Make the trip for …
Barnard Castle, a well-preserved market town in Teesdale, County Durham, grew up around the 12th-century castle after which it is named – and was immortalised during the pandemic as the site of Dominic Cummings’ eye test. But its other claim to fame is the Bowes Museum, a magnificent French chateau-like edifice, built by John and Joséphine Bowes. The couple founded the museum to share their vast art collection with the people of Teesdale. Sadly, neither lived to see it open to the public in 1892, but their vision lives on.
The museum’s most celebrated exhibit is the Silver Swan, an astonishingly lifelike 250-year-old automaton. Exhibitions to celebrate its anniversary include Modern Makers (until 18 June), featuring artists from the Northern School of Art, and The Magic of the Silver Swan (8 July to 7 January).
The permanent art collection spans the 14th to the 19th centuries, with paintings by El Greco, Goya and Gustave Courbet, and two enormous Canalettos. The museum also has a mind-boggling array of ceramics, sculpture, furniture and fashion – daily guided tours by volunteers help visitors home in on the highlights (tours at 11am, included in the £17.50 entrance price, under-18s free).
What now?
Elsewhere, the castle ruins are open to the public, although these are probably best seen from viewing points on the southern bank of the Tees (entry from £7.50, free for English Heritage members). A path leads from the castle to the 14th-century County Bridge – so called because it used to form a boundary between County Durham and Yorkshire – and riverside walks.
By contrast, Raby Castle, six miles away, is an impressively intact medieval fortress: massive towers linked by curtain walls are set in 200 acres of parkland with ornamental lakes and herds of red and fallow deer. Its art collection includes religious paintings by Luca Giordano and sporting scenes by Alfred Munnings (entry £13).
Both castles were painted by Turner, as were other local landmarks, including Egglestone Abbey, a ruined monastery about a mile south-east of the town.
In addition, the myriad art attractions of Bishop Auckland are just a 30-minute drive away.
Souvenir shopping
There are lots of independent shops on Horse Market and Market Place, selling antiques, secondhand books, handmade jewellery and more. Small galleries include Mouncey Fine Art and the Sandra Parker Studio. Markets have been held on the cobbles for centuries; the Market Cross, or Buttermarket, was built in 1747 to shelter farmers’ wives selling their wares, and it has also been a town hall, prison and fire station. Today, there is a Wednesday general market and a farmers’ market on the first Saturday of every month.
The Witham, built in 1846 with a Victorian music hall added in 1860, is now a Grade II-listed community arts centre hosting theatre and comedy shows, film screenings, gigs and exhibitions. It also holds a monthly Northern Crafts fair, showcasing work by local makers (free, next fair 1 July).
When to go
The Durham Dales and North Pennines have 16 dark sky discovery sites with low levels of light pollution, ideal for stargazing. Dozens of after-dark events take place across the region in autumn during the annual North Pennines Stargazing festival, such as night photography workshops at Raby Castle (next festival 20 October to 5 November).
Get outside
High Force, a thundering waterfall 15 miles away in the tranquil Durham Dales, is another sight that was captured by Turner. Visitors can follow in the painter’s footsteps on a five-mile circular walk past Low Force (a series of more gentle waterfalls), to High Force and into Upper Teesdale.
Drinks and dinner
Cafe Bowes at the Bowes Museum is open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and Sunday roasts – lunch might be seafood chowder with smoked North Sea fish, mussels and clams (£10.95).
The Old Well Inn is thought to date back to the 12th century, and the castle walls run along its beer garden. Five-hundred-year-old Blagraves reopened last year as an interiors shop and informal restaurant, serving snacks and meze-style small plates (from £2 to £10).
The Rose and Crown, an 18th-century coaching inn in the nearby village of Romaldkirk, serves platters (veg, fish or meat), posh pub grub (cider-battered bream with triple-cooked chips) and more refined mains (baked cod with crab veloute and asparagus; all mains £17-20).
Stay
High Force hotel, which is reached after an exhilarating half-hour drive along a rollercoaster road, has 10 recently refurbished rooms. As the name suggests, this cosy 19th-century former hunting lodge is a short walk from the waterfall (doubles from £168 DB&B).
Closer to town, Runa Farm is a country retreat with a Balearic vibe – rooms and suites are inspired by Ibiza, and many have their own terrace or garden and a hot tub (doubles from £165 B&B).
Getting there
Barnard Castle train station closed in the 1960s, so those travelling by public transport have a 40-50-minute bus journey from Darlington station (more information at thisisdurham.com). A bus runs from the town to High Force on Wednesdays only (hodgsonsbuses.com).
• This article was amended on 5 June 2023 to note that entry to Barnard Castle is included in an English Heritage membership.
