Durham Cathedral, Alnwick Castle and Hadrian's Wall

England's Riches

For a long time I have wanted to visit Durham Cathedral and the castles of Northumberland, particularly Alnwick Castle, home of the famous (King Richard III might say infamous -re battle of Bosworth Field) Percy family.
In mid September my wife and I set off from our Midland's home to visit these historic sites.
We based ourselves at the Doubletree Hotel Newcastle Airport. This is a delightful, modern, comfortable hotel ideally located for seeing all the sites of Northumberland including the World Heritage Site of Hadrian's Wall. We stopped off at Durham, which is also a WHS, on the journey up.

I will say no more and let the following photographs tell their own story.
I hope that you enjoy them.

Raby Castle

Raby Castle

Durham Cathedral

Bishop Prince Armorial - Durham Cathedral

Bishop Prince Armorial -  Durham Cathedral

Intricate Iron reinforcing 

South Entrance

North Entrance

From the Cloisters

Detailed Norman doorway

Small Norman door

Octagonal Tower

Tower doorway

Memorial to Bishop Maltby

Memorial to George Washington's ancestor -Durham Cathedral

Reflections of stained glass window on columns

Millennium stained glass window

Bridge over the River Wear - Durham

Bridge inset

Boat House

Cathedral from the river 1

Cathedral from the river 2

Cathedral from the river 3

Cathedral from the river 4

Alnwick Castle

Alnwick Castle

Bust of Winston Churchill

'Hotspur' - Henry Percy 1364 - 1403

Dragon from Harry Potter

Duke of Northumberland's State Coach

 Alnwick Castle Gardens

Red Admiral butterfly Alnwick Castle Gardens

Hadrian's Wall AD 120 - 

To view my other 'Travelling with Nick' blog posts go to the Index -
http://travelling-with-nick.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/traveling-with-nick-index.html

If you are interested in motor cars you can see all types, in abundance, here -
http://twincam-serendipity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/index-page.html

Nick