A short hop from Newcastle upon Tyne, the medieval market town of Bishop Auckland is having a quiet renaissance. Sitting above the River Wear in County Durham and often called the gateway to the Durham Dales, the town has spent recent years being revived by The Auckland Project, a local regeneration scheme that has restored its historic attractions and put it firmly on the map for visitors to northeast England.
Start at the nearly 50-foot Auckland Tower, which doubles as the visitor centre and gives 360-degree views over the town, the palace and the surrounding Vale of Durham. From there, it's an easy stroll to the triangular medieval marketplace, framed by old buildings and the 19th-century French-Flemish Gothic Town Hall. Markets run on Thursdays and Saturdays with crafts, produce and street food, while the last Thursday of the month brings the Food Producers' and Crafters' Market, where you can pick up local honey, cakes and souvenirs.
The town's centrepiece is Auckland Palace, the near-thousand-year-old country seat of the Prince Bishops of Durham, who once wielded power across much of the region. After decades of decline, it was meticulously restored and reopened in 2019, with rooms conserved and furnishings recreated to reflect the bishops' era. Don't miss the Georgian Gothic Throne Room, the bishops' private apartments, and St Peter's Chapel — one of the largest private chapels in Europe.
Outside, the restored Auckland Gardens offer several distinct spaces: the cross-shaped water feature of the Paradise Garden, a 17th-century Walled Garden that still supplies the café, a wildlife-friendly Wilderness Garden, and a Faith Garden built over a ruined medieval chapel. The bishops were ahead of their time here, using heated walls and hothouses to grow pineapples. Adjacent to the palace is the 150-acre Deer Park, once a private hunting ground, with trails past medieval fishponds, an 18th-century Deer House and a 1700s ice house — though, oddly, there are no actual deer.
Back in town, culture runs deep. The Mining Art Gallery documents County Durham's coalfields through art and artefacts, while across the street the Spanish Gallery holds England's first collection devoted to Spain's Golden Age, with works by El Greco and Murillo spanning the 13th to 17th centuries. Elsewhere, a giant mural of Stan Laurel — who went to school in Bishop Auckland — brightens Railway Street, and the Town Hall houses a theatre, library and cinema screenings for rainy days, plus stained-glass works made by former miners.
For travellers touring the northeast, Bishop Auckland slots neatly into an itinerary: 30 miles from Newcastle, just 11 from the city of Durham, and within reach of Peterlee on the Durham Coast for beaches and seafood. It's an easy, rewarding day trip — or better, a slow weekend base for the Dales.
