Castles and Cathedrals of Northern and Eastern England – A Rail Trail Through Durham, York and Lincoln

Hello again dear readers and future travellers. Hello 2026! Bar a lovely few days of snow, the weather has been abysmal of late. Grey clouds and sky every day. However, spring is coming! New shoots mean new travel plans. My latest piece may inspire your next travels. It’s a route that you can take any season, rain or shine. It’s also a route close to my home. In this post I will cover the historic cities of Durham, York and Lincoln – all of which are in the North and East of England and connected by train.

It’s a route that includes iconic cathedrals and great castles. This rail trail is fairly easy. You can either go on a weekend break if you live nearby or factor it into a rail itinerary if you’re visiting Britain from elsewhere. You can start this ‘rail trail’ anywhere you want, but I’ll begin with Durham which is fairly close to me. Durham is also close to Newcastle-upon-Tyne which has international transport links through the Airport and even the North Shields ferry terminal.

Durham

Durham is the first point on this trail and is also a university town (the university was founded in 1832). The imposing Norman Cathedral commands the city’s skyline. City status was given to towns that built cathedrals. Durham was at the centre of the Industrial Revolution, with coalfields becoming County Durham’s biggest economic asset. However, Durham was already important way before the Industrial Revolution. Situated on a tight bend in the River Wear, Anglo-Saxon monks took refuge here from the Vikings in 995 carrying the remains of St Cuthbert from Lindisfarne Priory. A church sprung up here to house both the remains of Saints Cuthbert and Venerable Bede, before gradually transforming into the Norman Cathedral constructed between 1093-1133. The Normans invested heavily in Durham because it acted as a buffer to the Scots. The Normans also sought to impose their authority after their brutal ‘Harrying of the North’ in 1069-70. Eventually, Durham became a centre of learning and a key pilgrimage destination for Christians in the Medieval period – an early example of tourism. Durham’s Cathedral is a fine example of Romanesque architecture, with semicircular arches, ribbed vaults and striking carved stone columns. Indeed, Durham Cathedral’s splendid architecture has seen it used as a film location. The most famous film shot here has to be Harry Potter – the Cathedral cloisters were used as part of Hogwarts so don’t forget your wands and owls.

Other sights in Durham include its Market Place and Norman Castle which is famous for never falling to an invading army. Guided tours take you around the latter – when I visited some time ago, we were shown one of the earliest carved depictions of a mermaid. A town of many firsts! The city has seen the recent restoration of Redhills, the Durham Miners’ Hall. Built in 1915, it was the headquarters of the Durham Miners’ Association and served as the ‘Pitman’s Parliament’. Durham’s mining heritage is still celebrated with its Mining Gala – a procession of marching bands and colliery banners throughout the town centre every year on the second Saturday of July. Outside the centre and close to the university campuses is the University’s Botanic Garden. I’ve been many times and when I last went, was amazed by the giant waterlily pads from the Amazon. The Botanic Garden features a cherry blossom grove, arboretum and cactus house – the latter is great refuge on a cold damp winter’s day.

Durham is easily connected as it is on the East Coast Mainline – a line covering cities such as Edinburgh, Newcastle, York and London. To head south to York go by LNER; its trains run on this line. LNER (owned by UK Department for Transport) returned in 2018 to replace Virgin as the ECM’s main operator. Rail privatisation has been regarded as a failure by both rail experts, analysts and the public. LNER is a first step to taking the railways back into public ownership – Great British Railways will gradually replace privatised operators in the next few years.

As you travel south from Durham to York, you will pass through Darlington, a market town which in 1825 was where George Stephenson’s Locomotion No.1 became the first public railway carrying passengers to nearby Stockton. Darlington celebrated the bicentenary of this key moment in railway history last year.

York

Crossing the River Tees you enter North Yorkshire. The line whisks passengers through many farmers’ fields in the flat Vale of York. North Yorkshire is a beautiful county, containing the Moors and Dales National Parks as well as many quaint historic towns. But it is York which is the jewel in the crown.

York is older than Durham, having been founded by the Romans as Eboracum. A very different name to now! After the Romans and Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Deira and Northumbria, came the Vikings who renamed it Jorvik and made it the capital of Danelaw. Jorvik eventually became York and like Durham, was seized by the Norman King, William the Conqueror in his 1066-70 conquest. York Minster, a cathedral built later than Durham, was constructed between 1220 and 1472. York Minster is a fine example of Gothic architecture – having pointed arches, flying buttresses and beautiful stained-glass windows. The Cathedral’s East Window, which depicts the Last Judgement, is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. York Minster is a bit of a survivor too. The Minster endured looting during the 16^th century Reformation, the English Civil War of the 1640s, and notably caught fire in 1984 having been struck by lightning. Remarkably, the Minster was restored and reopened to the public within four years. The grounds around the Minster are a peaceful and lovely place to relax before or after venturing into the bustling Old Town and Shambles area. Even on a crisp winter’s day, York Minster is a wonder to behold, as its creamy-white limestone almost glows in the sun.

With the cathedral visited, let’s make for the city’s famous castle: Clifford’s Tower. Alas, there are no big red dogs in here (something I believed when I was kid of course). However, if you climb the 55 (exhausting) steps you are rewarded with wonderful views of York City. Clifford’s Tower is a Norman-Keep, a perfect example of a motte-and-bailey style. The Castle, while offering amazing views, has a dark history, with it being the sight of the infamous 1190 Massacre of the Jews. Clifford’s Tower also housed a prison and was also besieged during the English Civil War of the 1640s. With such a dark history, York is rumoured to be one of the most haunted cities in the UK outside of London. Clifford’s Tower is now run by English Heritage who recently restored the site – its audiovisual exhibits were particularly interesting in telling the castle’s story. For another defensive site, albeit more modern, visit the Cold War Bunker in the Holgate area, also run by English Heritage (pre-booked guided tour only).

For a small city, York is packed with things to do; it is a worth a longer stay here. York has many quaint shops. Wandering around the cobbles, you are bound to find a restaurant or café to your liking – Betty’s is the most famous, where you can marvel at its cakes and queues. Keeping with a sweet theme, you may fancy the Chocolate Story Experience; York was the birthplace of Rowntree’s and Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Other attractions include the fascinating and enjoyable National Railway Museum – fitting for this rail trail. In here are notable and famous locomotives such as Mallard, the Intercity 125, Eurostar and Japanese Shinkansen. The last highlight I’d personally recommend is the York Art Gallery, where there are numerous works and exhibitions. It is a bright and airy place - pleasant to peruse works from the 14^th-20^th centuries. When I visited in 2024, Claude Monet’s ‘Waterlily Pond’ was on loan from the National Gallery. Monet’s waterlilies were painted from his beautiful garden in Giverny, Normandy; a destination I will write about in the future. They also make a nice connection with Durham’s Amazonian waterlilies at the Botanic Garden, previously mentioned in this post.

Lincoln

The last stop on this castle and cathedral rail trail is Lincoln. To get here by train from York, you’ll need to make a change at Doncaster – an ex-industrial town which also has its own Minster.

Lincoln is a welcoming tourist destination. With a castle and striking cathedral, it is equal to York, without the hordes of tourists. Lincoln has a modern university, giving the old town a youthful feel, similar to Durham and York.

Before Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, New York’s Empire State Building and Paris’s Eiffel Tower, there was Lincoln Cathedral, once the tallest building in the world from 1311-1549. Like York, it too is a survivor, this time from an earthquake in 1185. The central spire which made it the tallest building in the medieval world collapsed in 1549; it was never rebuilt but the Cathedral remained intact. The Gothic style and splendour of Lincoln Cathedral left a lasting impression on me when I visited in 2024. By chance, I came across an RAF band playing in the choir of the Cathedral; with classical music echoing throughout the vastness, it was a moving experience.

Lincoln has a Norman Castle which holds one of the four copies of the Magna Carta, signed by King John in 1215 in response to the Barons’ rebellion. I went to the Medieval Bishops’ Palace to use my English Heritage Membership Pass. While partially ruined, it was a calming and beautiful place to wander on a warm day in May. The Palace even had, to my surprise, a vineyard. I think this had to be the most northerly vineyard I’ve ever seen. When you turn back, you get a fantastic view of the Cathedral’s majesty and splendour. You almost feel transported back in time to the Medieval era.

While Lincolnshire is flat, Lincoln city is hilly – the main shopping street is called ‘Steep Hill’. It makes for a great leg exercise! Other attractions include the modern Waterfront where there are bars, restaurants and hotels aplenty. Outside of Lincoln is the International Bomber Command Centre; a war memorial museum that recently opened in 2018. From Lincoln, you can either go directly south to London by an LNER train. Alternatively, you can retrace your steps back up North to Newcastle.

Having reached Lincoln, we come to the end of this rail trail covering Northern and Eastern England’s most notable Castles and Cathedral Cities. It is a route of immense history and many firsts. The first railways emerged here, and before that the castles and cathedrals of this region were the most innovative and remarkable in medieval Europe. It is a route where you can both contemplate and celebrate Britain’s past, present and future.