Durham--UK Adventure Part Three

You've probably heard of Oxford and Cambridge, the top two schools in England. But, what you may not know is that the University of Durham is the top third school. I sure hadn't heard of it until Ben (my brother-in-law) applied and was accepted there last year. (Way to go Ben!) Needless to say, Durham has become something of a college town, though its history is rich and long.

Perhaps the most well-known Durham features are its castle and cathedral, both of which date from the 11th century. If you care to read more, I'm sure you'll find this wikipedia article to your liking.

For now, more photos.

After our day in Wales, we drove all the way back to Durham and had a bit of rest. Liam was glad to finally be out of his car seat.


Sweet boy.


I didn't prompt him to do this.


Martha's "back yard"--they have a great view.


Then we walked to the city center and cathedral.


It's a peculiar mix of old and new.




Pardon the angle of this picture--there was a big ugly tent they had set up for graduation on my left. This is the cathedral.


They wouldn't let you take photos inside.


The castle--now part of the university.


One day, when I grow up I'm going to have a purple door on my house.


I could live here.


The towers of the cathedral are on the right.






Then it was back home and a game of patty cake.


The next morning, Jay and I headed back to the cathedral to climb the tower. Unfortunately, the notorious English weather we'd been avoiding decided to join us.


This courtyard was used in the Harry Potter films--it was the quadrangle for Hogwart's. Sweet. More nerdiness.




And this was on the wall--can I say creepy?




When we got back, Liam had just woken up from a nap.


Arm rest?






And then it was time for Martha and Ben to take us to the train station for Edinburgh. I wish these were tears for us leaving, but I think Liam just didn't want to get back into his car seat.




So I pretended to be a horse, and that cheered him up.


I miss this little fella.

Next stop...Edinburgh!