Durham Cathedral, Getting Inked, & Lanchester
Yesterday I woke up at about 8:30 and needed to decide what to do. I had an idea, but needed to nail it down. I decided to stay and explore Durham in the morning and afternoon and visit Lanchester in the later afternoon.
Number one on today's to do list was Durham Cathedral. I wanted to do many things offered here--a guided tour, a trip up the northwest tower, and an exhibition. I was early for the 10:30 tour, so took a walk around the cathedral. It is magnificent. The organ was playing, which took me straight back to imagining times past.
Number one on today's to do list was Durham Cathedral. I wanted to do many things offered here--a guided tour, a trip up the northwest tower, and an exhibition. I was early for the 10:30 tour, so took a walk around the cathedral. It is magnificent. The organ was playing, which took me straight back to imagining times past.
Durham Cathedral has been a pilgrimage site for a thousand years because it contains the bones of St. Cuthbert. St. Cuthbert was a monk who was well-loved during the 7th century. He was known for doing miracles of healing. Ten years after he died, they decided to move his body to a different location and saw that it had not decomposed. This is when he was given saint status. Today I got to stand and reflect in the shrine of St. Cuthbert by myself because it wasn't busy when I got there. It's just so surreal thinking of the thousands of people who have been through a place and I am just one of them, but yet right now I'm here by myself.
The scale and beauty of the stained glass windows was astounding. There were all of these small and large memorials to important people sporadically placed on walls and the floor. Isn't it weird that we're walking on dead people? Every detail has been thought out. It was so completely ornate that I had to laugh when I noticed a couple of people making flower arrangements. You aren't allowed to take photos inside, so I wanted to respect that, even though it was really hard not to, especially when I was completely alone!
My guided tour started promptly at 10:30. I was one of eight people and the youngest by 30 years, which is cute and fun. The tour guide, Mike Duffy from Sunderland, was a precious old guy with vast knowledge. I wish I could have recorded him to listen back later. Every ounce of what he said was fascinating to me. I was quickly identified as the only American, so he explained things extra to me. At one point he even opened up a roped off area so that I could get a closer look at something called a misericord (had to ask him to repeat that one a few times and Google the spelling later), which is a small wooden plank where monks could rest their butts but were still technically standing during prayers.
I had a moment of teariness when Mike was explaining a bit of a theme in some of the stonework--scallop shells. These shells are the symbols of pilgrimages...pilgrims wore them during their holy journeys. This whole time I've called this trip my "family pilgrimage to England," so even though this isn't a spiritual pilgrimage for me, all of these things coming together felt meaningful.
At noon, my northwest tower trip commenced. I was one of eight participants with two guides. One of the guides opened a small wooden door, a door that was quite nondescript. We stepped through and started the climb up a winding and cramped space. You can see the wear on the stones and I couldn't help but think about the hundreds of people who have made this climb. I was counting the steps, so when it got to one hundred, I said so to the people ahead of me and they thought it was just so helpful that I was keeping track haha. In total, there were 137 steps and it took just a couple of minutes to get to the top. I'm telling you, my heart health is going to be top-notch at the end of this trip! Surprisingly, I wasn't too out of breath.
The views at the top of the tower were good! You could see the castle next door and some of the city, but my favorite part was being so close to the roof of the cathedral.
The tour guides gave a little talk, so I learned more things! The tower was built in 1190 and was used as a bell tower. It was one of the main watch points since it faces north and most of the threat came from that direction (with Scotland not being too far away). The width of the tower is actually more wide than most; it was built that way so that one could draw a sword, if needed.
The descent down the tower went even faster and I was ready to go see the cloisters and eat some food.
The cloisters weren't on the tour, but I knew where they were at because I saw it briefly when I did my initial lap around the cathedral. The cloisters are the walkway between the monks' dormitories and the cathedral, with a courtyard in the middle where they would bathe (once a year). Some Harry Potter scenes were filmed in the cloisters of Durham Cathedral, specifically when Ron is puking up slugs in The Chamber of Secrets. The courtyard is the quadrangle of Hogwarts.
This was really fun to see and surreal. Got a little teary-eyed on this one too, because I'm a huge nerd. Not sure which is worse--tearing up at a HP film location or showing up to said film location in HP school robes...because there were some girls there with robes on taking pictures haha.
After this, I needed some grub so went to the Undercroft Restaurant which is the café at the cathedral. I wasn't sure what to get, so I listened to what the guy in front of me ordered and it looked pretty good, so I went with it. It was a jacket potato (baked potato) with a huge pile of cheddar cheese on it, with some veg (roasted carrots and parsnips). It was a hearty meal and very tasty.
The gift shop was nearby so I popped in there and bought a bookmark and magnet. What I really wanted was something with a scallop shell on it, signifying my pilgrimage, but when I asked the kid at the counter, he looked at me like he had no idea what I was referring to. Coolcool.
Took a photo of this Lego cathedral, which is made of nearly 200,000 pieces.
Next up was the Open Treasure exhibition, also at the cathedral. Open Treasure was several things--an exhibition in the old monk dormitory which featured super old remnants of old stone crosses and coffins (many 11th century), as well as more information on monk life and the history of the cathedral. This museum was so cool, you used all of your senses to experience it. There were even little buttons to push where you could get a whiff of freshly chopped wood or beeswax. The second part of the exhibition was about the mining history in the area. Since I have several coal miners in my ancestry, I was very interested in this, but found the little exhibition to be lacking in keeping my attention the way the first part was. The third part was treasures found in St. Cuthbert's tomb, including a two-sided comb (as in to brush one's hair) and the cross that he wore on his person. It was small, gold, and had garnets in it. It's crazy to think that this little object dates back to 670. Sadly I couldn't take pictures in the exhibition, so this explanation isn't as interesting. Something cute at the end was that you could make a coat of arms for yourself and put an electronic pin in a map of the world of where you're visiting from.
It was about 2:00 at this point and I wanted to go into the tattoo studio, The Inking Rooms, that I had researched and been following on Facebook for a while. I was nervous, not knowing what to expect. It was on the second floor of a hipstery barber shop, with just two chairs for tattooing. I walked in and I think the guy recognized me because I had messaged previously, wondering if I should make an appointment or if I could just stop by. I showed him my photo, he asked that I come back in 15 minutes while he sketched it up, and that's what I did. I was pretty nervous for those 20 minutes--"I'm really gonna do this...I hope he makes it look like the photo...I hope he places it in the right spot...I hope it's not too big or too small...how bad will this hurt, I can't remember..."
Headed back, I signed the waiver with a shaking hand, and he got started right away. The size was perfect, the sketch was on point, and he placed it in just the right spot. Once he started, my anxiety subsided completely. It hurt hardly at all.
During the ten minutes it took to do it, he asked, "So you must hate Harry Potter, eh?" I kind of laughed and didn't say much else until he said, "I've thought about getting the cartoon Death figure from the second to last movie." In that moment I felt kinship with this stranger stabbing my wrist. That animated sequence of the telling of the deathly hallows story is my favorite part in all of the movies. The story itself is meaningful and clever, but the animation is unique and has always captivated me. It's the style I was going for with the tattoo. I'm so glad this guy said that to me because it made my heart so full.
I asked another guy in the shop to take my photo and he was hilarious, taking like 10 pictures from all angles. Apparently he was the owner of the shop, who has exactly zero tattoos.
I paid and left and just couldn't stop smiling and, you know me, getting emotional. I love Harry Potter, but the meaning is more than that and getting the tattoo here is just the cream and jam on the scone (instead of icing on the cake...you get me?).
Alrighty, next was Lanchester. It was about 4:00 at this point, so I hustled to the bus station. None of the electronic boards said they had a stop in Lanchester. Luckily there was a security guard near to ask for help. He pointed me in the right direction; the bus to Consett had a stop in Lanchester.
I paid the bus driver and found a spot, settling in for the 20 minute drive. I quickly realized that people were ringing the bell when they wanted off the bus. I didn't know where I was going and wouldn't know when to ring the bell. So I asked the gentleman behind me if the driver would make a stop in Lanchester or if I would need to ring the bell. He said the driver always makes two stops in Lanchester. "Awesome, thank you so much." I still had to ask when I thought it was Lanchester if it was actually Lanchester. I had made it.
I had no real plan for Lanchester, just wanted to explore a bit. My great great grandmother, Susan Dodd, was born here in 1853. Lanchester came up quite a bit for another ancestor, William Dodd, my 4x great grandfather. He was born in Lanchester in June 1800, he was married to Margaret Anderson here in December 1822, and William is found in the 1851 census as a “farm labourer” in Lanchester. He died in the Newcastle area (which I will visit in a few days) in 1867. I found a "national probate" document that shows his wife, Margaret, attesting to his death. She received less than 100 pounds from his will.
I did take a long walk to a Roman fort called Longovicium. I'll be honest, it was a complete let-down. The thing wasn't excavated at all and was completely overgrown with a sign on the side of this two way highway. That's it.
Turned right back around and walked into town. I made a turn-about the high street in Lanchester and decided I'd had a full day and it was time to catch the bus back to Durham. This was surprisingly easy to find in a random neighborhood; it was even the same bus driver as my first journey.
Made it back to Durham and had dinner at an Italian restaurant called La Piazza near my AirBnB because I was so tired and didn't have energy to find somewhere more interesting and authentic. I ate some standard Bolognese, but the highlight was the guy who must be the manager or owner. When he seated me, he asked where I was from and then went to the bar and announced to all of the employees--three times--that I was from Illinois. "Illinois! She's from Illinois!" It was cracking me up. He was quite a character. After I was done eating, he came back over and told me he worked at a restaurant in Texas for six months.
I haven't noticed the tattoo at all. It's not sore or irritated. It's like it was always there.
The scale and beauty of the stained glass windows was astounding. There were all of these small and large memorials to important people sporadically placed on walls and the floor. Isn't it weird that we're walking on dead people? Every detail has been thought out. It was so completely ornate that I had to laugh when I noticed a couple of people making flower arrangements. You aren't allowed to take photos inside, so I wanted to respect that, even though it was really hard not to, especially when I was completely alone!
My guided tour started promptly at 10:30. I was one of eight people and the youngest by 30 years, which is cute and fun. The tour guide, Mike Duffy from Sunderland, was a precious old guy with vast knowledge. I wish I could have recorded him to listen back later. Every ounce of what he said was fascinating to me. I was quickly identified as the only American, so he explained things extra to me. At one point he even opened up a roped off area so that I could get a closer look at something called a misericord (had to ask him to repeat that one a few times and Google the spelling later), which is a small wooden plank where monks could rest their butts but were still technically standing during prayers.
I had a moment of teariness when Mike was explaining a bit of a theme in some of the stonework--scallop shells. These shells are the symbols of pilgrimages...pilgrims wore them during their holy journeys. This whole time I've called this trip my "family pilgrimage to England," so even though this isn't a spiritual pilgrimage for me, all of these things coming together felt meaningful.
At noon, my northwest tower trip commenced. I was one of eight participants with two guides. One of the guides opened a small wooden door, a door that was quite nondescript. We stepped through and started the climb up a winding and cramped space. You can see the wear on the stones and I couldn't help but think about the hundreds of people who have made this climb. I was counting the steps, so when it got to one hundred, I said so to the people ahead of me and they thought it was just so helpful that I was keeping track haha. In total, there were 137 steps and it took just a couple of minutes to get to the top. I'm telling you, my heart health is going to be top-notch at the end of this trip! Surprisingly, I wasn't too out of breath.
The views at the top of the tower were good! You could see the castle next door and some of the city, but my favorite part was being so close to the roof of the cathedral.
The tour guides gave a little talk, so I learned more things! The tower was built in 1190 and was used as a bell tower. It was one of the main watch points since it faces north and most of the threat came from that direction (with Scotland not being too far away). The width of the tower is actually more wide than most; it was built that way so that one could draw a sword, if needed.
The descent down the tower went even faster and I was ready to go see the cloisters and eat some food.
The cloisters weren't on the tour, but I knew where they were at because I saw it briefly when I did my initial lap around the cathedral. The cloisters are the walkway between the monks' dormitories and the cathedral, with a courtyard in the middle where they would bathe (once a year). Some Harry Potter scenes were filmed in the cloisters of Durham Cathedral, specifically when Ron is puking up slugs in The Chamber of Secrets. The courtyard is the quadrangle of Hogwarts.
This was really fun to see and surreal. Got a little teary-eyed on this one too, because I'm a huge nerd. Not sure which is worse--tearing up at a HP film location or showing up to said film location in HP school robes...because there were some girls there with robes on taking pictures haha.
After this, I needed some grub so went to the Undercroft Restaurant which is the café at the cathedral. I wasn't sure what to get, so I listened to what the guy in front of me ordered and it looked pretty good, so I went with it. It was a jacket potato (baked potato) with a huge pile of cheddar cheese on it, with some veg (roasted carrots and parsnips). It was a hearty meal and very tasty.
The gift shop was nearby so I popped in there and bought a bookmark and magnet. What I really wanted was something with a scallop shell on it, signifying my pilgrimage, but when I asked the kid at the counter, he looked at me like he had no idea what I was referring to. Coolcool.
Took a photo of this Lego cathedral, which is made of nearly 200,000 pieces.
Next up was the Open Treasure exhibition, also at the cathedral. Open Treasure was several things--an exhibition in the old monk dormitory which featured super old remnants of old stone crosses and coffins (many 11th century), as well as more information on monk life and the history of the cathedral. This museum was so cool, you used all of your senses to experience it. There were even little buttons to push where you could get a whiff of freshly chopped wood or beeswax. The second part of the exhibition was about the mining history in the area. Since I have several coal miners in my ancestry, I was very interested in this, but found the little exhibition to be lacking in keeping my attention the way the first part was. The third part was treasures found in St. Cuthbert's tomb, including a two-sided comb (as in to brush one's hair) and the cross that he wore on his person. It was small, gold, and had garnets in it. It's crazy to think that this little object dates back to 670. Sadly I couldn't take pictures in the exhibition, so this explanation isn't as interesting. Something cute at the end was that you could make a coat of arms for yourself and put an electronic pin in a map of the world of where you're visiting from.
It was about 2:00 at this point and I wanted to go into the tattoo studio, The Inking Rooms, that I had researched and been following on Facebook for a while. I was nervous, not knowing what to expect. It was on the second floor of a hipstery barber shop, with just two chairs for tattooing. I walked in and I think the guy recognized me because I had messaged previously, wondering if I should make an appointment or if I could just stop by. I showed him my photo, he asked that I come back in 15 minutes while he sketched it up, and that's what I did. I was pretty nervous for those 20 minutes--"I'm really gonna do this...I hope he makes it look like the photo...I hope he places it in the right spot...I hope it's not too big or too small...how bad will this hurt, I can't remember..."
Headed back, I signed the waiver with a shaking hand, and he got started right away. The size was perfect, the sketch was on point, and he placed it in just the right spot. Once he started, my anxiety subsided completely. It hurt hardly at all.
During the ten minutes it took to do it, he asked, "So you must hate Harry Potter, eh?" I kind of laughed and didn't say much else until he said, "I've thought about getting the cartoon Death figure from the second to last movie." In that moment I felt kinship with this stranger stabbing my wrist. That animated sequence of the telling of the deathly hallows story is my favorite part in all of the movies. The story itself is meaningful and clever, but the animation is unique and has always captivated me. It's the style I was going for with the tattoo. I'm so glad this guy said that to me because it made my heart so full.
I asked another guy in the shop to take my photo and he was hilarious, taking like 10 pictures from all angles. Apparently he was the owner of the shop, who has exactly zero tattoos.
I paid and left and just couldn't stop smiling and, you know me, getting emotional. I love Harry Potter, but the meaning is more than that and getting the tattoo here is just the cream and jam on the scone (instead of icing on the cake...you get me?).
Alrighty, next was Lanchester. It was about 4:00 at this point, so I hustled to the bus station. None of the electronic boards said they had a stop in Lanchester. Luckily there was a security guard near to ask for help. He pointed me in the right direction; the bus to Consett had a stop in Lanchester.
I paid the bus driver and found a spot, settling in for the 20 minute drive. I quickly realized that people were ringing the bell when they wanted off the bus. I didn't know where I was going and wouldn't know when to ring the bell. So I asked the gentleman behind me if the driver would make a stop in Lanchester or if I would need to ring the bell. He said the driver always makes two stops in Lanchester. "Awesome, thank you so much." I still had to ask when I thought it was Lanchester if it was actually Lanchester. I had made it.
I had no real plan for Lanchester, just wanted to explore a bit. My great great grandmother, Susan Dodd, was born here in 1853. Lanchester came up quite a bit for another ancestor, William Dodd, my 4x great grandfather. He was born in Lanchester in June 1800, he was married to Margaret Anderson here in December 1822, and William is found in the 1851 census as a “farm labourer” in Lanchester. He died in the Newcastle area (which I will visit in a few days) in 1867. I found a "national probate" document that shows his wife, Margaret, attesting to his death. She received less than 100 pounds from his will.
I did take a long walk to a Roman fort called Longovicium. I'll be honest, it was a complete let-down. The thing wasn't excavated at all and was completely overgrown with a sign on the side of this two way highway. That's it.
 |
| Some scenery on my walk to the Roman fort |
Turned right back around and walked into town. I made a turn-about the high street in Lanchester and decided I'd had a full day and it was time to catch the bus back to Durham. This was surprisingly easy to find in a random neighborhood; it was even the same bus driver as my first journey.
Made it back to Durham and had dinner at an Italian restaurant called La Piazza near my AirBnB because I was so tired and didn't have energy to find somewhere more interesting and authentic. I ate some standard Bolognese, but the highlight was the guy who must be the manager or owner. When he seated me, he asked where I was from and then went to the bar and announced to all of the employees--three times--that I was from Illinois. "Illinois! She's from Illinois!" It was cracking me up. He was quite a character. After I was done eating, he came back over and told me he worked at a restaurant in Texas for six months.
I haven't noticed the tattoo at all. It's not sore or irritated. It's like it was always there.