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Durham Monks Miners and Castle secrets

5

( 6 reviews )

$6.99

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Explore Durham on a short self-guided walk through cobbled riverside paths, a commanding Norman cathedral, and a city shaped by faith, learning, and centuries of northern history.

Highlights


  • Trace how one saint's wandering coffin gave birth to an entire city and still rests beneath the cathedral today

  • Learn why Durham's bishops could mint coins, raise armies, and rule independently of the English crown for eight centuries

  • Walk the riverside loop that the BBC named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Northern England

  • Hear the story of the first person ever to escape the Tower of London, hidden inside a barrel of wine

  • Discover how Durham's coal miners built a welfare state from pennies and created the world's largest trade union gathering

Preview Stop

The Journey Sculpture
00:00 / 01:04
Welcome to our first stop. This sculpture in front of you is called ""The Journey"", which was carved by Fenwick Lawson, a County Durham artist. Look at the figures bent under the weight of a coffin. This is the story of how Durham began, frozen in wood and bronze. The man in that coffin is Saint Cuthbert, and to understand Durham, you need to know his story. Cuthbert was a shepherd boy who grew up on the Northumbrian hills in the seventh century. One night, while watching his flock, he saw a vision of angels carrying a soul to heaven. The next morning, he learned that a holy man called Aidan had died at that exact moment. Cuthbert took this as a sign and entered a monastery. He became one of Britain's most famous holy men. People travelled from all over to seek his healing touch. He was so connected to nature that eider ducks on the Northumbrian coast are still called ""Cuddy's ducks"" after him, Cuddy being the local nickname for Cuthbert. But here is where the story gets strange. Eleven years after his death, when the Anglo-Saxon monks opened his tomb, they found his body perfectly preserved. Not a skeleton but a body that looked, according to the accounts, as if he were merely sleeping. Even his clothes were intact. This was confirmed again over four hundred years later, and the discovery turned Cuthbert into the most important saint in England. Then the Vikings came. In the late eighth century, Norse raiders attacked the monastery at Lindisfarne, where Cuthbert's body was kept. It was one of the most terrifying events in early English history. Eventually, in the ninth century, the monks could no longer protect the body, and they fled, carrying the coffin on their shoulders. For over a century, they wandered across northern England, never settling for long. That is what this sculpture depicts - a few monks carrying their precious cargo through rain and danger, looking for a safe place to rest. How did they end up here? I will tell you that story at a later stop. For now, make your way downhill towards the Market Place. Follow the map on the app, and you will reach it in about two minutes.
About this activity 



Free Cancellation 

  • Cancel up to 2 hours in advance for a full refund 

Valid 365 days 

  • Tour is valid for 1 year and can be used multiple times 

Language Options  

  • English | French | German | Spanish | Italian | Dutch | Polish | Russian | Portuguese

Duration  

  • 1 hour and 30 minutes

Starting point


The Journey Sculpture - Google Maps

Itinerary
8 Millennium Pl
The Journey Sculpture – Stand before the wooden figures bent under a coffin that sparked an entire city into existence.
Durham Market Place
The Market Tavern – Step into the birthplace of a movement that outlived the very industry it was built to protect.
27 Market Pl
The Market Place – Spot the hidden clay animals scattered above the square where severed heads once hung on poles.
Durham Town Hall
Durham Town Hall – Meet the three-foot-three celebrity who charmed European royalty and won a grave inside the cathedral.
Durham Cathedral
This tour begins at the entrance of Durham Cathedral, where you'll discover its remarkable history and architectural journey. You'll then explore the knockers on the portals, uncovering the stories they depict. As you step inside, the tour guides you through the cathedral’s awe-inspiring stained glass windows, sacred relics, and the tombs of influential bishops—each with its own story and significance. You’ll learn why these figures were laid to rest here and how they shaped the city’s past. The tour concludes at the very place it began: the humble entrance. In total you will go through 25+ stops on this tour.
Statue of Neptune
Statues of Neptune and the Soldier – Trace a granite timeline born from a ten-year-old boy's letter to the local newspaper.
Durham Riverside Walk
The Riverside Walk – Follow the river gorge where a shepherd boy's vision set off a chain that shaped northern England for centuries.
Framwellgate Bridge
Framwellgate Bridge – Cross the bridge built by a man who escaped the Tower of London hidden inside a barrel of wine.
South Bailey
The Bailey – Walk one of England's finest medieval streets, once held by soldiers whose rent was paid in loyalty.
Palace Green
Palace Green – Weigh the power of bishops who minted coins, raised armies, and answered to no king.
Silver Street
Silver Street – Search for the plaque marking where a raven dropped a gold coin at the feet of a penniless boy.
12 S Bailey
The Watergate and City Walls – Pass beneath the medieval gate that helped a castle stay unconquered for nearly a thousand years.
Durham Castle
Durham Castle – Enter the oldest inhabited university building in the world, haunted by a student who misread a notice board.
Shakespeare Tavern
Saddler Street and Shakespeare Tavern – Hear why Durham's most haunted pub still rattles a sewing machine no one has touched.
Prebends Bridge
Prebends Bridge – Pause where a saint's coffin suddenly refused to move — and a lost cow showed the monks where to go.

OR

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Top Reviews

Lennox

Amazing way to explore Durham

29 May 2026
This is a fantastic way to explore Durham. We booked at the last minute and I was looking at tours online and found this and it was just a few pounds to download so we tried this and it’s fantastic. We downloaded the tour to our phones and just walked the tour at our own pace listening to- able to stop and start as well as check photos to see we were in the right place. The content was excellent and we followed the route easily - such a brilliant idea and we would look for this provider if they do other areas. Fantastic and amazing value versus traditional tours.

Marley

Essential guide

23 September 2025
This guide is worth every penny. A fabulous informative guide to Durham Cathedral and its history both ancient and modern. The guide includes a map and photos of the stops making each artifact easy to find. Absolutely essential if you are visiting this spectacular cathedral. If I was looking to pick fault the only disappointment was that the guide speaker is American instead of British.

Kathlyn

Guided tour Durham Cathedral

22 August 2025
The guided walking tour was excellent but the audio tour I paid for through trip advisor didn’t exist. The guide could have talked all day about the cathedral and not repeated himself.
Full Description
Explore Durham's medieval heart at your own pace, from the riverside paths of the River Wear to the shadow of its mighty cathedral. Follow the story of monks who carried a saint's body across northern England and built a city around it, meet the Prince Bishops who ruled like kings, and discover the coal miners who changed a nation. This walk connects a thousand years of history across one dramatic river peninsula, with tales of Viking raids, a Tower of London escape, rags-to-riches legends, and Britain's most notorious female serial killer.
Important Information 


  • Instructions with link to app and how to access the tour will be sent to your email post checkout  

  • You can gain instant access to the tour by downloading the app and buying the tour on the app

Frequently asked questions

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