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Across Palace Green from the cathedral, Durham Castle (Easter-Sept Mon-Sat 10am-12.30pm & 2-4pm, Sun 10am-noon & 2-4pm; Oct-Easter Mon, Wed, Sat & Sun 2-4pm; GBP3; tel 0191/374 3800, ) lost its medieval appearance long ago, during refurbishments arranged by a succession of prince bishops, but the university went further by renovating the old keep as a hall of residence. It's only possible to visit the castle on a 45-minute guided tour, highlights of which include rapid visits to the fifteenth-century kitchen, a climb up the enormous hanging staircase and the jog down to the Norman chapel, notable for its lively Romanesque carved capitals. The castle is sometimes closed for functions during its regular opening hours; call ahead to check. Below the castle and the cathedral are the wooded banks of the River Wear , where a pleasant footpath runs right round the peninsula. It takes about thirty minutes to complete the circuit, passing a succession of elegant bridges with fine vantage points over town and cathedral. On the riverbank, south of Framwellgate Bridge , the university's Museum of Archeology (April-Oct daily 11am-4pm; Nov-March Mon & Fri-Sun 11.30am-3.30pm; GBP1; ) occupies an old stone fulling mill. Eighteenth-century Prebends Bridge boasts celebrated views of the cathedral, and the path then continues round to handsome Elvet Bridge . The alternate route from Prebends to Elvet Bridge is along South and North Bailey, a cobbled thoroughfare lined by Georgian houses, many of them occupied by university college buildings. The church of St Mary-le-Bow, on North Bailey, immediately below the cathedral, does duty as the Durham Heritage Centre (April, May & Oct Sat & Sun 2-4.30pm; June daily 2-4.30pm; July, Aug & Sept daily 11am-4.30pm; GBP1), a pot-pourri of audiovisual displays, dioramas and exhibitions. Among Durham's other attractions, the most noteworthy is the university's newly refurbished Oriental Museum (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun noon-5pm; GBP1.50; ), set among college buildings a couple of miles south of the city centre on Elvet Hill (off South Road), whose wide-ranging collection contains an outstanding display of Chinese ceramics. Take bus #5 or #6 (to Bishop Auckland) and ask to be put off on South Road. You may as well then continue on foot to the nearby Botanic Garden (daily: March-Oct 10am-5pm; Nov-Feb 11am-4pm; GBP1), whose glasshouses, cafe and visitor centre are set in eighteen acres of diverse woodland, grassland and gardens near Collingwood College; buses run back to the centre from either Elvet Hill Road or South Road. North of the centre, a ten-minute walk from the train station takes you to the revamped Durham Light Infantry Museum and Durham Art Gallery , at Aykley Heads (daily: April-Oct 10am-5pm; Nov-March 10am-4pm; GBP2.50; ). The museum tells the story of the regiment from World War I to its last parade in 1968, through moving testimonies and wide-ranging artefacts, while the art gallery plays host to an indefinable variety of temporary exhibitions.
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