St. Mary’s, formally dedicated to St. Gregory is over 1200 years old and sometimes referred to as ‘The Cathedral of the Dales’.

“Nestled in the valley between Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle on the main A688, Staindrop has been described as “quite simply one of the prettiest villages in County Durham.”  It stands as one of the gateways into Teesdale, with its long village greens making it a typical rural Durham village.  The village is also one of great antiquity with some evidence of neolithic activity, but it gained importance in the time of King Canute when he gave his manor at Staindrop and its surrounding ‘appendages’ (hamlets and houses) to the newly founded priory at Durham Cathedral in 1031.”

“The church itself stands at what was once the Easternmost end of the village next to the Langley Beck, just past the magnificent Raby Castle.

It is a mediaeval gem, based on an 8th Century Saxon foundation with some of the earlier Saxon churches incorporated into the ‘newer’ building.”

Raby Castle was built in the 14th century by the Nevill family. It was home to Cecily Nevill, mother of two kings of England, it was also the scene of the plotting of the Rising of the North and a Parliamentary stronghold during the Civil War.

Originally moated and accessed via a drawbridge, the Castle was built as a palace fortress. It is characterised by a sequence of massive towers linked by curtain walls. It’s completeness is of national significance as a largely single-phase structure, with one twelfth century survival (Bulmer’s Tower).

The Nevills, responsible for building the 14th century Castle which still stands today, continued to live at Raby until 1569 when, after the failure of the Rising of the North, the Castle and its lands were forfeited to the Crown. The 6th Earl of Westmorland was the last of the Nevills to live at Raby Castle.

He fled from Raby in 1569 after The Rising of the North and died in exile in Holland in 1601.

In 1626, Sir Henry Vane the Elder, Member of Parliament and important member of Charles I’s household, purchased Raby from the Crown. The Vane family still own Raby, the present owner being the 12th Lord Barnard.

After breakfast, which was was busier but less chaotic than the previous day, we drove to Raby Castle. As the weather was fair when we arrived we chose to visit the gardens and grounds. We started with the walled garden then walked around the lower lake taking in views of the castle.

When we arrived at the castle courtyard we walked around the castle perimeter to get an appreciation of it before we went inside the castle. The castle is stunning and rich with history which the knowledgeable room guides were happy to share with us as we made our way around.

We had quiche for lunch in the café before we left to visit Staindrop and the Church of St Mary where significant (historical) members of the Neville family, that once owned Raby Castle, have their tombs. There was still time to spare so we decided to visit Brancepath Church as we journeyed back to Durham. We parked just outside the driveway to the church which took us past the castle where there was a sign outside saying queue here for the 4pm tour.

I found the church amazing. It looked old from the outside and modern, light and airy from within. It had a special feel to it and I would have liked to linger longer but Mr C had his eye on the castle tour.

When we arrived at the tour joining point we found that it was for pre-booked tickets  as part of the Heritage Open Days scheme. We were lucky, two people had dropped out and we were able to join the tour that was guided by the husband of the current owner. He told us of the history of the castle and the owners. The final room that he showed us was the chapel which he advised was consecrated and used by the village when the Church had been gutted due to a fire over twenty years ago. This explains the incongruity of the Parish Church’s interior and exterior appearance.

By the time the tour had finished it was nearly 6pm and we had not been able to book an evening meal in Durham so we opted for plan B. We drove to Seaham in search of fish and chips, eventually finding them in Gills, opposite the Eleven ‘O’ One, Tommy memorial sculpture. The food was cooked to order, we dined in, eating out of a box. The Haddock that I chose melted in my mouth.

After our long day out we returned to our hotel to chill with a cup of tea in our newly acquired mugs before venturing out to the Swan for a nightcap.