Durham, County Durham, Autumn
My first time in Durham.
On the day of our anniversary proper, we woke up nice and early for a full day exploring the historical city of Durham.
I’d never visited the city before. Durham didn’t let me down. The day was bright and clear, bouncing golden light off Durham’s architecture, both modern and ancient.
Though our itinerary was kinda loose, a definite desire was to explore the epic Durham Cathedral, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site with Durham Castle.
Though our day was unfortunately cut short as I unexpectedly developed a stomach bug, what we did manage to see inspired to visit again.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Pentax SMC 28mm F3.5 and Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC prime lenses. RAWs were developed in Lightroom using Cobalt Image’s Sony profiles, with extra help from Photoshop and Photomatix.
Durham, County Durham, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
A weir at the River Wear. Clear and low autumnal light makes Durham’s buildings glow gold.
I moved into the shadows on Saddler Street, so I could pick out my compositions where the golden autumnal light was landing in interesting places. Saddler Street is one of Durham’s older roads, originally called Saddlergate.
Branching off Saddler Street is Elvet Bridge. There are numerous little “vennels”, or alleyways, that branch off Elvet Bridge. This was, Drury Lane, was home to a particularly picturesque cafe that we stopped for a brew at. I had to record this ridiculously timeless scene.
Soon we headed towards our main destination of the day: the massive Durham Cathedral, standing tall since the 11th century.
You enter the cathedral first via the Galilee Chapel. Constructed in 1170 CE, this part of the cathedral now serves as the resting place of St. Bede. Saint Bede (673-735) was an English monk and scholar renowned for his work Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, which provides invaluable insight into the history of Britain and the spread of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxon tribes.
After sorting out our entrance, we paid for the tower climb. Here you can ascend all 325 steps, 218 ft, to enjoy some immense views over Durham. I felt like a drone taking these photos! This is the view looking east.
The other side of the Central Tower gave us more extensive views looking west, pops of autumn colour here and there.
The nave of the cathedral, with its central ribbed vault obscured by the lighting fixtures assembled for an upcoming light show. The nave wouldn’t have looked much different compared to 900 years ago, except their wouldn’t be any seating.
Home to the Cathedra, the choir stalls, the organ, and the high altar, the Quire is where daily worship takes place.
This is the South Transept, from where you would access the Central Tower and climb its 325 steps. It features the Prior’s clock, constructed by Prior Castell in the late 15th or early 16th century.
The High Altar in the Quire. This would’ve been one of the earliest parts of cathedral to be constructed. Monks in the 11th century were seeking a place to hide from Vikings raids as they carried the relics of Saint Cuthbert.
The Chapel of the Nine Altars, built in the 13th century to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims visiting the cathedral. Since St. Cuthbert’s shrine was seated here, Durham Cathedral has been an important place of worship for Christian pilgrims for centuries.
The Bishop’s Throne, built by Bishop Thomas Hatfield in the 14th century, with his tomb below it.
The light and stained glass windows around the Chapel of the Nine Altars was just astounding.
From around the Cloister, made more famous in modern times as one of the filming sets in the Harry Potter movies.
This is the Monks’ Dormitory, completed around 1404, and nowadays is home to the Cathedral Library, part of Durham Cathedral Museum. This was originally built as sleeping quarters for the Durham Priory monks.
The museum was truly fascinating and, much like the Faith Museum in Bishop Auckland, contained artefacts of faith and religious importance in the area from beyond Roman Times. This place lead to the Great Kitchen, which now houses a sacred part of the museum: Saint Cuthbert’s treasures and coffin.
Kingsgate Footbridge, completely resplendent in autumn colours. Our next goal was to locate the riverside footpath and take a wander along the river bend.
University boat racing was alive and well on the river as the sun began to set.
The woodland deep in the gorge was filled to the brim with incredible autumn colours.
From Prebends Bridge, the boat racing was in full flow, surrounded by vivid autumn foliage.
Putting Prebends Bridge in context of the river, the setting sun bursting from just above the trees.
And finally, Durham Cathedral from the riverside, catching the last of the light and glowing bright.