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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham September 2nd 2016

A warm September morning in London turned into a warmish afternoon in Durham. The scenery on the way up was pretty unspectacular - mostly flat - until we actually drew close to Durham where the cathedral and castle towered above the trees and the station. Durham grew round the shrine of St Cuthbert who was a hermit monk who lived and died on Lindisfarne, attracting pilgrims until the Vikings threatened to invade in the tenth century. The monks took St Cuthbert's body and travelled around the north of England until they reached Durham and built an Anglo Saxon cathedral to house his shrine. A Norman cathedral, was then built round that, and became the frontrunner of the Gothic style of architecture with pointed arches across the ceiling, emabling taller building. Inhabitants must have thighs of steel ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham July 8th 2013

Had a traditional, full English breakfast this morning: egg, fried toast, tomato, mushrooms, sausage, and ham slices. Set me up for the day. Then left Durham with very overcast weather for Hadrian's Wall a bit farther North. After two short trains and a bus, I was dropped off in the nicely named town, Once Brewed (Twice Brewed is just down the road... not kidding) and began hiking up to the wall. This part of England, the true Borderlands with Scotland, is extremely beautiful. Rolling hills, lakes, farmland, and giant fields of flowers in bloom. Like walking around in paradise. The hiking, though, was less than heavenly, since it involved literally following the wall up and down the hills it traces. But the views were worth the effort, and there was something extremely rewarding walking along a ... read more
Everything in Bloom
Up Against the Wall
At the Wall

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham July 7th 2013

I left bright and early from Leeds, which really is a very cool city - it's very clean and modern and feels like maybe it's the yuppie capital of the North. Took a short train ride to York, my main destination for the day. This city really is the capital of Northern England and is absolutely jammed packed with history. Most people forget that this area was once the Northernmost extent of the Roman Empire, and York itself began as a garrison town. Then came the Vikings and then the Normans and finally Edward I moved his capital here in the 13th century - he actually started Parliament in the York Minster I visited today. The York Minster really is the whole reason I came to York. It's a massive, beautiful cathedral packed with history and ... read more
Facade of York Minster
Side View of York Minster
Minster from Medieval Wall

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham May 30th 2013

Geo: 54.7787, -1.55961Well after a couple busy days around Scotland the next few days to follow were relatively low key. Tuesday Natalie and I got dropped into Durham for a wander about. We walked home through the farmland between Newton Hall and Durham. We were out for dinner that night with Andrew and Anna Lise. The initial choice was Italian, but as they werent interested in serving us, we changed our plans to a Thai restaurant called Zen. It was a tasty, but expensive meal. With dregs of light still in the sky at 10.30, we walked back through the farmland.Wednesday, was a quiet one. Miserable weather meant our trip to the lake district wouldn't happen. Nat and I took a walk to a nearby pub for a cheap lunch. Two courses for 2 for 9£. ... read more
Beg Stan Beg
Platypus Returns
Our messy room

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham May 24th 2013

Geo: 54.7787, -1.55961Its Friday night, and its been a largely uneventful couple of days. Natalie went for a girls night yesterday to see the Great Gatsby at the Metro Centre. I went out for a curry with Joe. Today Nat and I went for a run in the countryside between Newton Hall and Durham. Freezing!Weve spent a bit of it making plans for the month ahead. Weve booked the time between cruises. Buses to London to and from Southampton Port and Gattwick airport. A sad return to a easyHotel in London for a couple nights, and a flight to Copenhagen and some more exciting accomodation there before our second cruise. A week from now we will be on a cruise bound for Iceland and Norway. Weve booked a daytrip to the Gullfoss waterfall, and should look ... read more
Movie at Metro Centre
Cruise Ship next week
Flying to Denmark

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham May 19th 2013

Geo: 54.7787, -1.55961Will soon be heading to the pub to watch the final fixture of the epl season. Id hoped to get a ticket to St James for Newcastle vs Arsenal, but it wasnt to be. The last couple days have been relatively low key. Friday Nat and I were dropped in Durham for a wander about. Being a relatively clear day, we headed straight to tge cathedral to climb the tower. 300 steep steps to the top was a workout but offered really nice views of the surrounding area. We sat a while and enjoyed the view.Afterwards, we stopped in at a pub for a shared platter for lunch.The weather still nice we elected to try walk the horse shoe track of the river Wear around the cathedral. Expecting a long walk, we didnt realise ... read more
Cathedral
Light Cathedral
Cathedral again

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham May 16th 2013

Geo: 54.7787, -1.55961Today we travelled back in timd to 1913 to the Beamish Open Air museum. For those from Australia, it could be compared to Sovreign Hill in Ballarat. Rather than a gold rush the society of the time was focused on coal mining. We arrived on a chilly blustery morning, which would improve as the day went on. Upon arrival, Nat and I jumped on the tram with Joe for the historical town centre. We pushed aside children to race to the candy store for samples and a demonstration. Joe guided us from place to place, the old store, dentist, rail station, pit village and drift mine. We had a delicious lunch at ye olde fish n chips store in the village. Joe left us to tend to other matters and Nat and I jumped ... read more
Beamish Tram
Candy Making
Old homes

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham May 15th 2013

Geo: 54.7787, -1.55961Joe could clearly make a profit from being a tour guide. He is a walking encyclopedia. Im sitting on the couch now, with a glass of red, watching the Europa League final, hoping Ive absorbed at least half of the things Ive learned today. It was a full day. It started in dreary weather, bitter cold, relentless rain and chilling winds. Our first destination was the centrepiece attraction of Durham, the Cathedral. Built between 1093–1133 surrounded by the Wear River, the massive structure is one to behold. Its formidable location was chosen to hold and protect the body of St Cuthbert and the skull of King Oswuld.Entry into the cathedral is an inspired experience. Alas, like other breathtaking cathedrals, no photos permitted. The architecture and craftsmanship within was most impressive. The explanations and information ... read more
Ornate Knocker
Cathedral
Cathedral Front

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham May 14th 2013

Geo: 54.7787, -1.55961After running ourselves ragged about London, a largely relaxing day in Durham was most welcome. After a smashing sausage and bacon breakfast, the majority of the morning was couch time. Nat and I spent a bit of time trying to win the affection of the family dog, Stanley George, which remains to be an ongoing ambition and no easy feat. As it was a rare beautiful sunny day in the north of England, we decided to make the most of it. Nat and I jumped in the car with Maureen and Stan, and we headed off to Finchale Abbey, a few miles out of Durham. The remains of the abbey sit on the picturesque side of the River Wear. The Abbey was constructed betwwn 1137 and 1139AD. The monks who lived here deserted the ... read more
Nat and I
Finchale Abbey
Nat and I Abbey cellar

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Durham County » Durham July 13th 2012

Here I am, almost a year after my last post, spending yet another summer palm-first in the dirt. I’m afraid I haven’t been the best blogger – I never reported again from Greece, never wrote during my four months in Rome, and now I’m two weeks into yet another trip, quite frankly only writing at all because the site needed a day to dry out and my labwork is done. I won’t attempt to summarize all of my earlier adventures – even an entire day of free time can’t fit five months of travelling into a blog post – but I will try to pick up with the start of my trip to Northern England, where I am somehow spending yet another summer at an archaeological field school. My journey began on Friday afternoon, June 29th, ... read more
View from the B&B
Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral




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