Durham Dales & Blanchland

Enjoy an inspired driving tour through Durham Dales, a rural wonderland only interrupted by the occasional village such as Blanchland, where you will enjoy free time.

After departing from the pier, you will settle in for a leisurely drive inland to Durham Dales, a landscape of wild moorlands, rugged mountains and serene river valleys in the western part of County Durham. While there are a number of market towns within the county, they are sparsely populated and spread out.

As you drive the meandering roads through a patchwork of fertile fields, you may see grazing cattle and sheep and farms that look much like they did centuries ago. In verdant Derwent Valley, you will pass a huge reservoir that attracts ardent sailors, fishermen and birdwatchers.

In time, you will stop in Blanchland, an immensely scenic village of beautiful stone buildings that takes its name from the white habits of the monks who settled here in the 12th century. The setting is so idyllic and unspoiled that period films are frequently shot here.

As you will discover during free time, the people are welcoming and the village captivating. Most everything is constructed with stone, which lends Blanchland a wonderful uniformity and irrepressible medieval atmosphere.