As most of you know, we were invited by Virgin Trains to travel First Class to Durham. We had never been there so it was our first time visiting this amazing city. It was just a weekend break, leaving London on the Friday afternoon and returning on Sunday afternoon. We had all day Saturday and then Sunday morning to explore. The weather was not generous with us that Saturday but we had much more luck the next day.
I must admit as a foreigner (well actually I’m British now but I have only been here 11 years so there is a lot still for me to learn), I was not familiar with Durham. When we made the plan to visit I did a bit of researching which got me super excited about it. It is located in the North East of the country and as I mentioned in my post about travelling to Durham, it takes about 3 hours to get there by train from London.
KINGSLODGE INN
We arrived in Durham on Friday evening and went straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Kingslodge Inn, which we really loved. The people couldn’t have been more friendly and helpful, which is something I have heard about people in the North – especially in this part of the country, and it was very nice to experience this first hand! 😉
The hotel was well located, just a 5 minute drive by taxi from Durham Station. You could probably easily walk but with 2 young children and our luggage there was never a realistic option! The kingslodge Inn is also not far from the town centre so it couldn’t be more practical. It is always great to know that you don’t need to travel much further to get to your hotel, to settle and rest, so that is what we did. We arrived at our hotel and we went to our room where we got our things organised. We bathed the girls and changed them into their pyjamas so then they were ready to go to bed after having dinner.
We were also very pleased with their restaurant. We had dinner there both days and breakfast every day. My girls ate most of their food which is always a great sign. They had kids meals which were what we ordered for the girls each day and Nick and I tried different options from their menu each day too. I really loved the idea of coming back to the hotel after being out all day and having a nice meal before going back to the room to relax and got to bed.
The hotel is less than a mile from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Durham Cathedral and Castle, one of the best-loved and most recognisable landmarks in the country and close to Durham University as well as the mainline train station.
CATHEDRAL
The weather on the Saturday was really bad. It rained a lot and was quite cloudy and dark. We didn’t know what to do as we really wanted to walk to the centre but because it was raining heavily we decided to take the bus instead. We walked to the bus station and took a bus direct to Durham Palace Green, which on one side has the Castle and on the other side, the Cathedral. Between these is Palace Green Library, outside of which the bus stops so from there we walked the short distance to the Cathedral as we had heard that this was not to be missed.
The Cathedral is really big and we found there was a new Open Treasure exhibition. This included some activities for the kids which my girls really liked. They gave Bella a backpack full of items to use to keep her entertained while going around. She got a torch, a soft toy, and some high quality binoculars amongst other things.
You can opt for a guided tour or just go around on your own. There is no charge to go into the Cathedral but you will have to pay to do the Open Treasure Exhibition although its free for children under 5 years old. My girls were very interested to seeing one of the locations within the Cathedral, The Cloisters that was famously featured in some of the Harry Potter Film’s as part of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They have filmed inside this gorgeous Cathedral which is one of the UK’s finest Norman buildings.
Durham’s elegant cloisters became the snow-covered quadrangle, where Harry sets the owl flying in the first film and is also the scene where Ron vomits slugs in the Chamber of Secrets. The cathedral chapter house is the venue for Professor McGonagall’s class teaching the young wizards to turn animals into water goblets. This was very exciting to see for sure! 😉
CASTLE
We were so looking forward to visiting this castle but unfortunately, despite trying a couple of times each (Saturday and Sunday) we didn’t manage to get in.
On Saturday after our visit to the Cathedral, we went straight to the information centre to find out more about the Castle. There were no tours taking place that day because it was booked for a private event :-(. We tried again on the Sunday morning but the remaining tours which we could have taken were already fully booked. It felt like it was not meant for us to go and visit the Castle. We were able however, to take a couple of photos from the outside. Apparently, this Castle is now home to the students of University College, part of Durham University.
The Castle was built on the orders of William the Conqueror in the 1070s, which then began life as a motte-and-bailey castle. It soon became a palace to showcase the wealth of the Prince-Bishops whose semi-regal powers made them one of the most powerful.
SCENERY
After our attempt to visit the Castle, we decided to instead walk around as the weather was finally picking up a bit. The sun was starting to shine a little and the city was starting to look more gorgeous than ever!
It really is a pretty city with certainly a lot of charm. It is beautiful to see the sun shining through the sparkles of the water of the river. It is a breathtaking view. The Town Hall is really pretty also. It was very colourful with flowers everywhere.
They have a relatively small pedestrianised area that was very easy to walk through. There are many interesting streets full of one-off shops and cosmopolitan cafe’s catering to a wide variety of tastes.
MORE TO SEE
We didn’t have time to do more tourism as we had to return to the hotel, to pack and make our way to the station to catch our train back home. We had heard about a few other attractions worth visiting such as Beamish Museum (The Living Museum of the North), Kynren, Auckland Castle, Locomotion (The National Railway Museum), The Bowes Museum, Hall Hill Farm and Diggerland among others.
OUR THOUGHTS
We really had a great time in Durham. We were surprised at how pretty this city was. I was really happy to have the opportunity to visit. The Cathedral is stunning and the scenery too. We really feel that we should come back again and see more (especially the Castle!) and visit some of the other attractions we didn’t have chance to do.
I would definitely recommend you to visit Durham as I’m sure that like us, you will be surprised at how pretty it is.
Have you been to Durham before? Have you visited the Cathedral or the Castle? If so, what did you think? What other places could you recommend us to visit if we were to visit again? Please leave a comment below as I would love to read what you think.
*Disclosure: I was invited by Virgin Trains to use their trains service to Durham. We were also guests at the Kingslodge Inn for the weekend. However all opinions and thoughts are my own.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
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I have never been as far north as Durham but it does look very inviting and you seem to have had a great time.
This is one of the few places left in the UK that I haven’t been to that I would love to visit!
Oh wow!! You’re so lucky to be able to go there! I’d LOVE to visit one day! I was just watching Harry Potter last night! #KCACOLS
I’ve not been to Durham either (like I haven’t been to a lot of places I see in your blogs!) But no excuse as I’ve been in the UK for 13+ years! Where are you from Franca? x #KCACOLS
I have never visited Durham, and after your blog post I think I definitely should go there with my girls 🙂 #KCACOLS
Looks like a lovely family break and a beautiful city. I dolove a good castle. #KCACOLS
This looks like you had an awesome trip! The pictures are amazing, thanks for sharing! #kcacols
I can’t say Durhams ever been on my wishlist of places to go but it looks lovely!! Thanks for hosting #kcacols
I have never been to Durham before, but looks a bit like the town I live in, in Derbyshire. Apart from the cathedral #KCACOLS
Durham looks like such a beautiful place! I’ve never been there either. You got some gorgeous photos. It sounds like the hotel was very good to stay at with kids and in a good location too. #kcacols
Oh I love Durham and had a very dear friend who lived there. It’s a very pretty city with some fab restaurants. I love the look of the hotel you stayed in! #KCaCOLS
Lovely pics, I love a little weekend get away #KCACOLS
Oh Franca, Durham looks like a beautiful place to visit, you’ve made me want to go now! Despite the weather it looks as though you all had a great time. Absolutely love the pictures of the Cathedral, I love things like that and it looks a bit like hogwarts!!! Lovely post. #kcacols xxx
I havent visited Durham before but it looks like you had a great time, the hotel looks super cute! #kcacols
I’m glad you enjoyed your visit! I went to Uni in Durham and I still miss the city. The cathedral is one of my favourite buildings and I actually got to see them filming the slug scene in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’! That’s so long ago now. Such a shame that you didn’t get to go into the Castle because it’s quite a lovely building. But you’re right, it’s packed full of students during term time – the oldest of Durham’s colleges. If you ever go back you should go in the spring / summer and definitely take your girls to Beamish. I went on a visit with my husband about 8 years ago and it’s very interesting! #KCACOLS
It’s great finding new places in the country. We haven’t been away for quite a while, but we went to Cirencester a few years back which was amazing! #KCACOLS
I am ashamed to say I’ve never really been to the North-east. Durham looks like a great place to go with kids, especially the Cathedral. #KCACOLS
This is a much easier post to comment on than some as it seems you genuinely enjoyed yourselves. I was there last year overnight as part of my Stand-Up tour and like you, also took the train. A great friend came all the way from Sussex to see me and we stayed at the same place. The Abbey was beautiful and we had a very serene tea and cakes in the cafe nearby as well as more decadent refreshments in the evening. I think your family are all very photogenic and a lot less grumpy than we would be in another rainy city! Lovely pictures, Jo #KCACOLS
I love Durham and have been to visit a few times, I’m glad you enjoyed it x #KCACOLS
I have never been to Durham, but it looks lovely, even in the rain! Pen x #KCACOLS
I’ve never been but it looks so pretty! I love an adventure like this. I think I’m going to start planning days out for next year haha!
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I’ve never been Durham but it looks like a lovely place to visit. I’ll have to put it on my list of staycations! #KCACOLS
Wow! Looks like you had such a good time. Really great photos. I’ve never been to Durham. Hope to someday!
#kcacols
Looks very cool. Posts like this always remind me that I need to make it over to Europe one day #KCACOLS
Wow this place looks great, it’s so wonderful to take children to historical places, this is when they learn best! #KCACOLS
Durham is a beautiful place I don’t live too far away from there. You must visit the surrounding areas too, maybe Richmond & the Yorkshire Dales.
Well I’ve lived in the UK all my life and never been to Durham! I’m very surprised at how picturesque it is. I’ve heard of beamish and would love to go there some time 🙂
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What a fab weekend Franca 🙂 Ive never been to Durham either and your write up makes me want to go : ) I love how you did adult things like the Cathedral and castle but there were plenty of things to engage the girls too. The cathedral reminds me of Gloucester Cathedral. they did some Harry Potter filing there too I think.
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Nice pictures! I love all those colorful flowers 🙂 #KCACOLS
I love Durham and actually live pretty close (I’m within the county). I can highly recommend Beamish if you are ever up this way again, we go a couple of times a year and the kids love it. We’ll be going back there at Christmas to visit Santa and his reindeer x
#KCACOLS
Durham is not a place that i would ever think to visit, but it looks great so thanks for sharing! Good to know that Locomotion (The National Railway Museum) is there, My partner and i are both train driver so we’d probably love it! #kcacols
Ooo it looks so lovely! Loved the shrubbery with Durham carved out! #KCAKOLS
Sounds lovely, I really want to visit Durham one day! #KCACOLS
I loooove the Cathedral! But I love everything old! hehe
I’m one of those people who will go to old cemeteries and grave sites just because I find it amazing to touch something that was built or part of us so many hundred years ago. 🙂
Probably why I love history museums haha.
I would love to go to Rome one day….to touch something so old…it’s amazing. 🙂
#KCACOLS
What a lovely little weekend for you . The Girls looked like they loved it and your hubby obviously enjoyed the beer #KCACOLS
Somewhere I’ve never been before. It’s looks a beautiful place to visit and what a lovely place to stay. x #KCACOLS
Yay the one I’ve been waiting for! So glad you enjoyed Durham, and sorry the weather wasn’t so kind to you. We’re a friendly lot up here, you must come back again soon. #KCACOLS
Sounds like you had a great tie 🙂 #KCACOLS