QQ on offer holder open day Durham

[Brienneoftarthismyhero]

I need to book my train tickets and wondering if these events last all day? The email just says morning and afternoon sessions and end time 4:30. We want to visit accommodation and see the geography department and just get a feel of the campus etc. planning to get there just after 9am and also have a bit of time to see Durham as well.

Any tips?

What I remember from last year was that the college tours were all held in the morning and the subject talks were in the afternoon and it was indeed finished by 4.30. Arriving at 9am will give you plenty of time to maybe see 3 or 4 colleges in the morning.

Last year we did the offer holder day in a day but we did stay overnight for the open day and therefore got a chance to see Durham by night then. This was really useful to get the general vibe of Durham as a place that we wouldn’t have got just attending during the day.

Thank you @Rollergirl11 we won’t be able to stay overnight as DD doesn’t want to miss two days of school. How did you find Durham in the evening?

I’m thinking train back around 5 so we can have a little bit of time looking around Durham itself. It’s 2 hours each way for us in train so will be a long day.

I'd take as late a train back as you sensibly can, perhaps 7 or 8pm so you can see the city and grab a quick bite maybe. It's usually a fairly full day for most universities

@Brienneoftarthismyhero DD really liked Durham at night. It was in the summer and while term had finished there were lots of college/society end of year parties going on so it was buzzing. Lots of girls in evening dresses and boys in black tie.

Ultimately though DD decided to firm Exeter instead as she preferred the course there.

Think we got there about 9.30am. Went to see a few colleges starting on the hill (because parked there). Generally there were rolling tours and a talk. No booking for any of them. Then a couple of colleges on the Bailey and lunch in town. Dept talks started about 1pm and DS also had a lab session with other offer holders. We left about 5pm as DS was already familiar with Maiden Castle. We're 2 hours away and the trains are frequent to York if you are south of Durham.

Durham, the town, is pretty dead by night tbh and those parts that aren't are not where students would be hanging out.

Durham students tend to socialise within the colleges (their own and others) in the evenings.

College tours start at 9.30 and it's hard to fit in more than three, though if all hill colleges or all Bailey you might get in a fourth.
Subject talks are long - my DD's was about three hours but she was done by 4. It was in TLC and I had a bit of lunch at the café while waiting. We did stay overnight (at Chad's as it happens). Went out to dinner and I'm sure 70% of the other diners were applicants with a parent!
She's at St John's and of course says it's the best!