Adventures around Durhamwith PlusBus
The view from Durham railway station is one of the finest in the country. As the train pulls in, the sight of the castle and cathedral on their high cliff above the River Wear invites the visitor to explore. With a PlusBus ticket for a few pounds on top of your train fare, you can take unlimited buses anywhere in the Durham area all day. Here are just a few of the many things you could see and do by bus on a trip to Durham.
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1. Visit Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral is England’s greatest example of Norman architecture. Its mighty pillars and round arches are definitely worth visiting in their own right. But it also houses the shrines of St Cuthbert and St Bede, a collection of Anglo-Saxon carvings, a medieval monks’ dormitory with a beamed oak roof and lots more, reflecting centuries of remarkable history.
- How do I get to Durham Cathedral by bus? Bus 40, Durham’s Cathedral Bus, runs every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday from the railway station direct to the cathedral. Tickets for this bus cost £1. Once you’ve visited, you can start using your PlusBus ticket to explore more widely.
- Take a scenic ten-minute stroll past Durham Castle and Palace Green, Market Place and High Street. Walk past St Nic’s church, follow Silver Street over the main road and turn immediately right near the phone box down the ramp to the bus stop called Leazes Road Underpass Stand A. If you want to use your PlusBus ticket from the station straight away, lots of other buses stop here, a short walk from the cathedral. It also has buses to the lovely woods, parks and museums around Durham University’s Hill Colleges (see 2 below).
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2. Explore the Oriental Museum
Home to more than 36,000 different objects from China, Japan, India, Egypt and other countries across Asia and Northern Africa, Durham’s Oriental Museum has plenty to discover.
- The collections range from Neolithic Chinese pottery to contemporary Korean wedding ducks. There’s a clay cylinder inscribed with records of the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. See an ornate 19th-century Chinese bed. An extraordinary statue of an Ancient Egyptian servant girl, carved from boxwood, ivory and gold. An ornate skull cup from Tibet. You could spend whole days exploring the collections or wander round for an hour, have a cup of tea and head off for a walk. See 3 below.
- How do I get to Durham Oriental Museum by bus? From Durham bus station Stand J or from the bus stop at Leazes Rd – Underpass Stand A (see 1 above), catch regular bus 6 to the stop called South Road Colleges. The museum is about five minutes’ walk from here. Cross South Road and walk down Elvett Hill Road, almost opposite the bus stop. Turn left up Millhill Lane and right to find the Oriental Museum.
- The university’s Botanic Garden is also close to this bus stop, about five minutes’ walk in the other direction along Hollingside Lane. The Botanic Garden has a nice café that is open to everyone. This makes a great starting point for walks along the River Wear (see 3 below).
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3. Try the Northern Saints Trails
The Northern Saints Trails are a series of waymarked long-distance walks in the footsteps of ancient monks, saints and pilgrims, converging on Durham Cathedral. A PlusBus ticket is perfect for sampling these imaginative routes on their way into the city, encountering woods and bridges, gardens and nature reserves. All of them have lovely stretches beside the River Wear with views of the cathedral.
- The Way of Life – approaching Durham from the south, this 29-mile route from Gainford ends by winding through some of Durham’s loveliest landscapes. Catch frequent bus 6 from the bus station or from the university (see 2 above) to the bus stop called Cock o the North on South Road. It’s a pleasant 3½ mile walk from here to the cathedral, past a small stone circle and spiral and a miner made from woven willow branches.
- The Way of Love – coming in from the east, this 28-mile route from Hartlepool is a fabulous walk, through former mines and flowering meadows from the sea. To sample the last 2½ miles, catch bus 22 or bus 24 to the stop called Dragon Lane End. Walk down Bent House Lane to join the route by turning right soon after the farm. You soon have views of the cathedral ahead and a chance to visit Old Durham Gardens.
- The Way of Learning approaches from Jarrow, 38 miles north of Durham. To walk the last 3 miles, catch hourly bus 62 to Finchdale Avenue in Brasside. The walk route is along the Weardale Way, another of the area’s great hikes, and past Crook Hall Gardens, a connecting series of spaces near an atmospheric medieval hall.
- The Way of Light comes in from Hexham, 45 miles west. To sample the last couple of miles, from the village of Bearpark, catch regular bus 48 to the bus stop called Moorsley Banks Farm. With your back to the city, turn right up the grassy path by the bus stop to pick up the route.
- For more days out by bus in the area, see our guide to adventures around Newcastle.
