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Durham Social and Cultural activities

Durham Social and Cultural Activities

Excursions within the City of Durham and beyond can suit all tastes. Here are just a few:

City Tour of Durham to include Durham University Visitor Attractions

  • Botanic Garden
    • Durham Castle
    • Oriental Museum
    • Palace Green Library

Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead – The BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art is the world’s largest gallery of its kind. BALTIC presents a dynamic, diverse, and international programme of contemporary visual art, with an ever-changing calendar of exhibitions and activities designed to give a unique and compelling insight into contemporary artistic practise, housed in a historic, renovated flour mill on the Gateshead bank of the River Tyne.

More information available at: https://baltic.art/

Hadrian’s Wall – One of Rome’s most northerly outposts, Hadrian’s Wall was built when the Roman Empire was at its height. Snaking across dramatic countryside, it remains one of Britain’s most impressive ruins.

More information is available at: https://www.thisisdurham.com/northernsaints/see-and-do/hadrians-wall-p788091

Beamish Open Air Museum—telling the story of life in North East England in Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian times.

More information is available at:  https://beamish.digitickets.co.uk/

Finchale Priory – Also known as the Finchale Abbey, the Finchale Priory is a 13th century Benedictine Monastery, the remnants of which lie by the River Wear, 4 miles from the city of Durham. Founded in 1196, established in a beautiful, wooded setting, the priory was a station for the Durham Cathedral and then operated as a vacation sanctuary for Durham’s monks till its overthrow in 1538.

More information is available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/finchale-priory/

Locomotion at Shildon —the largest railway museum in the world, home to over 300 years of history. You can have a fun day out in the birthplace of the railways.

More information available at:  https://www.locomotion.org.uk/

Crook Hall Gardens, Durham — a 13th century Grade 1 listed medieval hall, which provides a spectacular backdrop to the stunning gardens.

More information available at: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/souter-lighthouse-and-the-leas/features/crook-hall-and-gardens

Local Durham Tours

Tour of Durham and University App

There is a Durham University Tours APP which you can download here in Google Play or here in Apple Store.


The tours provide information about many different buildings and locations in Durham as well as providing images of each stop. Additionally, we have videos showing you how walking routes between destinations

Private shore excursions Newcastle Port – Alnwick – Durham

This tour will take us to Northumberland, a cultural heritage with ancient castles, friendly market towns and beautiful scenery. We will stop at Alnwick Castle which is the second largest inhabited castle in England. Home to the Duke of Northumberland, Alnwick has been Percy’s family home since the Norman invasion. Our next stop will be Durham. Durham has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. Durham’s city is full of character with its cobbled streets, charming g cafes and independent shops. We will visit the majestic Durham Cathedral and Castle, both UNESCO World heritage sites.

What to expect

Northern Secrets – Guided Tours of North East England

The northern reaches of England, Wales and Scotland offer a diverse range of landscapes, cityscapes, attractions & activities to be discovered.

More information is available here.