Durham City

The magnificent landscape of Country Durham includes parts of the Pennines, the North Yorkshire Dales and the National Nature Reserves of Durham's Coastal regions.  Durham was a Roman military outpost on Hadrian's Wall, which was built to keep the Celts of the north (now Scotland) out of England. The Saxons made Durham part of the Kingdom of Northumbria.

The Romans were the first to make a significant and lasting impact on the county's settlements and communications. Having conquered the native Brigantes around 80 AD, they built Dere Street as their supply route from York to the Firth of Forth  The Romans, however, failed to subdue the inhabitants further north and were forced to consolidate their territory. In about 120 AD they built Hadrian's Wall, stretching 117 km (73 miles) from the mouth of the River Tyne in the east to the Solway Firth in the west.   

County Durham is often referred to as The Land of  The Prince Bishops. It was essential that the region retained a strong stance against the aggressions of their Scottish neighbours, and as such it was able to negotiate a unique and independent position during the medieval period. Its strength lay in the fact that it was ruled by the Prince Bishops who were responsible to no one other than the King himself. Based in the Bishops Palace in Bishop Auckland the Prince Bishops raised their own armies, minted their own coins and levied their own taxes.

The castle at Bishop Auckland has to this day remained the home of the Bishop of Durham although the special privileges have long since been revoked. Religion was the key element behind the construction of many of the region's best known landmarks.

In 1069, three years after landing in Britain, William the Conqueror finally subdued the North of England. William recognised the defensive potential of the rocky peninsula of Durham and a castle was founded there in 1072. Nine centuries later, Durham Castle remains one of England's largest and best-preserved Norman strongholds and one of the grandest Romanesque palaces. Since 1836 it has housed the Foundation College of Durham University, the country's third oldest university after Oxford and Cambridge. In 1093 work began on a magnificent cathedral to house the shrine of St. Cuthbert. 

The original rib vaulted church, and architectural innovation of great importance, took 40 years to build. Since then the cathedral and St. Cuthbert's shrine have attracted travellers from around the world. For over nine hundred years the castle and cathedral of St. Cuthbert have dominated Durham's skyline. This dramatic panoramic is widely
regarded as one of the great visual experiences of Europe a combination of outstanding architecture and a superb setting. They dominate the city in their position high above the River Wear, and to this day continue to capture the imagination of visitors. Today the castle and cathedral are a World Heritage Site. At the foot of the castle there is a medieval layout with beautiful alleyways and winding streets, Where you can have a lovely walk along the riverbank. 

One of the greatest influences on the early Christian tradition was St. Cuthbert, the North's most revered and best loved saint. Cuthbert's story is inseparable from that of the city and County Durham. A former bishop of Lindisfarne, Cuthbert died in 687 AD and was buried on the island. His body remained there untouched, for two hundred years. During this time frequent and severe attacks by the Vikings eventually brought about decline of the kingdom of Northumbria. In 875 AD the monks were forced to flee Lindisfarne, taking St. Cuthbert's coffin with them. 

They journeyed through Northern England for 120 years, settling for a while in Chester-le-Street and Ripon. Their travels came to an end in 995 AD when, according to the legend, the coffin became immovable and the monks were told in a vision to take it to "Dun Holm" the 'hill on the island. Not knowing where this might be, they followed a milkmaid looking for her cow and she led them to the rocky peninsula of Durham. The monks built the White Church to the shelter of St. Cuthbert's body and this remained until it was pulled down in 1092 to make way for the new cathedral.

Evidence of the financial strength of the Christian church is reflected in the magnificence of Durham Cathedral, which is considered to be one of Britain's finest examples of Norman Romanesque church architecture. The present Cathedral has stood on this spot as a place of prayer and pilgrimage for over 900 years. It contains the remains of Cuthbert, the saintly seventh-century bishop of Lindisfarne; it also holds the tomb of Bede, in Durham Cathedral's Galilee Chapel. He was the chronicler of Cuthbert's life and the first English historian. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in England and part of a World Heritage Site. 

In the 18th century, Northern England was a world leader in industrial innovation and enterprise and County Durham was at the forefront of these dramatic changes. The county's industrial development was based on coal and iron. Durham became economically important in the 19th century with the extraction of coal from the rich seams underneath it. Coal was first worked in the shallower seams of West Durham, in drifts where it outcropped the surface. Shafts were later sunk to reach the deepest seems. Mining communities rapidly developed across the coalfields, which at its peak in 1913 had over 200 working pits. Abandoned lead mines such as the one at Killhope can be found in the western dales.

Causey Arch

The worlds oldest Railway Bridge, located in the parish of Tanfield