Gormley. I think it is different!!!!!!
The Metrocentre is huge and has plenty of indoor and outdoor parking. It is similar to the Trafford Centre in Manchester. It has over three hundred shops and over fifty restaurants and a Cinema. There are shops including Debenhams, Lush, House of Fraser and Mothercare.
It was very busy when we were there and you certainly would not think there was a recession on!!!! There is a lot more to see and do in the North East of England than we had time for. I believe Newcastle is a great city to visit and has great nightlife, but we just ran out of time.
For football fans there are lots of clubs to choose from such as Newcastle United, Sunderland and Middlesborough. I did feel a little cheated on my visit to the Cathedral as I had heard about 'The Sanctuary Knocker' on the door, however we found out that it is actually a replica and the original is in the St Cuthbert Exhibition in the Cathedral Precinct.We had a great weekend and would definitely recommend Durham, there is so much more to see in the County and surrounding areas than we had time for. It is easy to find your way about and Durham, Newcastle and Gateshead are not that far apart.
If you are going to visit Durham or the North East and can go anytime, I would maybe recommend going in the Spring and not in February as it was freezing.......
