A Durham Trail

(Approximately 75-90 minutes)

Read the directions below and as you follow the trail look carefully around you to find
the answers to the questions. Sometimes the answer is in front of you, sometimes on
your left or right; sometimes beneath your feet and sometimes even above your head.
Some questions are easy-peasy, some are difficult and some are almost impossible.
Advice: If you can’t find the answer; ask someone!
Have fun!
Leave St. Chad’s College and turn right. Cross the road and take Dun Cow Lane up
to the Palace Green.
(1) What is the name for the small stones in the road in Dun Cow Lane?
 Bonus Question 1: What is the “Legend of the Dun Cow”?

Turn right into Palace Green. The first building is a University Department.
(2) (a) Which Department is it? (b) What is the name of the House?

Continue anti-clockwise around Palace Green. The very old building on your right is
now a café-restaurant.
(3) (a) What was it before 1666? (b) What was it after 1666?
 BQ 2: What happened in London in 1666?

Stop and look around you. Take a photo!

After the University Police Station, there are two red boxes. Find “VR”.
(4) What does “VR” mean?

Continue going anti-clockwise until you reach the Castle which is now a College of
the University.
(5) What is its rather boring and obvious name?
 BQ 3: What was the building to the left of the Castle gate between
1438 and 1457? What did its occupants do?

After the University Music Library go straight ahead and enter the cathedral by the
North Door. Walk straight through the Cathedral (we’ll visit the cathedral in detail
tomorrow) and exit the South Door into the Cloister. Go clockwise around the
cloister, past the Chapter House, and exit via the short “tunnel” into a large green
space. You are now in “The College”.

On your immediate left is a large house with a beautiful private garden.

(6) What is this house called and who lives there?

On your right is a small public garden.

(7) Who does this garden commemorate?

Keep going anti-clockwise around the College green. On your right, on a wall behind
a tree, you can tell the time.
(8) How?

Keep going right following the wall around. You will come to the door of the
Cathedral Shop.
(9) What was the shop originally? (clue: look at the ceiling -- better idea: ask
somebody)

Keep going anti-clockwise around the green and you will come to the entrance to a
long tunnel called “The Slype”.
(10) What was The Slype used for?
A little further on, on your left on the lawn, there are seven sad faces and one happy
face.
(11) (a) What are they? (b) What are they on?
 BQ 4: Who are they?

Walk past the faces and continue to a School.

(12) (a) Who is the school for? (b) What do the schoolchildren do every
weekday evening and every Sunday morning during term?
 BQ 5: Name two world-famous ex-students of this school.

Continue anti-clockwise past the houses.

(13) House Number 6 is different. In what way?

Leave the College Green via the old archway. Look at the walls as you go out.
(14) Edgerton has four; Durham has one; Trevor has one.
How many does Crewe have?

Turn right – the red letter-box in the wall has the cipher “EiiR” on it.
(15) What does “EiiR” mean?
 BQ 6: What is the exact relationship between “VR” and
“EiiR”?

Walk down South Bailey to St. John’s College.

(16)What is the motto of St. John’s College?
Continue down the hill, stop and look around you. A small church; nothing more.
(17) What is its name?
Past the church, on the right, there are some gardens.
(18) What are they for?

Continue down the road. Go through the old city walls and go out onto Prebend’s
Bridge. On the other side of the bridge is the best view of the Cathedral. Take a
photo!
(18) “Grey Towers of Dvrham…half church of God half castle ‘gainst
the Scot…”. Who wrote these lines?
 BQ 7: What nationality was the writer?

Retrace your steps and go back over the bridge. Turn right and go down to the River
Footpath. On your left you will see a small building with 4 columns.
 BQ 8: What order are the columns?
 BQ 9: This building was made for an émigré Polish Count who is
buried in the Cathedral. What was unusual about him?

Continue along the river. Just before the concrete bridge you will see a small blue
building.
 BQ 10: What is this building?

Just past the lifebuoy, there are some steps. Go up the steps, under the concrete
bridge, on your left.
(19) These steps are sometimes called “The Century Steps”. Why?

Continue up Bow Street into North Bailey. Turn left when you can see the Cathedral.

Assuming you are not completely lost, you should now be back outside St. Chad’s
College. Congratulations! Time for juice, coffee, tea and biscuits!

(20) Who was Saint Chad?

© Glenn Sweet 2010