England - Durham, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and some family history

From a national park in Western Australia, I'm taking us back 5 weeks and to the other side of the world. (Who says time travel isn't possible?!) This post picks up where my York one left off, as we drove north from Yorkshire to County Durham and surrounds.

One of my favourite views of Durham - glimpses of the castle and cathedral behind the river

I was born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, which is about 45 minutes north of Durham. After the maternity hospital in Newcastle, I then returned 'home' to a house in Durham. As such, the area has a certain amount of significance for me. In saying that, after I left as an infant, I didn't return to visit the region until I was 17. I am hardly a local. It is a part of England that I love, though, and I was thrilled to be able to share it with Mr Bite on this trip.

Before launching into our time in Durham and Newcastle, I wanted to touch on my mother's family and their background in England. If you aren't interested in family history matters, feel free to jump ahead to travel photos and tales. For me, the background of this region is part of what makes it important to me, so it seemed appropriate to jot some thoughts down here. I've dot pointed things below, so it's easy to distinguish the history points from the rest of this post.

• My maternal grandfather grew up in London's north, with summer holidays spent with his grandparents (plus parents and two siblings) on the coast of Sussex. When World War II developed, he joined the British Royal Air Force and was based variously in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. His involvement in the RAF allowed him to attend university after returning to England, something that he says wouldn't have been possible otherwise. He studied geography at Cambridge University and went on to a obtain a PhD in geography and spend his working life in academia.
• After finishing at Cambridge, my grandfather swapped continents for a teaching job at the College of Wooster, a liberal arts college in Ohio, America. My (American) grandmother was a freshman student at Wooster at the time. She describes the arrival of my grandfather, plus one other British teacher, in the following way: "At the beginning of my second year, two Englishmen joined the faculty. One was a good-looking geographer about whom the female students acted so silly I was determined to find fault with him." 
• Amusingly, my grandmother went out with the other Englishman (the one she wasn't determined to find fault with) about a year later, only to end the relationship with him and subsequently start seeing my grandfather. They married 6 months or so into their relationship and have been happily married ever since - nearly 60 years now.
• From Ohio, my newly married grandparents visited England briefly before going back to the US. There, my grandmother finished her Master of Arts degree and attended her graduation ceremony very pregnant with their first child, my mother's older brother. Shortly after his arrival, the now-trio moved to Syracuse, New York, where my mother was later born. A few years later, they shifted to then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in Africa, where one of my mother's sisters was born.
• From Africa, the family moved back to America, to Hanover, New Hampshire, where my grandfather taught at Dartmouth College and my mother's other sister was born.
• Apparently determined to pack in a huge amount of travel, Hanover preceded a return to Africa, this time to Nigeria. My grandparents loved Africa in many ways and they remain heavily involved in African-focused charities to this day. 
• Given the limited school options in Africa, my mother and her older brother were sent back to England for schooling from the age of 9. In part to avoid this happening on a long-term basis, the family moved from Nigeria to Jamaica when my mother was 10. 
• Through all of the above, the one constant visiting place was Sussex in England, where the family returned for any available holidays and where my mother's youngest sibling, another boy, was born during one visit. In case you've lost count, there are 5 children in total, 3 born in America, 1 in Africa and 1 in England (now, 2 of the 5 live in England, 1 in Australia, 1 in Canada and one in Hawaii!). My grandparents current house is in that same region of Sussex.
• When my mother was 16, the family returned to England - to Durham. My grandfather took a job at Durham University just in time for her to complete her English A levels there.
• Although my mother left Durham after school, and spent time in mainland Europe before she met and married my father, she returned to where her parents were living before having me. My own parents were based in Oman at the time, for my Dad's work, but planned to return to England for my delivery. It made sense for them to head to Durham where my mother's parents still were, which is why my birth happened in that particular part of the country.

Durham castle

So! Long history aside, Durham does mean a lot to me. It is also an incredibly beautiful town. The university is based in and around Durham Castle, which adjoins Durham Cathedral, and both are World Heritage Sites. It is very much a university city so it doesn't take long to walk around the town, but it is scenic if not particularly large.

More of Durham river

We had two nights in Durham, with one day allocated to within the town. Unfortunately, Durham Castle was closed as it was the first week of the new university year. The castle includes some of the student accommodation, and was taken over by Fresher week celebrations and welcomes.

Lucky students that live in here!

We did visit the cathedral, however, and even climbed the tower (yes, another one), which I hadn't done before. It provided impressive views, back over the river and towards the castle and town centre beyond.

Cathedral views

On our second day, we visited Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. I could allocate a whole post to that city, too, with it's change from a run-down industrial city to its current day form, but I will restrain myself. I will finish with two photos instead, capturing Newcastle's river area (there are many, many bridges) and some old town architecture - complete with hire-as-you-go bikes.

It was a really lovely few days.

Are there places, geographically speaking, that mean a lot to you?

Tweet

Pin It