Crook, Durham Castle, & the Battle of Dunbar
Miles walked yesterday: 5.38
Yesterday I was downstairs and ready to walk to the bus station at 9:15, but noticed that Jo, the host for this AirBnB, was in the living room, or the "lounge," as she calls it. She asked about Kynren and then told me a lot about it, since she was in it several years ago and had many roles. I couldn't really get away from her, even though I had a bus to catch at 9:50 and a 20 minute walk to the bus station. (Jo seems real eager to tell me her accomplishments and connections. Cool, Jo, but I gotta go.) When I mentioned that I needed to head out to get to the bus station for Crook, Jo seemed surprised that I would go there and urged me not to visit the "outlying towns," in favor of the Peak District (a pretty, mountainous area not too far from here). Everyone has seemed surprised when I mention where I'm visiting. I am sure there are more beautiful or interesting places, but I have a reason for visiting these spots and no one can talk me out of it!
After politely declining Jo's suggestion to not visit Crook, I busted my ass to the bus station and got there with three minutes to spare. The bus ride was fairly uneventful; I'm getting the hang of this.
I arrived in Crook at 10:20 and wasn't sure where to go from there. I was looking for the town center and a cemetery. After walking a bit, I found the town center, which wasn't so impressive and definitely not as flowery as when my grandma was here. I still kind of liked the town, though. I took this replica photo.
The back of the photo mentions a hardware store that I couldn't find, a post office which I think is in a different spot now, and the cemetery up a hill in front of where this photo was taken. It was quite a walk up the hill, but it was there, though how to enter wasn't completely clear so I wandered before finding it.
The cemetery is huge, so it took me a while to enjoy it. The weather was so Halloweenie--it was perfect for walking in a cemetery. It started sprinkling on me and I wished I had brought my scarf because it was pretty chilly.
The whole time I was wandering the cemetery, I was looking for a specific spot that my grandma had taken a photo. It's funny how these things dawn on you--I'm looking around and see a bush that looks familiar, and then another bush that looks familiar. "Those bushes are taller, though...but that's definitely them! This is the spot!"
I had to walk around to the other side to get the same photo that Grandma took. I was pretty excited that I found the spot out of this huge graveyard.
It was cold and miserable, so I wanted to get on the next bus to Durham as soon as possible, so made my way back to the bus station and made sure that I was getting on the right bus.
Back in Durham, I had lunch at a place called 9 Altars, which is near the cathedral. I got a ham and cheese panini (the cheese is so good here, it's incredibly flavorful), which came with a colorful salad and cole slaw.
I also ordered a coffee called con panna. It was a very strong espresso with whipped cream. It was pretty bitter even with the whipped cream, but I tried something new!
I was done just in time for my 1:45 Durham Castle tour. I was one of about 18 people on this tour, with guide Tobias, who is a student at Durham University. (This tour was another case where photos weren't permitted inside, darn it.) The castle predates the cathedral and was built in 1072. We started by going through the entrance arch into the courtyard.
We made our way into the Norman chapel, which was halfway underground. You could see the thickness of the walls here, which are about (I'd estimate) 6 feet thick. This whole room was carved columns and stone. You could feel the stillness, darkness, and seriousness of the place. I could picture some pious woman praying for her sins in silence with hands clasped and eyes squinted closed tightly during medieval times.
Next was on to Tunstall's chapel, which is more of a modern chapel with traditional decorations and ornate seating. Tunstall was a bishop under Henry VIII's reign, the king who killed (or tried to kill) Catholicism in England. This bishop bounced between being Catholic and Protestant, as ya do during turbulent times.
We then visited the Great Hall, which if you're familiar with Harry Potter, yup, that's what this room looked like. It's where the students of Durham University have their meals, but also wedding receptions and other fancy parties happen here. It was a magnificent room.
I found a guide about Durham Castle. Look how similar this one is to the one my grandma got in 1988. (Hers is posted first.)
At 5:00 I was going to see an exhibition about the excavations of the skeletal remains of the Scottish soldiers from the Battle of Dunbar. This exhibition was so detailed and interesting--it took me an hour and a half to get through. It covered the entire battle at Dunbar, as well as how and when the remains were found, and what goes into studying the remains in order to determine what time frame they are from. What made this especially interesting was that these skeletons were found literally under my feet as I was walking in the exhibition. In England, if skeletal remains are found, you can only remove what is needed for the construction plans--meaning that there could be (and probably are) more skeletons under currently standing buildings. Kind of crazy to think about.
After going through the exhibition, there was a talk about the Battle of Dunbar. I didn't know this, but yesterday was the 368th anniversary of the battle which happened on September 3, 1650. It's crazy that I happened to be interested in going to this talk and exhibition on this day. It made the experience more special.
The talk was given by a guy who must be a scholar on the battle because he gave a captivating and illustrative talk, with photos of the battle site as it is today, compared to drawings of the site made during that time. He had visited the site earlier that day given the anniversary. He talked for an hour straight and never once lost my attention. I need to find out who he is and see where he teaches because he must be a history or military history professor. My favorite part is how he reminded us throughout that these soldiers were real people with families and jobs and ideas and opinions. It was so enjoyable, I think because it reminded me of a lecture in college.
After giving that guy hearty applause, I needed dinner. It was still terrible weather, now dark with wind and the same sprinkling rain and cold temperatures. I wanted to find something I could take home and luckily Bell's was open for takeaway, so I got cod, chips, and their homemade tartar sauce. I busted my ass home, grunting with discomfort, and finally arrived to destroy that fish and fries. It was absurdly delicious. Usually they leave the skin on the bottom, but this place removed it. The fish was flaky, the crust was crispy, the tartar sauce was tartary. Amazing.
I'm having internet issues on my phone, which makes me sad. I can't post as much as I'd like. Similarly, when I try to type using the little keyboard I got for my Kindle, it delays or types letters as if the keys are stuck. It does the same thing when I try to type on the Kindle itself, so I am currently blogging on my phone which is not conducive to speed. It tests my patience. I really want to keep up by posting the day after each adventure, but am not sure how much I'll be able to do that.
A note on accents--in Durham, the English accent is starting to sound close to a Scottish accent to my untrained ear. It's really difficult for me and have to ask people to repeat themselves three times in some cases, which is embarrassing. Granted, I do get asked to repeat myself, as well, so maybe we are just charming the pants off each other...or annoying the shit out of each other. Cheers!
Yesterday I was downstairs and ready to walk to the bus station at 9:15, but noticed that Jo, the host for this AirBnB, was in the living room, or the "lounge," as she calls it. She asked about Kynren and then told me a lot about it, since she was in it several years ago and had many roles. I couldn't really get away from her, even though I had a bus to catch at 9:50 and a 20 minute walk to the bus station. (Jo seems real eager to tell me her accomplishments and connections. Cool, Jo, but I gotta go.) When I mentioned that I needed to head out to get to the bus station for Crook, Jo seemed surprised that I would go there and urged me not to visit the "outlying towns," in favor of the Peak District (a pretty, mountainous area not too far from here). Everyone has seemed surprised when I mention where I'm visiting. I am sure there are more beautiful or interesting places, but I have a reason for visiting these spots and no one can talk me out of it!
After politely declining Jo's suggestion to not visit Crook, I busted my ass to the bus station and got there with three minutes to spare. The bus ride was fairly uneventful; I'm getting the hang of this.
I arrived in Crook at 10:20 and wasn't sure where to go from there. I was looking for the town center and a cemetery. After walking a bit, I found the town center, which wasn't so impressive and definitely not as flowery as when my grandma was here. I still kind of liked the town, though. I took this replica photo.
The back of the photo mentions a hardware store that I couldn't find, a post office which I think is in a different spot now, and the cemetery up a hill in front of where this photo was taken. It was quite a walk up the hill, but it was there, though how to enter wasn't completely clear so I wandered before finding it.
The cemetery is huge, so it took me a while to enjoy it. The weather was so Halloweenie--it was perfect for walking in a cemetery. It started sprinkling on me and I wished I had brought my scarf because it was pretty chilly.
The whole time I was wandering the cemetery, I was looking for a specific spot that my grandma had taken a photo. It's funny how these things dawn on you--I'm looking around and see a bush that looks familiar, and then another bush that looks familiar. "Those bushes are taller, though...but that's definitely them! This is the spot!"
I had to walk around to the other side to get the same photo that Grandma took. I was pretty excited that I found the spot out of this huge graveyard.
It was cold and miserable, so I wanted to get on the next bus to Durham as soon as possible, so made my way back to the bus station and made sure that I was getting on the right bus.
Back in Durham, I had lunch at a place called 9 Altars, which is near the cathedral. I got a ham and cheese panini (the cheese is so good here, it's incredibly flavorful), which came with a colorful salad and cole slaw.
I also ordered a coffee called con panna. It was a very strong espresso with whipped cream. It was pretty bitter even with the whipped cream, but I tried something new!
I was done just in time for my 1:45 Durham Castle tour. I was one of about 18 people on this tour, with guide Tobias, who is a student at Durham University. (This tour was another case where photos weren't permitted inside, darn it.) The castle predates the cathedral and was built in 1072. We started by going through the entrance arch into the courtyard.
We made our way into the Norman chapel, which was halfway underground. You could see the thickness of the walls here, which are about (I'd estimate) 6 feet thick. This whole room was carved columns and stone. You could feel the stillness, darkness, and seriousness of the place. I could picture some pious woman praying for her sins in silence with hands clasped and eyes squinted closed tightly during medieval times.
Next was on to Tunstall's chapel, which is more of a modern chapel with traditional decorations and ornate seating. Tunstall was a bishop under Henry VIII's reign, the king who killed (or tried to kill) Catholicism in England. This bishop bounced between being Catholic and Protestant, as ya do during turbulent times.
We then visited the Great Hall, which if you're familiar with Harry Potter, yup, that's what this room looked like. It's where the students of Durham University have their meals, but also wedding receptions and other fancy parties happen here. It was a magnificent room.
I found a guide about Durham Castle. Look how similar this one is to the one my grandma got in 1988. (Hers is posted first.)
At 5:00 I was going to see an exhibition about the excavations of the skeletal remains of the Scottish soldiers from the Battle of Dunbar. This exhibition was so detailed and interesting--it took me an hour and a half to get through. It covered the entire battle at Dunbar, as well as how and when the remains were found, and what goes into studying the remains in order to determine what time frame they are from. What made this especially interesting was that these skeletons were found literally under my feet as I was walking in the exhibition. In England, if skeletal remains are found, you can only remove what is needed for the construction plans--meaning that there could be (and probably are) more skeletons under currently standing buildings. Kind of crazy to think about.
After going through the exhibition, there was a talk about the Battle of Dunbar. I didn't know this, but yesterday was the 368th anniversary of the battle which happened on September 3, 1650. It's crazy that I happened to be interested in going to this talk and exhibition on this day. It made the experience more special.
The talk was given by a guy who must be a scholar on the battle because he gave a captivating and illustrative talk, with photos of the battle site as it is today, compared to drawings of the site made during that time. He had visited the site earlier that day given the anniversary. He talked for an hour straight and never once lost my attention. I need to find out who he is and see where he teaches because he must be a history or military history professor. My favorite part is how he reminded us throughout that these soldiers were real people with families and jobs and ideas and opinions. It was so enjoyable, I think because it reminded me of a lecture in college.
After giving that guy hearty applause, I needed dinner. It was still terrible weather, now dark with wind and the same sprinkling rain and cold temperatures. I wanted to find something I could take home and luckily Bell's was open for takeaway, so I got cod, chips, and their homemade tartar sauce. I busted my ass home, grunting with discomfort, and finally arrived to destroy that fish and fries. It was absurdly delicious. Usually they leave the skin on the bottom, but this place removed it. The fish was flaky, the crust was crispy, the tartar sauce was tartary. Amazing.
I'm having internet issues on my phone, which makes me sad. I can't post as much as I'd like. Similarly, when I try to type using the little keyboard I got for my Kindle, it delays or types letters as if the keys are stuck. It does the same thing when I try to type on the Kindle itself, so I am currently blogging on my phone which is not conducive to speed. It tests my patience. I really want to keep up by posting the day after each adventure, but am not sure how much I'll be able to do that.
A note on accents--in Durham, the English accent is starting to sound close to a Scottish accent to my untrained ear. It's really difficult for me and have to ask people to repeat themselves three times in some cases, which is embarrassing. Granted, I do get asked to repeat myself, as well, so maybe we are just charming the pants off each other...or annoying the shit out of each other. Cheers!