Durham, the City of Durham is one of those locations that is awe-inspiring in every way and is worth a journey to the county by itself.
After touring every site of historical significance and visiting the grave of Venerable Bede and the treasures from St Cuthbert, you’ll be more informed about England’s mysterious past prior to the Normans arrived.
Two long Rivers wind their way towards the east throughout County Durham: The Tees and Wear are peaceful valleys, surrounded by hills and moorland.
The regions are known for their Durham Dales and harbour many of the most beautiful historical towns as well as stunning countryside that will leave you begging to go outside.
To enjoy unrestricted wilderness, go out towards western County Durham where the environment is protected by the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Let’s discover the best locations within County Durham:
1. Durham
With cobblestone streets that twist and turn, and a wealth of historical information, it’s difficult not be overwhelmed by the incredible Durham city. Durham.
You might find yourself prolonging your stay in order to ensure you’ve made every discovery, as there’s a huge amount to cover.
Begin by visiting the cathedral. It is in the ranks of England’s most valuable landmarks, and brimming with important pieces of early English history in its library and the treasury.
The second pillar of Durham’s World Heritage Site is the castle that was constructed immediately following the Norman Conquest and with student volunteers from Durham University offering interesting tours.
Enjoy a stroll along the river and visit the amazing museums, and head out to explore the stunning North Sea coast.
2. Darlington
Steam-powered passengers were the first passenger train in the world were spotted cruising through the Stockton and Darlington Railway from 1825. So this market town is able to take pride in its role to make a difference to this world . Head of Steam is a railway museum in The North Road station George Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1, the very first engine in the line that is as beautiful as new.
Darlington’s Covered Market is situated in an impressive hall, with an iron frame, which was built in 1863. It has stalls passed down through families over generations.
Visit us from Monday through Saturday to get flowers, fruit and vegetables, meat, cakes, and more.
3. Hartlepool
The story of this beach town is similar to that of other towns near that of North Sea.
Hartlepool was a small area until industrialisation and railways began in the 1800s.
Over time, it became one of the most profitable shipsyards and fishing ports throughout the country, taking fresh raw fleeces and fish, and then delivering them westwards to Yorkshire and the Lancashire woollen mills in exchange for the coal as well as textiles.
The old waterfront is the perfect setting the Hartlepool Maritime Experience.
Here in this photo is HMS Tricomalee, the oldest British warship in the water that is commemorating its 200th birthday in the year 2017. Its Hartlepool Museum on the quayside is the first gas powered lighthouse. It will also provide the reason why the Hartlepudlians refer their own people in the form of “Monkey Hangers”.
4. Bishop Auckland
The name of the town came due to Auckland Castle, a hunting lodge which was where the Bishops of Durham chose for an apartment more than 800 years in the past.
Today, Auckland Castle is a functioning episcopal palace that covers more than 320 hectares parks, where you can find a myriad of fascinating little architectural gems.
Explore your time in the Deer House which was built in a gothic-inspired fashion in 1760 to provide the deer in the park sustenance and shelter.
Bishop Auckland’s Victorian town hall was deemed obsolete and was under threat of demolition however, it is now an art gallery, cultural center that includes the art gallery, theatre and cinema.
A little out of town, is the historical remains of Vinovia which was a Roman fort that includes one of the largest hypocausts of Roman Britain.
5. Barnard Castle
The town is located on the north bank the River Tees in the eastern part of the Pennines, Barnard Castle is tiny town that will amaze you by its unique culture.
You can be grateful to Bowes Museum which houses the most extensive collection of art and other decorative objects from North England. North in England. We’re talking about El Greco, Canaletto, van Dyck, Fragonard and Goya and a huge collection of tapestries ceramics and furniture.
The most impressive exhibition can be found in The Silver Swan, a clockwork automaton that was built in the 17th century.
The town is home to some stunningly gorgeous ruins, like the castle of the same name, which was put in place by Normans in the 1100s on an unassuming spot above the Tees along with Egglestone Abbey, built around the same time and later dismantled in the reign of Henry VIII in the 1500s.
6. North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
The majority of the western part of Durham is an uninhabited natural area located at the northern edge of the Pennines Range.
This moor of heather as well as hay meadows and broad valleys cut by strong rivers could appear to be inaccessible to man, however there are signs throughout the landscape of human interventions as well as recent.
It is possible to hike to Bronze Age burial mounds and look for the remnants of the historic lead mines. Also tucked in the landscape are the beautiful and old villages with houses in these mining communities.
7. Chester-le-Street
The 10th century was when, something significant took place at the location that is the Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert is located today A priest called Aldred the Scribe was the first to make a gospel translation to English and during the time of this church, it was the central point of Christianity in a region that is now the northeastern part of England as well as Scotland.
The present church, which dates back to the 11th century is certainly grand and its markings in the walls indicates how Roman stones were used in a few areas of the construction.
Near the Wear River, is adjacent to it is the Riverside Ground, where Durham County cricket team plays their matches. It is also hosting five-day tests with England and a tour nation every summer.
8. Seaham
The beach town can be described as rough and windswept as one would expect from a northern sea setting.
In the winter months, there’s a raw beauty to the sea and limestone cliffs. You can feel the power of the elements along the coast path, before getting warm at a bar.
In warmer weather, The North Beach becomes very tempting It is secured from the ocean by a breakwater, and also is dotted with small rock pools that you can paddle into.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is an amazing place, since it boasts an Anglo-Saxon church that dates back to the late 600s, which makes it one of the 20 churches that are the oldest within the UK.
9. Beamish
Source: flickr Beamish Museum
A few miles to the to the west of Newcastle in the stunning upland countryside is this small village, which is affixed by one of most popular tourist attractions.
Beamish Museum Beamish Museum can be described as an outdoor museum of the past with a dazzling size.
It’s huge enough that it’s recommended to use old-fashioned trams and buses to travel around.
It’s got an Edwardian town, complete with signs, machinery, and other amenities dating to 1913. There’s also the farm was frozen from the 1940s, with equipment and tools from the time.
The Georgian North recreates a farm that was established in 1825. You are able to meet domestic breeds from the region and see the waggonway, a horse-drawn transportation using rails, which was later substituted by steamtrains.
Both are located in a gorgeous valley steeply sloped and feature a full cast of Re-enactors
10. Stanhope
In The River Wear in the heart of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Stanhope is a peaceful spot. It’s an ideal spot to want to map a path through the stunning landscape of dales and hills.
A visit to the Durham Dales Visitor Centre located next adjacent to the Church of St Thomas, will provide you with maps and routes. You can also find out about some of the lesser-known attractions in the city.
In other words it’s not necessary an palaeobotanist be impressed by Stanhope’s fossil trees. What you see in city’s Churchyard can be described as a 320 million year-old tree stump that was discovered in a quarry of sandstone just from the town, in 1915.
