London Unattached Travel and More: How fabulous it must be to find yourself at University in #Durham in digs here! Apparently, the rooms are allocated by ballot and always oversubscribed - but who wouldn't want to stay in a Castle! From my recent trip with @ThisisDurham I went on a guided tour of some of the parts of the Castle which are still open to the public - it's part of the #UNESCO listed World Heritage Site along with the Cathedral. Some fascinating stories about the Castle included how this entrance was dismantled in the 16th century and reconstructed as a slightly wider structure, enabling the bishop's carriage to pass through more easily. This is just one indication that creating a grand residence was, at that stage, much more important than preserving the defensive role of the Castle, which had diminished. The gatehouse arch dates from the Norman period, although its vaulted passageway is slightly later (as its gothic detailing indicates), and its upper storeys were rebuilt at the end of the 18th century. There's more to come about this fascinating city. But for now, I will leave you with Bill Bryson's famous quote 'I got off at Durham, intending to poke around the cathedral for an hour or so and fell in love with it instantly in a serious way. Why, it’s wonderful – a perfect little city – and I kept thinking: ‘Why did no-one tell me about this?’ I knew, of course, that it had a fine Norman cathedral but had no idea that it was so splendid. ' What he actually ended up doing was becoming Durham University's 11th Chancellor, and formal head of the University, from April 2005 to 31st December 2011 So, I urge you to follow my journey, coming soon on the blog and find out more about this fascinating City, home to Prince-Bishops and with a unique Northern charm. #ThisisDurham #LoveDurham @VCDBusiness #DUmakeithappen #DurhamDays #christmasindurham #bowesmuseum #christmasmarkets #christmas2018 #lovegreatbritain #northeast #northeastengland #exploremore #travelawesome #wanderful #writetotravel #luxfood #exploringtheworld #guardiantravelsnaps #mytinyatlas #natgeography #darlingescapes #letsgobeyond #TBIN #TTOT