Visits
Durham Castle is a bustling heritage site with 100 residents, 350 students who dine in the Great Hall daily, multiple public tours, wedding receptions, corporate, university and College events and much more. These activities take place all year long, often overlapping.
As stewards of this 950 year old castle, we need to be very careful about how we welcome and engage others and ensure student safety in our Grade I listed building. Unfortunately, we often encounter visitors to the Castle, who attempt to access the College without our knowledge. This poses a significant security challenge. For this reason, we ask that you book onto one of our guided tours or get in touch if you are planning to visit.
Our unique and multi-faceted site means that it can sometimes be difficult for us to allow full access to the Castle, even for alumni who know this as home. We appreciate your patience and understanding, which ensures that our precious home can be enjoyed by generations of students, alumni and visitors to come.
Tours of University College
Durham Castle is open for guided tours throughout the year. We can usually accommodate visitors in the afternoons during academic term and mornings/afternoons during university holidays.
You can use this link to learn more and book your space on a guided visit.
Alumni Tours
We are delighted to offer a small number of bespoke alumni tours throughout the year, if your planned visit falls outside of the scope of our prescheduled guided tours.
We ask that you get in touch at least three weeks in advance if you would like to make a bespoke booking.
College Formals
We are thrilled to be able to host a small number of alumni guests at high table during term time. Please get in touch if you would like to join us for one of these special occasions. Tickets cost £25.50 plus any alcoholic drinks you would wish to have with your meal. This ticket price includes a modest contribution towards our College Hardship Fund.
The College also organises a number of bespoke alumni events, such as the annual Alumni Reunion, during which we are delighted to welcome you and others back to our precious home. Please note that we are rarely able to accommodate bespoke alumni dinners in College given our robust calendar of events.
B&B accommodation
We are delighted to offer a 20% discount for alumni guests wishing to make a B&B booking during a holiday period. See this page for more information about rooms available for B&B bookings, as well as standard rates and other amenities. Please remember that this is an historic castle, which means spaces and amenities are quite different from typical hotels.
For individual B&B accommodation or small group bookings, please contact Durham Castle on +44 (0) 191 334 4106 or email durham.castle@durham.ac.uk or via this link.
For groups of over 10 please call Event Durham on 0800 28 99 70 or email event@durham.ac.uk.