County Durham - explore starting here:

Walk in the countryside

The Durham Dales is a peaceful and tranquil landscape of moors and hills, valleys and meandering rivers, dotted with picturesque villages and market towns. Part of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Durham Dales ranks as a special place. At its heart is the green and tranquil town of Stanhope in Weardale, home to the Durham Dales Centre; and The Black Bull at Frosterley is very conveniently on the way back...


Hamsterley Forest is a delightful 2000 hectare oasis, sprawling along the sides of a sheltered valley. Visitors to Hamsterley have plenty of options for forest adventure, or a tranquil getaway from the hustles of modern living. Activities include Walking Trails, Cycling Trails, Horse Riding Trails, Forest Drives and a full calendar of events including Bushcrafts and Food from the Forest. There are no bears in this forest.

Explore Durham's past

Beamish Museum presents a living museum of the North: it includes painstakingly reconstructed features from 1820 including a Georgian Village, a Colliery, Pit Village Cottages, and a Tramway between the locations. Beamish is definitely worth a visit. To make the most of the entrance fee, and to get a chance to see everything, allow a full day for this.

Barnard Castle refers both to a very pleasant market town and to the 12th century castle set on a rock above the River Tees. Market day is Wednesday.

Just round the corner from Barnard Castle is the impressive Bowes Museum. Purpose-built in 1870, the project started when John Bowes, a coal-entrepreneur, fell in love with Parisian actress Josephine Coffin-Chevalier. The Bowes' signature exhibit is a mechanical swan which was designed as a crowd-puller in 1773, and still has that effect today.

Sport ? Or Bargain-Hunting ?

Fortunately the North-East presents a choice. At Chester-le-Street is Durham County Cricket Club, County champions 3 times in 6 years.

Gateshead's Metro Centre, conveniently just up the motorway from Chester-le-Street, is large and all-encompassing: every sort of store from a Primark to a Champagne Bar, with free parking. Don't try this at Christmas, however, unless you really like traffic queues.

If you can't survive long without a visit to the 19th hole, the Ramside Hall Hotel Golf Course is well-respected and very convenient for your apartment.

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