An essential part of any university experience is the much-awaited familial visit. Whether you are eager to show off your neatly organised room and your vibrantly successful social and academic achievements, to give a tour guide for all the best views, events, and establishments, or are desperate to speed past your rubbish tip of a room to share some food and drink, Durham has a place for you.
Just one or two of these can ensure you receive satisfaction and rave reviews. These are an insider’s tips into making the most of the parental invasion.
Tips for sightseeing
One essential element of Durham life to show off to your parents is the iconic scenic views and architecture.
Durham University is undoubtedly – geographically alone – one of the most beautiful out there. Walking anywhere around the centre of town will show this to your parents. However, to show off Duz’s best sights, I recommend visiting locations such as the racecourse and Prebends bridge, both of which have some of my favourite natural views. Both show off the natural majesty of the great River Wear, the surrounding forestry, and the distantly imposing Durham cathedral. Undoubtedly a perfect summation of Durham’s gorgeous, very much Oxbridge-core, vibes to any viewer.
The other key tourist must of Durham is Durham Cathedral. As a UNESCO heritage site surrounded by spectacular historical architecture, its value speaks for itself. No trip up to Durham would be complete without a visit to its Bailey area. While the cathedral is its crown jewel, and necessitates a tour inside, a tour of the surrounding area is also invaluable. Make sure to walk through the cobbled streets, historically rich colleges, and to take in the stunning views of Durham’s best library and lecture halls while resting on the Palace Green grass.
Food and drink spots
As with any special occasion, the parental visit calls for a celebratory meal. What better opportunity to show off Durham’s finest eateries? Depending on your parents, they may either treat you to a meal or want to be treated themselves – or both! For this, I have a patented strategy: Go blowout on the former, and classy with a budget for the latter. Recommendations for the former are the deluxe Cantonese food of the Rabbit Hole, the premium Thai of Zen, and the delectable brekkie at the long-queued Flat White. Counterparts for the latter are the equally lovely, if less fancy, Italian of Spag’s, pizza of Rudy’s, and brunch of Treats. Here’s to hoping that my family doesn’t see this.
As for bars, it again depends what you’re looking for. If you are game to show some exciting student vibes, I’d recommend visiting the classic Mixology, as it is Durham’s premier cocktail venue near the centre of town. To best represent the student experience, of course, Wetherspoons remains unbeaten.
If, however, you’d prefer a boozy but less hectic catch up, there are always several local pubs further from the city centre. Whether in Gilesgate or Neville’s Cross, these will be near key accom spots and are a good site for relaxed pints away from the student hubbub.
Shops to visit
No parental trip up to Durham would be complete without showcasing its finest local shops, potentially even taking back a few souvenirs. I would recommend visiting the profuse number of eclectic local shops on the Bailey. These stock a wide range of items, whether antiques or thrifted clothes. Highlights are the beautifully intellectual student-specific Waterstones, the vinyl haven of the Record Shed in Durham Market, and the plethora of beautiful cards, posters, mugs, and much more at Mugwump.
Visiting these shops will also allow you to show off the natural beauty of the larger Bailey area, with its classic statues, bridges, and cobbled streets. Checking out the stalls at the lovely indoor Market, as well as at the even more expansive weekly outside Durham Market, also comes highly recommended.
Events to attend
Any parental trip to Durham can also be improved by – timings allowing – taking them to some of the city’s major yearly events. Crucial examples are the Durham Regatta (even if you are not participating!), Lumiere, and the Christmas Market. All of these show the city at its most lively, and can be fun times to invite parents up for, beating Durham’s too-frequent tiny city allegations. Inviting your parents up on the weekend of your sports event can also be a great opportunity to exhibit your extracurriculars and mates.
University life
While the tour guide experience of Durham is great fun, you may, begrudgingly, also be asked to show parents what exactly you do all day at university. To this end, I would recommend showing your parents the essentials – your college, lecture halls, libraries, and friends.
The former, of course, depends on your situation, and can range from an easy detour into a Bailey college, to – God help you – a Himalayan trek up Gilesgate. Regardless, it is an essential part of any parent trip, as is the unskippable cutscene in which they give you recommendations to better organise your room.
As for the latter, if you’re willing, you could make the trek to the Billy B. However, unless this is largely enroute to your college or accommodation, this might be a step too far for your poor granny. Instead of revisiting this frequent site of academic trauma, I’d recommend showing off the more central and aesthetic Palace Green library. Conveniently, this is just opposite the similarly beautiful Palace Green lecture halls, also a great spot to point out to parents. If you’re a STEM student, it might be best to skip the lecture hall bit altogether, especially if you regularly journey up cardiac hill. It’s that or getting mum to shill out for an Uber.
Elvet Riverside and the Student Union, other key lecture hall spots, are en route to any Bailey visit, and can be quickly walked by to summarise the less aesthetic aspects of your academic career. Of course, no Durham tour would be complete without mentioning the architect behind the Student Union building. If you don’t make your parents guess who it is, you may as well give up your spot here.
Finally, one key benefit of Durham’s miniature size is that it’s likely that simply by walking through town you will meet many of your society and course mates – whether this is a good thing or not is up to you!
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Featured image via Unsplash.
