Durham

From Northumbria and Hadrian's Wall we travelled on to Durham. Along the way we drove past field after field of beautiful yellow blooms. Someone told us this was rapeseed, which is used to make canola oil and animal fodder.
We arrived after the Tourist Information Center had closed, so we decided to stay at the Marriott. It was a treat to have a bathroom big enough to turn around in! And two flat screen TV's! Parking in Durham is hard to find, so we were delighted when they said we could leave our car in their parking lot while we toured the city.



On Easter Sunday we toured Durham Cathedral where the remains of St. Cuthbert are located, along with many other artifacts from early Christianity. They even had a first edition of the King James translation of the Bible. This is the same King James from Scotland, who was the son of Mary Queen of Scots and who was crowned King of England when Elizabeth I died.



The remains of St. Cuthbert are located here. The coffin that was carved from wood for him in 1670 (he was disenterred and reburied in Durham when he was declared a saint)is actually on display inside the cathedral. He is said to be holding the head of St. Oswald, who was once the King of Northumbria.



We also toured Durham Castle, where today students at Durham University reside. The kitchen that was built there in 1832 still cooks 3 meals a day for about 300 students. The dining hall looks just like the one in the movie Oliver.



It was a beautiful day. We took a lot of photos.