Durham is small, which is its great strength. The cathedral and castle sit together on a wooded peninsula inside a tight loop of the River Wear, and the old city wraps around them in a tangle of cobbled lanes. You can walk the whole thing in an afternoon, which makes it an ideal winter break when daylight is short and you do not want to spread yourself thin.
The cathedral above all
Durham Cathedral is one of the finest Norman buildings in Europe, and walking into the nave for the first time is a genuine jolt; the great drum pillars and the sheer scale of the place do not come across in photographs. Entry to the body of the cathedral is free, though there is a charge for the tower climb, which rewards the effort with a view over the rooftops and the river.
The rest of a short stay
- Walk the riverbanks all the way round the peninsula, under the old bridges and past the boathouses, for the classic view of the cathedral on its crag.
- Wander the market place and the narrow vennels, the alleyways that thread between the streets.
- Warm up in one of the cafes or old pubs; the student population keeps plenty of them open and busy through the winter.
Getting there
Durham is on the East Coast Main Line, so trains from London, York and Edinburgh are fast and frequent, and the station sits a short, steep walk from the centre. You do not need a car, and parking in the medieval core is a headache best avoided anyway.
Come for a night or two rather than a week. Durham is a concentrated pleasure, a place that gives you a great cathedral, a river walk and a proper sense of history in a compact, walkable package. In winter, with the lights on and the crowds thin, it is at its atmospheric best.