Historic Durham and Alnwick Castle
With its winding cobbled streets, famous Cathedral and Castle, Durham is a captivating city with a timeless quality. It is also the perfect place from which we’ll explore the beautiful north-east of England where history and heritage are still very much alive. Experience a real sense of the past at Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, visit Bowes Railway Museum and explore the iconic Alnwick Castle where centuries of history are interwoven with Potter-inspired magic. We also step aboard the South Tynedale Railway to enjoy memorable journeys from a bygone era in this charming corner of the country considered the birthplace of railways.
Your Tour Includes
- 4 nights’ half-board accommodation at the Durham Marriott Hotel Royal County
- Coach transfers for our excursions
- Services of our experienced Tour Manager
Itinerary
Make your own way to our hotel in Durham where you will meet our Tour Manager. Enjoy a relaxing evening with dinner served in the hotel’s restaurant.
Includes Dinner
This morning, our local guide will meet us at our hotel and take us on a walking tour of this historic city. Highlights include the UNESCO-Listed 900-year old Norman Castle and Durham Cathedral where we have a chance to admire the stunning interior of this iconic, vaulted Romanesque building. At the end of the tour there is some free time for you to enjoy lunch in one of Durham’s many cafes or restaurants. Our tour then continues to the small town of Alston where the former North Eastern Railway Station is now the headquarters of the South Tynedale Railway. Following the former route of British Rail’s Haltwhistle to Alston branch line, this preserved narrow-gauge heritage railway is the highest in England. We’ll enjoy a wonderful roundtrip through beautiful countryside as the train winds its way from Alston into the South Tyne Valley in the North Pennines. This evening dinner is served in the hotel.
Includes Breakfast
Includes Dinner
Included Highlights
Today we drive to the charming town of Alnwick, one of Northumberland’s most historic towns. We enjoy a guided tour of the iconic castle, which may be familiar from Downtown Abbey and the Harry Potter films. Enjoy time at leisure for lunch and further exploration of the Castle, the beautiful Gardens and the town of Alnwick itself, which is a beautiful market town full of charm.
Includes Breakfast
Includes Dinner
Included Highlights
This morning we will travel to Bowes Railway Museum, where we will enjoy a guided tour. Bowes Railway was originally a colliery railway built to carry coal mainly from pits in north west Durham to the Tyne at Jarrow. Afterwards, we continue to the famous Beamish Open-Air Museum, which recreates life in the north east of England during the 1820s, 1900s and 1940s. Step back in time and see how families lived and worked in the years leading up to the First World War, or head to the 1940s farm and see what life was like on the home front during the Second World War. Experience life in a 1900s Pit Village showing a colliery community at the time of peak coal production in the north east, and take a look around Rowley Station with its signal box, waiting room and yard just as it was in Edwardian times. Dinner is served in the hotel this evening.
Includes Breakfast
Includes Dinner
Included Highlights
After breakfast, you’re free to check out of our hotel and make your own way home. *Please note: we cannot guarantee that all our rail journeys will be steam hauled.*
Includes Breakfast
Accommodation
You will stay for four nights at the Durham Marriott Hotel Royal County.