The whole of Durham Centre is designated a conservation area for its huge amount of listed buildings. Over six hundred of these listed buildings effectively make the centre of Durham a living museum. The history recorded in the bricks and mortar of Durham also is written in its cathedral, which is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The city and its surroundings also have castles and other fortifications such as Durham Castle, Raby Castle, Auckland Castle and Bowes Castle: which has a tower from the time of King Henry II built on the ruins of a Roman fort with another Roman fort residing in Binchester. Housing the history of relics gone by are the many museums that not only are the key to the past but also commemorate other significant history belonging to the industrial period such as Derwentcote Steel Furness. There are also specialist museums that relate to the railways at Weardale and Shildon with the latter town also hosting a Vintage Vehicles Museum too.
Besides the castles there are also the country parks that hold estates built with deer parks, vegetation with many varieties, indigenous and brought overseas such as those at Durham University Botanic Gardens that has influences from North America, India and the far east of China. Some of the country parks such as Pow Hill County Park that run along beautiful stretches of water such as the Derwent Reservoir. Picnic stretches are abundant and alive with woodland like the Castle Eden National Nature Reserve that has over five hundred acres.
There are plenty of adventure trails including Adventure Valley in Durham that has six play zones with half of them covered to keep the children dry. Conservations such as the nurture of birds of prey at Beamish Wild and the many churches that peal the bells in Durham make this historic stretch of the North of England a very attractive place to stay.
Looking for self catering holiday accommodation in Durham, then below is a selection of houses, holiday homes, flats and holiday cottages in Durham that can be rented direct from their owners. You can either click on each listing for further details or you can use our search engine on the left if you are looking for something in particular.
