The North East Of England and the counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire are home to two of England’s most picturesque and historical cities, Durham and York.
For us, it’s a long 7-hour drive north from South Wales to our first stop Durham, with stops in a couple of uninspiring service stations along the way.
However, if you live in London or are a tourist using London as a base, a direct train from King’s Cross can get you to Durham in just under 3 hours, and to York in only 2. So, if you are from overseas and are visiting the UK, why not add these two historic cities to your list?
By the way, “Hit The North” is a classic 1987 song by The Fall. Although the band are from the North West it refers to the difference between the north and south of the UK. Well worth listening to if you have time.
Durham
Our Visit to Durham was for a family wedding. Durham is a lovely little city and very walkable. Our base for our stay was the Hotel Indigo Durham, a charming boutique hotel in the city centre. We visited Durham Cathedral which was built in the 11th and 12th centuries and is a must-see and spent time wandering around the shops the indoor market and the farmers market.
When we were outside the cathedral we saw groups of Morris dancers performing. For those of you that don’t know, Morris dancing is an English folk dance accompanied by music. It’s quite a sight to see the dancers with their distinctive dress, bells on their legs and handkerchiefs in their hands performing.
York
In York we stayed at one of the other hotels in the Hotel Indigo chain, the Hotel Indigo York. All the hotels in the Hotel Indigo chain have individualised decor related to the town and area they are in. In York we did a free walking tour with the Association of Voluntary Guides, saw Dick Turpin’s grave, and went on a river cruise.
The next day we visited York Castle Museum which was our favourite part of our visit to York. This museum looked at the history of York. Some favourite parts included the living history streets, the old fashioned sweet shop and the toys from the past.
We rounded off our trip by a visit to the York Railway Museum, where a replica of Stephenson’s Rocket was on show. We really enjoyed York. It has lots of historic buildings and it was great to wander around the Shambles, one of York’s favourite landmarks, one of the best preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe.
York has a vast array of independent cafes and restaurants too. We were very impressed with the choice. In fact I think we can definitely say York is now high up on our list of favourite cities in the UK.
