Angel of the North and human impersonator. Stopped to visit on the way to Durham City. If you're travelling past Gateshead whether by car on the A1, as we were, or by train on the East coast main line, you can't miss the Angel of the North.....
Durham City and the Angel of the North.
Angel of the North and human impersonator. Stopped to visit on the way to Durham City. If you're travelling past Gateshead whether by car on the A1, as we were, or by train on the East coast main line, you can't miss the Angel of the North.....
.....at 20 metres tall with a 54 metre wingspan and weighing 200 tonnes, the Angel of the North is Britain's largest sculpture and towers over the Team Valley from it's hilltop site......
....the Angel of the North is as much a feat of engineering as a work of art. The sculpture has a greater wingspan than a Boeing 757, and has to be able to withstand winds of over 100mph in its exposed location.
In 1994 Gateshead Council chose Turner prize-winning artist Antony Gormley OBE to produce a sculpture as a symbol for Tyneside. Funding was secured in 1996, and the Angel of the North was erected on site in 1998.
Early and quiet when we arrived......
....but it is a big tourist attraction and not long before the coaches arrived....
On the outskirts of Durham.......
.......a pigeon fancier about to release his pigeons.....
......they will be home before he is.
Framwelgate Bridge. Durham Castle and Cathedral dominate the city. Durham Castle is open to the general public to visit but only through guided tours since it is a working castle and home to over 100 students of University College or Castle, as it is known. It is the oldest college of Durham University, founded in 1832, and located in this former Norman fortress.
On the Bridge......
......walking up to the Market Place.
The market place was holding a 1940s style fund raising event for the Gurkhas......
Looked good, sounded good...
Durham Cathedral is the greatest Norman building in England - perhaps even in Europe. It is cherished not only for it's architecture but also for it's incomparable setting. For this reason it was inscribed together with the Castle as one of Britain's first World Heritage Sites.
Around the Cloisters.....
The Cathedral is home to 100's of Pipistrelle Bats which are currently under observation by the Durham Bat Group because of a high mortality rate.....
....these two were very much alive, but a bit sleepy.
Palace Green, which separates the Cathedral and Castle....
The castle keep is not what it seems. It is a copy, built in 1840 by Anthony Salvin to the same floor plan as the original Norman keep. So it can provide little more than a glimpse of what was once one of the most important castles in all of Britain.
Off the green is the Castle entrance. It dates from 1072 and was the seat of the Prince Bishops of Durham until 1832. The Castle, together with the Cathedral, was awarded the status of a World Heritage Site in 1986, providing international recognition for this unique, historic and scenic site. It is one of the largest Norman castles and Romanesque palaces to survive in England and is the founding College of Durham University.
The Castle Courtyard.....
A quick peek at a wedding reception taking place in the Great Hall... what a marvellous location.
The Cathedral from the banks of the River Weir......
...lovely walks along the pathway network....
From Prebends Bridge along the river to Framwelgate Bridge.
The Castle entrance....
....and Cathedral at night.