County Durham

Understand

Within England, only County Durham contains the word "county" in its title (in the way many Irish counties do), because the powerful Norman "Prince Bishops" of Durham ruled it as a palatinate separate from the rest of England's counties. Originally it covered all the territory between the River Tees and the River Tyne, but over the centuries, and especially with modern changes to local government, it's been whittled down and continually re-organised. The name no longer precisely corresponds to a unit of local government, and probably the only two people who can say exactly where County Durham lies are the High Sheriff and Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant, whose ceremonial duties relate to an older map of the world. None of this is of the slightest concern to any traveller not gussied up in alderman's ermine or dress military uniform. For present purposes, "County Durham" on this page includes the post-2009 districts of Durham County (sic), Darlington, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees. It doesn't include Sunderland to the north or Middlesbrough, Redcar or Yarm to the south.

Local information County Durham Council website

Getting there

By plane 1 Newcastle Airport (NCL IATA) has flights from London, Amsterdam, Paris and other west European cities. It's easy to reach, being on the metro. Manchester Airport (MAN IATA) is some 150 miles south but has excellent global connections, competitive fares, and an hourly train service to Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. 2 Teesside Airport (MME IATA) near Darlington is closest but it only has flights from Amsterdam and seasonal Med resorts. An hourly bus calls on its way between Darlington and Stockton.

By train

This county saw the world's first public railway, opened in 1825. The central spine of the county has excellent railway connections along the East Coast Main Line. Frequent trains run from London Kings Cross via York to Darlington (2 hr 30 min) and Durham. They continue north to Chester-le-Street, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Other trains link Stockton, Middlesbrough and Sunderland. A branch line train runs hourly from Darlington to Newton Aycliffe, Shildon and Bishop Auckland (30 min).

By car The main north-south highway is A1(M), which is 2-3 lane motorway throughout the county. Other major routes are the A66 trans-Pennine route (beware snow and ice in winter, and the road closes in bad conditions); A19 along the coast; and A68 along the Pennines to Corbridge and Edinburgh.

By bus Darlington and Durham have National Express coach services to London Victoria and Leeds. Angel bus 21 runs from Durham to Newcastle.

Getting around

The central spine of the county is well-served by public transport as described above. Local buses (run by Arriva) fan out from Durham and Darlington to the other small towns, serving a string of communities along a river valley, but they seldom venture cross-country over the moors. Especially in the west of the county, you'll need a car, or you'll need to enjoy stiff gradients on your bike.

See

Durham historic city needs a day or two to explore. Darlington has a railway museum, the "Brick Train" sculpture, and city amenities such as the civic theatre. Shildon south of Bishop Auckland has an even larger railway museum, "Locomotion". Hamsterley Forest west of Bishop Auckland is a popular area for strolling and hiking. Beamish has a wonderful outdoor museum showing life in a typical 19th-century Durham town. High Force is a waterfall on the River Tees near Middleton-in-Teesdale. The whole upper Tees valley is scenic.

Do

Hike: the Pennine Way straggles along the crest between County Durham and Cumbria. Watch a county or international test cricket match at Chester-le-Street. Row on the river in Durham. Sledge or ski in the winter: Weardale near Stanhope even has ski-lifts, and a whole 186 metres descent. Durham County Show is held at Thornly Hall Farm 7 miles southeast of Durham city. It's the first Saturday in July.

Eat

Parmo is the local version of Chicken Parmesan. Unlike the classic New York or Italian styles, here it's closer to a schnitzel on a pizza base, with breaded chicken, and béchamel instead of Parmesan sauce; sometimes pork is also used. It's classic post-pub food in the northeast, and is especially common in the parts of County Durham nearest Middlesbrough.

Drink & nightlife

Darlington and Durham have lots of pubs, including micro-breweries. The small towns and villages also have pubs, which may be the best place for a sit-down meal. In their mining heyday they were thronged with pubs.

Sleep

The main towns have business-oriented hotels with the usual chains, plus B&B. A few luxurious spa hotels out in the country, where you'll need your own vehicle.

Go next

North is Newcastle, the attractive coastline of Northumberland and Berwickshire / East Lothian, then spectacular Edinburgh. West is Cumbria and the Lake District. South is the walled city of York, the craggy coastline of North Yorkshire, and charming genteel Ripon and Harrogate.