Note : I have not been to Durham for many years. When I did it was with a ye olde film camera. The slides from those days are now sadly deteriorating so this posting is a way to save what I can of those. Many color slides had lost their true colors but could be salvaged as black and white.
Durham was built on a meander of the River Wear, which surrounds the centre on three sides and creates a narrow neck on the fourth. The Cathedral was built to house the remains of St Cuthbert. The Castle also takes advantage of this defensive position having been besieged by the Scots many times in it’s history.
Legend says it was founded in 995 by Anglo-Saxon monks seeking a safe place from the Viking raids in Northumbria to house the relics of St Cuthbert. They had wandered the mainland for over a century when St Cuthbert appeared in a vision directing them to a place called Dun Holm, which none of them had ever heard of. One day, just as they were beginning to despair of finding their destination, they overheard a milkmaid asking another whether she had seen a lost cow. The girl replied that she had indeed seen the animal wandering towards Dun Holm. Upon hearing this the joyous monks followed the milkmaid to the spot and established the cathedral and city of Durham.
Durham Castle and Cathedral’ were named UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1986. Among the reasons given for the decision were that Durham Cathedral is the largest and most perfect monument of “Norman” style architecture in England.
Above-An ancient door NOT in Durham but in nearby Alnwick.
The Sanctuary Door. One could be granted sanctuary in the Cathedral if one hit this with enough force to make a sound and if the monks got to the door in time.
Prebends Bridge
Sir Walter Scotts words written on the other main bridge.
Near the river and the Prebends bridge is a clearing with what looks like a random collection of dead tree trunks arranged in an oval. At first one looks at it curiously wondering what the point might be.
It is called The Upper Room. Only when one finds the lone tree at one end of the oval and sits in a niche can one then see the Da Vinci image of the Last Supper in the Upper room. From only this one viewpoint does the arrangement make any sense. As soon as one leaves that spot the room cannot be seen.
For more on the beautiful unvisited County of Durham see here