Auckland Castle: It used to be that the power of the Prince Bishops of Durham was second only to the English monarchy. Commissioned to defend that monarchy, the Bishops were placed strategically close to the border between England and Scotland – who weren’t always on the best of terms – so they needed a home to match their status.

These men were so powerful that they could raise their own armies and mint their own coins. It’s no surprise then that they enjoyed Auckland Castle and its lush surroundings as their countryside estate, when the pressures of London, York and Durham became too much. While their role has changed with the passage of time, the Bishop of Durham still has influence throughout the modern world.

When we arrived at breakfast I found to my disappointment the bread that accompanied the continental breakfast selection was stale and inedible!

We had booked tickets to visit Auckland Castle, the former home of the Prince Bishops of Durham. We arrived with plenty of time to spare so we used the opportunity to book tickets to visit the Mining Art Gallery. The gallery exhibits paintings from prominent artists of the area using art as a medium to portray the life of a coal miner and the social history of the North East mining community. When we arrived we were given a brief history of the gallery and how it came into being before being left to wander through the gallery at our leisure. I was blown away by both the presentation and story that the gallery tells.

We stopped for refreshments in the delightful Fifteas Vintage Tea Room in Bishop Auckland square before making our way to the castle for our allotted timeslot. The chapel at the castle is amazing, from its wooden carvings to its stained glass windows, all with stories to tell of the former Bishops of Durham. It is a shame that there is not a guide book that collates all this information. We had lunch in the tearoom before taking a walk round the extensive grounds. We had hoped to find the historic deer house but we failed to find it on our walk.

Before we left Bishop Auckland, we visited St Anne’s Church and then walked a little further to see the Stan Laurel statue that had been shown in one of the art displays in the Mining Art Gallery. It took us a little longer to find it than we expected but we got there in the end.

We returned to the hotel to freshen up and relax before a return visit t0 Marco Pierre White for our evening meal.