We arrived at breakfast to find that most items were in short supply, causing us to hurry through breakfast rather than tarry a while.

We walked to Durham Town square to see various features including the History time line that is featured on the pathway across the square. We ventured into the market to see its architectural features before visiting the Town Hall where I knew there was a hidden gem behind the unimposing frontage, the Medieval Guild Hall built in 1665.

Sadly the church of St Nicholas was shut. This seemed to be an emerging theme with churches in Durham so we decided not to venture further to St Oswalds’ church which was also on our morning ‘to visit’ list.

Instead we drove to Shildon to visit the National Railway Museum. We arrived to find it shut on Mondays and Tuesdays…

Plan B came into operation, a visit to the Bowes Museum. We arrived just in time for lunch so we joined the queue for the tearoom. When we were seated we realised why there was a long queue, the system they operate is not very organised. The food, when it arrived, was delicious. The French chateau styled building and the collections within are a delight. I enjoyed the galleries of paintings, in particular those showing biblical scenes and figures.

Despite the earlier chaos in the tearoom, we decided that afternoon tea and cake was in order before heading back to the hotel. The queue was shorter and the tearoom less full but the service was just as chaotic as it had been at lunch. We shared a delicious slice of chocolate and orange cake.

Later we dined in Restaurant 17 followed by our now customary night cap in the Swan before retiring to our hotel.

St Nicholas’ Church is a Grade II* listed building.^[2] The church’s dedication was changed in 1490, to St Nicholas having previously been dedicated to St Magnus Martyr.^[3]

The church was rebuilt in 1776, reusing medieval foundations and is considered a good example of the early Gothic revival. The rebuilding was financed by the Frampton family, who lived in the nearby manor house. The north aisle was added in 1841 and most internal fittings were renewed c1847.

The adventurer T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”), who died in 1935, is buried in the separate churchyard. He was a cousin of the Frampton family and had been a frequent visitor to their home, Okers Wood House. Lawrence’s mother arranged with the Framptons to have him buried in their family plot in the separate burial ground of St Nicholas’ Church.^[4][5] Mourners included Winston and Clementine Churchill, E. M. Forster, and Lawrence’s youngest brother Arnold.^[6][1][7]

In 1940, the church suffered a direct hit from a German bomb, and was largely destroyed.^[1] It was rebuilt over the following decade, but the stained glass windows were replaced with plain green glass, which was not liked by the congregation.^[1]

Laurence Whistler was commissioned to provide engraved glass replacements, and after making twelve, he offered to make and donate the thirteenth with a design on the theme of Forgiveness featuring Judas.^[1] The offer was declined, but he made the window anyway.^[1] After being displayed in a local museum, it was eventually installed – on the outside of the church (as the artist intended) – in 2014.^[1]

One of the things that Mr C particularly wanted to see was the Tiger Tank Exhibition in Bovington Tank museum. After breakfast we drove to Bovington along leafy lanes in beautiful sunshine. After looking at some of the exhibits it was time for a morning cup of tea.

Unfortunately the small cafe that was nearest to us was for some reason had stopped serving food or drink. We made our way to the new restaurant area where, unexpectedly, Mr C bumped into someone he knew and much to the other person’s surprise. They got chatting and, before we knew it, it was almost time for lunch. We decided to have lunch before before continuing with our museum visit. The museum had changed a lot since our previous visits and was much improved.

After our museum visit we drove to Morton Village to visit St. Nicholas Church and its beautiful glass windows engraved by the late Sir Laurence Whistler. The theme of the windows is light and they are replacements for windows that were destroyed by a German bomb in WWII.

The church is also of interest because the funeral of T E Lawrence took place there. Before returning to the hotel we visited his grave which is located in the graveyard near to the church.

Back in the hotel we chilled out before visiting the hotel bar for an aperitif. We dined in a Thai restaurant where the food was delicious and the service excellent. Comfortably replete, we stepped out further into town, to the George, Sherborne’s oldest pub for a nightcap. It had a lovely atmosphere with gentle music playing in the background.