Last week I made the trip from Brighton all the way to Durham to see friends and get back in touch with the city I lived in for three years for university. Compared to some of my trips abroad this probably isn't all that interesting to read (or even write) about, but I've realised how much I enjoy looking back through old blog posts about things I did as it really brings the memories back to life.
I arrived on the Wednesday evening, having got the train up after my 3 hour-long morning seminar, but because I arrived late there wasn't really time to do anything that night except catch up with my friend Jill who I was staying with. On Thursday I slept in while Jill went to a lecture, then met up with her for coffee and scones in Cafedral, one of our favourite cafés. The morning had started out rainy but gradually cleared up so we took the chance to go for a walk along the riverbank. For lunch I met up with another friend at another of my favourite cafés (Leonards) and we chatted for several hours. To be honest I can't really remember where the rest of the afternoon went, but for dinner we cooked vegetarian shepherd's pie and then had a chilled out rest of the evening.
On Friday I spent the morning wandering around the cathedral where I somehow ended up doing a guided tour. Even before I graduated there last summer the cathedral had always been a very special place for me (even though I'm not religious in any sense), and I've always enjoyed learning more about its history and taking in the stained glass windows and other magnificent architecture. At that point the rain returned in a torrential way, so I decided it wasn't worth the effort of walking all the way up to my old college as I had planned. Instead I stopped by the geography department which was oddly nostalgic, and ran into my dissertation supervisor from undergrad. For lunch I met up with Jill again in Whitechurch, a new restaurant that has opened since I left Durham but which is run by the same people as the famous Flat White Kitchen café (another favourite - do you sense a theme?). It was nice but the bar is high for Flat White so I was slightly disappointed, if only by the small portion size and proportionally high price! We then mooched around the shops for a few hours, avoiding the rain, and in the evening my other friend Carys picked me up in her car to go back to her house where I was staying for the next two nights.
On Saturday we headed to Newcastle for a day out. I've always found trips to Newcastle to be very refreshing in terms of getting out of the Durham bubble, so it was nice to recapture that feeling of openness and possibility. First we went to the Literary and Philosophical Society, which is the largest independent library in the UK outside of London. I'd never been there before but it was a lovely experience to just walk around and browse the old books, and I can imagine it would be an amazing quiet place to get some work done. It was also pretty great for instagram opportunities!
For lunch we went to Super Natural, a vegan and vegetarian cafe on Grainger Street. After spending ages deliberating over the extensive menu we eventually all went for burgers which were enormous and very filling but good value for money. Then we wandered around some shops before making our way down to the quayside and across the millennium bridge to the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, one of my favourite places in Newcastle. The Baltic is always well worth a trip and no Newcastle day out is complete without it in my opinion. I love that there's always something different to see as the exhibitions are constantly changing. This time the main ones we saw were called 'Digital Citizen - The Precarious Subject' - which spoke to a lot of key concepts in geography such as citizenship, identity, transnationalism and activism - and 'The Age of Love' by Heather Phillipson. The latter was frankly one of the weirdest things I've experienced as it involved lots of psychadelic imagery, random sculptures, smells and textures all set to pounding synth music. By then the sun was setting so we made sure to catch the beautiful lighting over the Tyne from the observation deck.
Finally we headed back to the station for Durham, and had about half an hour before we needed to go out again for my birthday dinner. Stupidly I had forgotten (or rather, not thought it necessary) to book a restaurant table for seven people on Saturday night so it proved a bit tricky to find somewhere to eat, but after a few false starts we eventually found a Mexican place. I'd wanted to find an excuse to see all my friends who are still in Durham so doing a dinner out in honour of my birthday seemed like an obvious way to do it, and it was so nice to see everyone again and catch up with those I hadn't yet seen on my trip.
On Sunday we had a very chilled morning and cooked a delicious vegan brunch before driving to Wharton Park, which I'd somehow never been to before. It was a lovely sunny morning so it was an ideal time to get some fresh air and exercise and made for some stunning views across the city. Then all too soon it was time for me to catch my train and begin the 5 hour journey back to Brighton. Unfortunately due to works on the rail line I had to get a bus replacement part of the way so it ended up being a very fragmented journey but I eventually made it back to my new home in the south.
I'm so glad I decided to make the trip up to Durham, despite the lengthy journey and the sheer expense (the train tickets alone were £100). It definitely confirmed to me that it's a place I'll always identify with and consider as my first UK home, even when the people who shaped my undergraduate experience have moved on.
x
