Hurrah! I'm 25, I'm a proud (well not so proud, but y'know) member of the "Quarter of a Century...
Hurrah! I'm 25, I'm a proud (well not so proud, but y'know) member of the "Quarter of a Century Club". Now p'rhaps, might be a good time to start growing up? Hehe, nah...
Member since:05.07.2000
Reviews:42
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UPDATED!!
You've probably heard of Durham, even if you haven't visited there? It's quite famous for it's cathedral, and for being quite picturesque. I am from Durham. I was actually born in Sunderland but we don't need to know my life history for this really, do we? So I am from Durham (but now live in Coventry) and my parents live in Durham, and my Grandma and My Aunt and her postmans mother-in-law's brother's dog etc. Most of my friends live in Durham too, so I frequent the place about once a month. At least I try to!
+ + + SHOPPING + + +
Durham, like any other city or large town, possesses a wide range of shops. All the usual such as bhs, river island, topshop, marks and spencer and woolworths are here, as well as an eclectic mix of the more unique shops and boutiques.
There are two main shopping centres. The main one is about four years old and is located on the very edge of Durham, over the riverside. It was built as a sort-of 'open-air' shopping centre, a V shape with two streets of shops meeting in the centre to form the shopping centre bit, which merely consists of telephones and toilets and stairs to the multi-storey car park. This shopping centre is called Prince Bishops and includes shops such as Mothercare, Adams, BHS, Superdrug, Boots, River Island, Topshop and New Look. There's a McDonalds if you fancy a burger (or salad, or fancy looking baguette thing they do now I believe), and a restaurant is located in BHS.
There is a Shopmobility at Prince Bishops which includes an advice centre for disabled visitors, hiring of wheelchairs etc. If you were to visit Durham for shopping and sightseeing of Durham itself you'd be best parking your car in the Prince Bishops (I'll mention prices etc later under 'Transport').
Opposite the Prince Bishops shopping centre is Durham Market, established in 1851. Durham Market is mostly indoor, though there are some outdoor stalls on Saturdays and probably
Pictures of Durham in General
map
throughout the holidays. Inside the market there is a variety of stalls including pet food, adults and childrens clothes, crafts, music and dvds, wool, shoes, jewellery and toys. There is also a cafe, though this is upstairs and the lift is quite hard to get to, being located right at the back of the building, through a 'fire-escape' looking door.All the high street banks, Lloyds TSB, Barclays, Natwest etc are located in the marketplace, the area just outside the market.
You have the option now of heading towards the other shopping centre, or out of town, either up towards the Cathedral or down towards Elvet and the university buildings. Both streets leading away from the main city are narrow and cobbled and full of 'posh' designer boutiques, university bookshops, gift shops and shops that sell crystals and incence sticks and the likes. Oh, and charity shops.
As you walk down through the city, there's a 'main street' though it's for pedestrians only (mainly, you do get the odd delivery man or police car roaming down this street). Down this street you will find Woolworths, Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, The Works, Etam, a thousand phone shops and The Body Shops. There are also a few cafetierias down this street, though they're the posh type which are all upstairs and sell 'proper' coffee.
At the bottom is the second shopping centre, Milburngate. Milburngate includes relatively few shops, mostly sports shops for some reason, though there is also a fruit and veg shop (I think called Bookers, if I recall correctly) and a Safeways. There's also a cafe in here, which is quite reasonably priced and quite nice. And toilets.
On your way out of the other side of the shopping centre you enter the last shopping street in Durham. There's an Iceland, a little Boots and ten million charity shops. A butchers and a bakers are both situated near the top of this street, and then the Bus Station which includes a newsagents, a Blockbuster, two or three more charity shops and a clothes shop.
There's a retail park situated about two miles outside the city centre, which consists of a Sainsburys, an Iceland, Poundstretcher, Shoeworld, Lidl, Halfords, Homebase and Dixons. It's called The Arnison Centre.
+ + + NIGHTLIFE + + +
Nightlife used to be appalling. However, it has improved somewhat and on my last visit I was surprised to find many of the most popular bars and cubs have now taken up residence in Durham.
There are two areas of Durham where you could go for a night out. The first is down by Old Elvet, near the universities, and around that area. There are several local pubs such as The Hogs Head and Durham Light Infantryman, where you get the usual range of beers, lagers, wines and spirits and they're an unusual mix of students and old men. There's a nice pub overlooking the river banks called The swan and Three Cygnets. There is also a Varsity in this area, where you can buy a V card to save on drinks. There is one nightclub in this area, called Klute. It is quite small, with two floors of floor to ceiling mirrors adorning the walls on each floor and mostly dance music.
The other area is called North Road, and is the street leading from the shopping centre Milburngate, to the bus station. There are numerous well known bars along this road, such as Yates, Weatherspoons, and that famous Australian one I've forgotten the name of. There's a few others too, such as The Coach and Eight, Saddle Market and The Fighting Cocks. There are two nightclubs in this street, DH-1 (I think it's the latest name, this one has had four name changes since I've known going to nightclubs) and Cafe Rock, next door to one another and owned by the same company. DH-1 is really mad rave type music, Cafe Rock has a floor of dance and a floor of older rock-type music playing. Both nightclubs, as all nightclubs are, are extortionate in their prices for drinks, costing over £5 for a double vodka and coke.
+ + + ATTRACTIONS + + +
There is no longer a cinema in Durham, and where once there was an ice rink, it has become a bowling alley and is now a gym. So I'm afraid the attractions are rather lacklustre, though there are several health and sports clubs dotted around Durham. There's also a go-karting place, though I've never been. There's a new Gala Theatre situated ouside the Prince Bishops shopping centre, with 510 seats and in the winter they often turn the courtyard outside into a real ice rink. Quite impressive.
For those wanting to learn a little of Durham, there's Durham Cathedral, the obvious choice and there are signposts all over the city directing you there (more about Durham Cathedral in the History section). The Castle is next door to the Cathedral. Durham Town Hall is a nice attraction and is situated in the market place. It features stained glass windows and a stone fireplace among other things to look at. Durham Heritage Centre is another favourite, which tells the history of Durham and the Prince Bishops.
You could take a boat out for an hour's cruise along the river. Prices are £4.50 per adult, and £2 per child.
Every year, around the middle of July, there's what's known as Durham Big Meet. It's basically a show, with stalls from around the world taking up shop in every available space, selling products from around the world and painting little kiddies faces etc. There are also the 'shows' appearing near the Ice Rink/Bowling Alley/Gym, several times a year.
+ + + SCENERY + + +
The scenery in Durham is truly marvellous. The best way to describe this is by asking you to take a look at my pictures.
+ + + TRANSPORT + + +
Public transport is nothing to write home about, compared to most cities. Buses generally run about every twenty minutes to popular destinations, but could be as infrequent as once every two hours. Buses start running around 7am and finish at around 11pm, except on Sundays and Bank Holidays when they run for fewer hours. Bus fares are quite expensive too, as whereas in Coventry it is £1 to go anywhere on the bus, in Durham you won't get anywhere for £1, with the average price being around £2 up to £4.50 for a single journey to a nearby city. There are returns, and day tickets though, which are cheaper.
Car parking is widely accessible in Durham. Both shopping centres have car parks, as does the new gym. Prince Bishops is from £1.30 for two hours, but most other car parks are £1 for two hours. You can also park on the streets near to the city centre for upto £2 per visit.
There is a National Express stand in the bus station, and generally most coaches that stop at Newcastle will stop at Durham too.
The train station is located a little beyond the bus station (up a very steep hill) and again, trains to and from Newcastle will stop at Durham station, so you can usually get a direct train to many places (even Coventry).
The nearest airport is Newcastle or Teeside, both are approximately 20 miles away.
+ + + SOME HISTORY AND FACTS + + +
Durham was built on and around seven hills, most of them quite steep, I know this, as I've walked up plenty and fallen down one or two when I've been very drunk or when it's been snowy.
Durham University is the 3rd oldest university, being founded in 1832 and is regarded as one of the best, being one of the very few collegiate universities left.
Durham is actually a huge county, though the city is relatively small, it has total population of 87,656 and covers 186.68 square kilometres.
The city can be traced back to 995AD but it's believed to have extisted since 200BC.
Durham Cathedral was built in 1093 to commemorate St Cuthbert. It's a Norman Cathedral, and Durham Castle was built in 1071 on William the Conqueror's return from Scotland.
Durham is called the 'Land of the Prince Bishops' because it is home to many bishops, with every bishop between 1071 and 1836 being named a Prince.
+ + + NEARBY + + +
Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Newcastle are all about 20 miles away, accessible by bus and train, and have a much wider variety of shops and bars than Durham.
Also nearby is Sedgefield, a nice country park with a butterfly gallery, where you can spot rare butterflies, West Auckland is near too, for fishing, cycling and rambling.
+ + + THE END + + +
Bill Bryson actually says in his book Notes from a Small Island, "If you have never been to Durham, go there at once. Take my car. It's wonderful!". And it really is.
I'm feeling quite homesick, can you tell?
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Jul 5th, 2000
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