From merry go rounds to roller coaster rides the last 24 hours, we have driven from the very bottom of UK to the very top overnight with a stop in a graveyard for a quick kip just off the highway. When we started this journey never did I imagine we would sit in the boardroom of Elddis drinking cups of tea and eating biscuits. And now…
Now our motorhome is getting the attention it needs and we are lying in The Radisson Blu in Durham courtesy of Elddis in a bed twice as big as ours in our motorhome, we have washing hung all over the place like a Chinese laundry and I have finally eliminated all signs of grey from my hair. Talk about roller coaster rides.
Elddis have been wonderful. their Service Manager, Colin, I cant speak more highly of. He was such a wonderful man who made us feel our motorhome was in the very best of hands and Karen, who I presume is the Customer Care Manager, handled the whole process with the care that we needed, even giving us our own personal chauffeur Dave who also looked after us incredibly well.
The actual factory here in Durham is beyond large. Here we were driving down this little country lane and then boom a sea of white before our eyes and yet we have had personal service and care and it makes all the difference in the world. I cant thank them enough.
Being in Durham for us has been surprising in itself. We would never have come to Durham on our own steam but what a wonderful historical place.
The Cathedral and Castle dominate the towns landscape and an evening walk through the Cathedral left quite a large imprint on my mind.
We have seen lots of ruined castles and cathedrals but the St Cuthbert’s Cathedral is beautifully intact in structure.
Perhaps a lot of the artefacts and gold and precious jewels are missing but the original structure stands tall. It’s the intricacies of the detail in the woodwork and the masonry that get me and the beautiful, almost modern stainglass windows that blow me away. St Cuthbert’s was built to house the body of a very popular Saint, St Cuthbert and his body remains in shrine there today. Sorry no inside photos allowed.
Originally buried in Lindisfarne when war came to town, the monks dug up his coffin and carried it for 7 years until coming to rest in St Cuthbert’s. Imagine the dedication. When William The Conquerer’s army came through and pillaged the Cathedral, many of the artefacts were either stolen or hid by the monks never to be found again.
The impressive statue in the Market Place has quite a story behind ir as well. Its quite a large statue of a horseman and his horse but after it was erected it was noticed that the horse had no tongue and so the craftsman fell on his sword and ended his life in shame.
As to the town with the old cobbled laneways and picturesque shops weaving there way around the riverfront it’s delightful as well so it’s been a pleasure to be here in Durham.
Best of all we have our beloved motorhome back better than new im loving the new gladwrapped carpet and think im going to keep it. So we are sitting here just out of Leeds on the edge of a canal with canal boats tied up beside us and we are back to our travels.
Once again thank you Elddis.
Downunder Wanderings 