For some 750 years Durham Castle was the ceremonial palace of the Prince Bishops of Durham.  Since the 1980s it has been the home of the University College, the foundation College of the University of Durham.

Within the castle are many interesting features including the Great Hall and the Black Staircase, but the part of the castle that interested me the most was The Norman Chapel:

The chapel features an unusual array of carvings, some thought to show religious scenes and values, others simply decorative.  One of its capitals depicts a man with two dogs hunting a stag which may be a representation of St Eustace, who converted to Christianity when he saw an apparition of Jesus appear between the horns of the stag he was hunting.  Others include the earliest known representation of a mermaid in England, as well as leopards, a snake and a green man.*

In particular I was intrigued by the thought of the mermaid representation being the first in England.

Grey towers of Durham
yet will I love thy mixed and massive piles
Half Church of God, half castle ‘gainst the Scot
And long to roam these venerable aisles
With records stored of deeds long since forgot.’

Sir Walter Scott (From Harold the Dauntless)

*Durham World Heritage Site, A Guide to the Castle and Cathedral – Published in 2013 by Durham World Heritage Site.

After breakfast we set out for Durham in order to visit the cathedral and the Lindesfarne Gospels exhibition.  Unfortunately when we enquired at the visitor information centre about tickets to see the Gospels we were advised that the earliest time slot possible for that day was 7.30pm.  We didn’t fancy hanging around all day so we decided against it and chose to visit the castle instead.

When we arrived at the castle gates we were told that visits were by guided tour only and the last tour was in a few minutes due to a wedding being held there later that day.  The only snag was that tickets had to be purchased from the visitor information centre which is where we had just come from…  After some grumbling Mr C went back to purchase the tickets.  The castle tour was interesting and informative.  The hall and stairway reminded me of Hogwarts from the Harry Potter films.

After the castle tour, we visited the cathedral and had lunch in the undercroft.  I also spent some time in the book section of the gift shop.

We then made our way back to Newcastle where I went into M&S to quickly purchase a pair of trousers to replace the ones that had got soaked and muddy the previous day.  This was not to be.  The lengths looked different so I had to try them on.  The assistant reliably informed me that the lengths had been changed by what she called a ‘cuff length’!!  This means that M&S trousers no longer fit me as I am between lengths.

We returned to the hotel to freshen up before our evening meal.  The weather was fine and dry so we walked along the Quayside before settling on dining in Cafe Rouge.  After the meal we returned to the hotel for a cool glass of wine before retiring for the evening.