One day out at Barnard Castle, Durham County

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Barnard Castle is a beautiful market city in Durham County in the Northeast of England; Just forty minutes by car from the city of Durham. I wanted to visit for several years, but for some reason it never happened. My intrigue in the city grew with each trip on the way to the A66 and to other areas of the country. However, Barnard’s castle went out to fame (and I was going to try not to mention this) during the Covid-19 pandemic while Dominic Cumming’s place specifically drove to verify his view …

With the relaxation of the blocking rules, I could finally visit my family for the first time in 18 months and we spent a charming Sunday exploring Barnard Castle. Now I am sure that he will have heard of this city in Durham County, but what may not know is that it is absolutely incredible. As I am trying to show with my series ‘It is not bleak in the north’, there are many places in the north of England that worth visiting. I am sure that if Barnard Castle was in a different area of the United Kingdom, it would be incredibly popular. Barnard Castle is definitely a place that is worth a weekend visit; Full of pubs, antique stores and a ruined castle overlooking the river t -shirts.

The castle

You can’t come to Barnard Castle without experimenting he castle. The Ruinas castle sits on a huge rock with the river t -shirts that pass next and is beautifully picturesque; The best views are from the south side of the river through the 16th century bridge. The castle was built in the twelfth century and was once in the hands of Richard III before being the king of England. If you have an acute eye, you will see Richard III’s wild boar badge carved in the castle. Unfortunately, after his death, the castle fell into poor condition and is now managed by the English inheritance.

If you are a member of English Heritage, this castle is included but, if not, you can visit the castle at a cost of £ 7.60 for an adult ticket. During COVID-19, you must reserve your online tickets! Click here to visit the English Heritage website.

Independent stores

Barnard Castle is a great place to visit if you like to go shopping. You have many independent stores along the main street, including those that sell antiques, household items and vintage clothing, as well as large delicatessen and butchers. Three big stores to start would be Ruby & D, Ranters Yard and Niche. Barnard Castle is actually well known for his antique stores, so it would be difficult to do it if he can’t find something interesting to take home with you.

There is also a farmer market along the main street on the first Saturday of each month from April to December; Think of artisanal breads, organic meat and local cheeses.

Food and drink in Barnard Castle

I was pleasantly surprised how many pubs are inside and around the main street of Barnard Castle. For those with a thirst for real beer or a gin and tonic, they will have many options here. Some of the pubs seem questionable, but I could see myself taking some beers in Blue Bell, the Golden Lion and definitely the Three Horseshoes hotel. For something a little more peculiar and (much) smaller, you could visit Firmin Alley; A beautiful hidden micropub.

Most city pubs offer their standard pub food, but may be busy, especially with the various COVID-19 restrictions in their place. We drove a little out of the city to the network inn, which is a beautiful stone pub that offers quality food. I really enjoyed eating here and I will definitely come back.

If you are not humorous for pub food, check Babuls (think about coffee, curry and cocktails), McNabs Books (a bookstore/cafeteria), Blagraves House restaurant (500 years and Oliver Cromwell even had dinner here) and Andalusia. Andalucia is five minutes walk from the main street in a quieter part of the city and is a small and charming Deli that serves food, coffee and sales plants. What more could you need?

Bowes Museum

This is definitely the jewel of Barnard Castle; Something that should take you to this beautiful part of the country alone. This building is absolutely beautiful, but, if you are curious like me, what the hell is a historic French Châteaux in Teesdale. This building was built by Mr. and Mrs. Bowes in the nineteenth century with the intention of being a museum. The couple bought 15,000 objects between 1862 and 1875 that will be exhibited within the museum. Unfortunately, neither Mr. Nor Mrs. Bowes survived to see the end of the building and the museum finally opened to the public in 1892.

The resistance piece (according to the French issue) is a 240 -year -old silver swan purchased from a Parisian jeweler. I have not seen the swan in action, but it is essentially mechanical and a great attraction for the museum. The Bowes museum website states that Mark Twain saw the silver swan in 1867 and described it as having “A living grace about his movement and a living intelligence in his eyes, saw him swim so comfortably and without worrying as if he had been born in a swamp instead of a jeweler.”

The Bowes Museum also houses beautiful works of art, costumes and other very decadent historical articles.

I strongly recommend a visit here and you can buy tickets in advance directly from the Bowes Museum. website for £ 15.60 (adult). This is an annual pass, so you can return with the frequency you want.

Get to Barnard Castle

As I mentioned earlier, Barnard Castle is located southwest of the city of Durham, forty minutes by car along the A688 beyond the impressive Raby castle and through the lovely town of Staindrop. If it comes from further, the best way to get to Barnard Castle would be by car that came out of the A1 in Junction 53, along the A66 before a short trip north. The closest main train station would be Darlington, which is located in the main line of the east coast that extends from London to Edinburgh.

Hopefully I have seen enough of this article to start planning your trip to Barnard Castle, but, at least, this should be directed directly to your list of places to visit. If you need more inspiration, see my series ‘It is not bleak in the north’ or see this is the Durham website here.