Well, I think this was our last Cathedral and Castle but since I don’t know what we’re doing tomorrow (Thursday) or Friday, I may be mistaken.
Our first stop was Durham Cathedral about 1 1/2 hours north of York. I didn’t know this, but the Cathedral is on the grounds of Durham University.
The remains of St. Cuthbert are interred in a small side chapel and thousands of pilgrims came to worship. As a result of the crowds, the Chapel of Nine Altars was built between 1242 and 1280. Today there are only 3 altars.
The town of Durham had a very nice town square.
After leaving Durham, we headed for Alnwick (pronounced “Alnick”) Castle, about an hour north. It was founded in the late 11th century and was the home of the Earls and, since 1750, the Dukes of Northumberland. The castle is the winter home of the 12th Duke and his family.
In addition to the first 2 HP movies, the movie Elizabeth with Kate Winslet was filmed here as well as the Downton Abbey Christmas specials of 2014/2015.
We were able to tour the State Apartments, but as with the other castles where the family still lives, we weren’t able to take photos. Here are a few I found online.
It was almost 3pm by the time we finished at the castle so we headed to our home for the night, the Amblin Inn in the town of Amblin. Tomorrow we head to Holy Island to see what we can find to do.