Wednesday 17th August 2022
Another morning of running! I'm impressing myself, plus this morning's wind was rather chilly. But the sun broke through and brought back some cheerful energy.
We traveled through to the University City of Durham which was about a half hour drive from my sister's. Like a lot of old cities in Britain, parking is tricky so we got on the 'park and ride' a couple of miles from the center.
The bus dropped us and we walked through a hilly section and we spilled into the pedestrian area so quickly, I gasped. Buildings, statues, cobblestones and sunshine were all there in the center. I snapped lots of photos as we made our way up to the cathedral.
There were lots of foreigners milling about and it felt very exciting. The cathedral looms across the city and we reached the square outside both cathedral and castle. We decided to head straight for the cathedral but I did a quick character video link. (I'm trying a new approach by doing a short one and then a more detailed longer video of a specific place, so I'm in the process of editing it all. However tonight my favourite Scots series, Shetland was on TV again so my video isn't edited yet.)
The cathedral is magnificent. I know I've seen a lot of churches, but this one felt grander and not only because of the tallest tower which is 66meters high and the remains of St Cuthbert are on site, the energy felt great. The different architecture of which I can't name was evident to me and the church site was said to be built in 1093. I Googled Norman architecture, Gothic architecture, Romanesque architecture and all sorts of new terminology and it just thrills me no end.
The cathedral volunteers are friendly and helpful and three of them were very good at upselling the cathedral roof view. It wasn't the £5- each for us to go to the top that put us off, it was the 320 steps in the spiral staircase that did it. Wrong shoes, sore ribs and weak legs made us agree to come back another time and take the challenge.
After refreshments at a quaint Cafe, we nipped down to the Wear River and ended up on a stunning river cruise where the pilot was telling us more details about the boating clubs, horse racing track, bridges, barrage and of course the cathedral.
We walked through the market square and older parts but the afternoon was aging and shops were closing so we headed back on the busy bus back to the carpark.
A stunning day.
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