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Durham Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Durham Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Highlight • Religious Site

Durham Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Name: Durham Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Rating: 2

Recommended by 95 hikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Durham Castle and Cathedral WHS

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Location: City Of Durham, North East England, England, United Kingdom

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Best Hikes to Durham Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

4.9

(21)

hikers

1. River Wear & Durham City loop

16.3km

04:24

220m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

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2. Durham Cathedral & Castle loop

3.11km

00:51

50m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

4.7

(33)

297

hikers

3. Durham Castle – The Count's House Folly loop from Elvet

10.1km

02:39

90m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

Tips

Alex Foxfield

August 31, 2021

Durham Cathedral is a remarkable and spectacular building at the heart of this historic and ancient city. Along with nearby Durham Castle, it is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was constructed in the Romanesque style between 1093 and 1133 as a monastic cathedral and was home to the shrine of St Cuthbert. It was hugely influential in architectural terms. At the time of its construction, its large scale, stone vaulted ceiling was an impressive and pioneering feat, forming the blueprint for European architecture from that point onwards.

Today, as well as being regarded as one of the world's greatest cathedrals, it is still a functioning establishment, welcoming thousands of services every year. Along with its neighbouring castle, it attracts scores of visitors to the city.

Bumble-Bee

December 2, 2022

Absolutely huge cathedral. The interior is quite special in its plainness - not even the high ceiling is decorated making the gothic architecture even more impressive. As you cannot walk around it takes a bit of going back and forth to take in this building complex from all perspectives.

Timber 👣 & Shakespeare 🐾

August 11, 2019

The cathedral, along with the old town and Durham Castle, sits on a towering rock in a loop of the Wear River. With a length of 143 m, it takes up the entire width of the rock. The main entrance is on the north side of the main nave (formerly the lay entrance). On the south side is the former Benedictine abbey with the cloister.
Architecturally, it is, apart from the additions, a completely vaulted three-aisled cross basilica with a two-aisled transept (consisting of a main aisle and only one aisle located west of the crossing). Beyond the vaults of the central aisle and the main aisles of the transept, the church interior also protrudes into the crossing tower and receives light from its windows. This vertical expansion is completed by a star vault.
The church has three large square and eight smaller towers: the tower pair at the west end of the nave is not too tall as the crossing tower. In addition, there are small towers on the outer corners of the transept arms, the octagonal west each slightly thicker than the square east. These seven towers have flat roofs. The towers at the four corners of the Gothic chapel of the Nine Altars, which are attached to the east of the choir, are octagonal and have pointed spire helmets.

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Elevation 110 m

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Location: City Of Durham, North East England, England, United Kingdom

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Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

1. River Wear & Durham City loop

2. Durham Cathedral & Castle loop

3. Durham Castle – The Count's House Folly loop from Elvet

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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