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You are here > Home > Things to Do > The Way of Learning
Gain the ultimate enlightenment on The Way of Learning as it takes you on the trail of England’s original scholar, the Venerable Bede through a rich legacy of the North East’s foremost industry, inventiveness and innovation.
‘Devote yourself to learn the sayings and doings of the men of old ’ runs a quote from the Father of English History, the Venerable Bede, around the atrium of a museum dedicated to him at Jarrow Hall, near the start of The Way of Learning. The quote is an apt metaphor for this walk.
The route traces the special places associated with Britain’s best-known scholar-monk the Venerable Bede, besides taking you on a journey to ground-breaking Roman discoveries (Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort), the majestic medieval Finchale Priory, where fascinating St Godric once
attracted attention from as far afield as Rome for his famous piety, and masterful modern cultural icons such as The Word, National Centre for the Written Word in South Shields.
This, the most urban of the six Northern Saints Trails, might have less of the jaw-dropping countryside the North East invariably exhibits, but it compensates by being jam-packed with cultural eye-openers. The area has produced countless firsts (first English history book, England’s first stained glass, first incandescent light bulb) and the route winds between example after example of the region’s exceptional innovativeness over the centuries, and the museums that champion it. But one character stands out from The Way of Learning in particular and that is the Venerable Bede.
Learn about his life and times and pass the monasteries where he studied and became inspired to produce some of England’s most important early literary works. By the time you reach his tomb at Durham Cathedral you might well feel as if you are revisiting an old acquaintance. You will certainly feel acquainted with a region that can justly claim to have been instrumental in kindling the thirst for knowledge we hold so dear today.
For full route descriptions download the documents below.
Season (1 Jan 2021 - 31 Dec 2021) |
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Finchale Priory, BrassideThe very extensive remains of a 13thC priory, founded on the site of a retired pirate's hermitage.
Durham Castle Tours - closed until early 2021, Durham CityDurham Castle is part of the Durham City World Heritage Site. Entrance by guided tour only. Opening can vary - All enquiries re guided tours should be directed Palace Green Library. Telephone 0191 334 2932 or castle.tours@durham.ac.uk.
Durham Cathedral, Durham CityThought by many to be the finest example of Norman church architecture in England, with the tombs of St Cuthbert and The Venerable Bede. Please check opening times before travelling.
Ankers House and St Mary & St Cuthbert's Church, Chester-le-StreetThe cathedral church and shrine of St Cuthbert from AD883 to 995 with attached anchorage containing displays on Roman, Saxon and medieval times.
World Heritage Site Visitor Centre - Closed until early 2021, Durham CityA free visitor centre providing an introduction to Durham World Heritage Site and what there is to see and do in and around the site. Ideal for families.
Open Treasure at Durham Cathedral - temporarily closed, Durham CityOpen Treasure is an award-winning museum for all ages which guides visitors through some of Durham Cathedral’s most spectacular spaces, including the fourteenth-century Monks’ Dormitory and the monastic Great Kitchen.
Palace Green Library - closed to walk-in visitors until early 2021, Durham CityPalace Green Library, in the heart of Durham city, holds Durham University's special collections. Our galleries are open to all and display treasures spanning millennia and the globe.
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