Durham Oriental Museum is a bit of a walk from the city centre. The website suggested two different routes and I opted for the prettier one, walking along the River Wear. I headed to Framwellgate Bridge, which is the main bridge from the west in the centre of Durham. Since it was early, there was only one family taking selfies with the view of the castle and the cathedral in the background. The bridge dates back to the 15th century, replacing one built earlier in the 12th century for the Bishop of Durham. The views of the castle and the cathedrals towers was beautiful, I love that they just poke out from all the trees surrounding them. I only wish it had been a sunny day as it was rather overcast, but the British weather is always unpredictable. I also got to soak in the view down river of Prebends Bridge, which is really pretty and feels like you are in the countryside. The view the other way is much more modern of the Milburngate Bridge and lots of traffic, not scenic at all.
descended, maybe it was the Covid pounds that have been piled on. The staircase is quite dark and enclosed. I wouldnt fancy walking down them at night. At the bottom of the stairs I turned left and walked in the opposite direction to get some nice views of the path and the bridges arches over the River Wear. After taking some pictures I headed back in the correct direction. I walked along the river bank admiring the view of the castle and the cathedral on the opposite side. The area next to the river was rather overgrown with green plants, I also spotted some pretty purple flower buds. The path was also a little flooded in places, nothing too serious, but some advanced thinking about foot placement was needed. I stopped for ages to take pictures of the Old Fulling Mill on the opposite side of the river with Durham Cathedrals towers peaking out of the trees above. Such an iconic view of Durham.
A little further along I came to the Old Corn Mill. This building is pretty big, but has always been boarded up for as long as I can remember. Its a shame really as it
could be a great bar, restaurant or I didnt end up staying there for long as more people arrived ruining my peace. I continued on and watched a down the river. I passed the boat shed for Durham School and this stone cylindrical thing, which looked like it had faces carved into the stone. I really wish there had been an information board next to it as I would have loved to have found out about it, but there wasnt, maybe its history is unknown.
I came to Prebends Bridge, which was built in the 1770s and designed by George Nicholson. The bridge has three arches that span the River Wear. Just before stepping onto the bridge there is a plaque which displays what was written about Durham by Sir Walter Scott. Once on the bridge the views of the cathedral and Framwellgate Bridge were really nice. I could spend a long time there just soaking in the view. I wish I had time to continue along the path by the river, but to reach the museum I had to walk away from the river. I walked past a really cute stone cottage, that I think
belongs to Durham Cathedral. The cottage looks inhabited. I really liked the red shutters on the windows. I followed the path uphill and came to came to a busy road and roundabout. From there, I headed up to the roundabout and took the road that would lead me to the university campus. I was a bit shocked that there was no street signs as I would have liked to have know that I was definitely on the right track. The walk was up a gentle incline and it felt like I was in the countryside as there were lots of trees lining the road. It took about another ten minutes to reach the museum walking past several schools and colleges of Durham university.
The museum is kind of tucked away and I passed a few artefacts on my way to the entrance. I liked the metal horse sculpture outside by David Freedman that had in 2016.
