Walkabout Durham History Tour
Description
While strolling along cobbled streets and riverside footpaths, you will view some of the world's best architecture and encounter gripping tales of the kings, Prince Bishops and local people who have made Durham one of England's most fascinating, and historically significant, cities. Our History Tour will take you from the bustling heart of the Market Place to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the castle.
Tour Options
Itinerary
At our meeting spot in the historic Market Place, in the heart of the city, we will see the 19th Century Town Hall and Guildhall, St. Nicolas' church and the statues that commemorate the city's history. We will learn about the figures who have helped to shape the city and county. From here, we will take a short walk to Framwellgate Bridge.
The oldest of the city's bridges with a magnificent view of Durham Castle and Cathedral. Here we will explore the history of the Castle and famous Prince Bishops of Durham before heading along the picturesque riverside walk to our next stop. The walk from here to the next stop will take approximately 5 minutes.
Along the way to Prebends Bridge we will explore the city's mills and riverbanks before taking in spectacular views of the Cathedral from Prebends Bridge.
On our way to the South Bailey, we will encounter the medieval city wall and explore the historic rivalry with the Scots before heading into the Bailey, which is the home of Durham University.
Now affiliated with St. John's college, St. Mary the Less, has some fascinating connections with Durham legends. We explore their stories here whilst taking in the interesting architecture of the Bailey.
We arrive at the eastern side of the Cathedral and explore some early medieval history and stories of St. Cuthbert as well as learning about some of the colleges of Durham University. The walk along The Bailey takes us to the top of Saddler Street.
We enter the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage site on Palace Green and explore the various buildings around Palace Green that are steeped in history. Here we will talk about the battles, tragedies and miracles that feature heavily in the Durham story. The climax of the takes us to the doors of Durham Cathedral.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Dogs more than welcome!
Reviews(107)
Wonderful historical tour of beautiful Durham. Pete, our guide, was warm, friendly, extremely knowledgeable and explained lots of complex history in a very easy to understand way. Saw parts of Durham we would never have seen. Highly recommend.
This guided tour gave us a really interesting and entertaining introduction to the city of Durham. There was a good balance of history and quirky anecdotes! Peter has a warm, friendly manner, full of enthusiasm and knowledge . He also gave us a recommendation for a restaurant and a good pub -both of which we visited and were not disappointed!
Guide was very well informed and certainly knew his geography. We found him easy to talk to and he led our group through places we would not have seen. He gave us useful advice on where else we could go after the tour.
Peter was right on time and went ahead with the tour even though it was just me. He was very personable and that added to his sharing of the history and tales about Durham. He was quite knowledgeable about all aspects of Durham both historical and current and do I felt I really got to quickly know the key facets about the city and where I wanted to spend more time. I appreciated his leading the way around the city as Ud never been there before and again I certainly got more appreciation for Durham with his background than if I’d just wandered around on my own!!
Andrew was so passionate about relaying all knowledge and history of Durham.we had such a pleasant time with him. Very personable.
Hi Pamela, Thank you for the lovely review. It was a pleasure to meet you and show you around the city. Glad you enjoyed it. Just to let you know- it is Peter. I'm sure you met another person in the city named Andrew! But no worries. I hope you had a lovely time exploring. Best wishes Peter
Booking and meet up was very efficient and easy . Peter was an excellent informative and knowledgable guide . A wonderful introduction to the beautiful City of Durham . A tour with a personal touch and helpful guide . We would highly recommend .
Peter, has a welcoming and friendly approach. His knowledge is vast, he brings the history of Durham to life which makes it more interesting. We throughly enjoyed our tour.
Wonderful tour with a knowledgeable and friendly guide. Couldn’t recommend highly enough. Tailored it beautifully to our party.
Peter was a really good guide, very knowledgeable & informative. He made the tour very interesting & was able to answer all our questions. We all really enjoyed our morning & can highly recommend him.
this tour was brilliant,proffessional, very informative, friendly couldn't have wanted anything more. totally recommend
