Things to do in Durham with children age 7 and 10

[feetheart]

We are coming up this weekend for a friend's ordination so Sunday is sorted. However we will be arriving on Saturday afternoon and not going back until Monday evening so have lots of time to explore - what should we do?

Any ideas about where to eat and any wet-weather alternatives would be very welcome too.

It will be our first city break as a family, we are usually more used to 'camping in a field' breaks, so DC are very excited as am I :)

TIA

Do you want ideas in Durham itself or in the surrounding area?

Durham itself as we are coming up on the train.
Thanks

Anyone?

Durham is lovely ! What kind of places are you looking for to eat ? Lunch / evening ?
There is a fab ice cream place called Split and Glory inside Chapters coffee house
Lovely champagne bar by the river called Ebony and a nice Asian place called Fat Buddha.
You can't visit without going to the cathedral - Harry Potter was filmed in the cloisters.

Hmm Durham is v nice but the centre is quite small - I would say that you would have done it on sat and sun - I like walking along the river
its a really quick trip up to newcastle from Durham on the train -20 mins so I would think that at least some of monday would be worth spending there -assuming you havn't been there before - seven stories is amazing - or one of the other museums

Will see lots of the cathedral as that's where the ordination is happening.

Not sure DC will get into champagne bar but Split and Glory is now on the list :)

Will have one lunch and several evening meals to sort out plus most of Monday to explore so all recommendations are welcome.

Walk along the river, riverboat cruise, picnic n the side,
Durham cathedral, oriental museum, train to n castle walk along the quayside

River trip would be a cool idea if it's nice !
Also you are not far from Beamish open air museum if you have transport to get there.
Agree with seven stories or similar in Newcastle too - Centre for Life is fab.

DC will get in champagne bar til 7pm!

All the above - not sure you can get to Beamish without a car. Also agree that you might have a little too much time to just explore the city centre.
Can you leave early on the Monday, and go part of the way home to stop at York?
Newcastle: Centre for life fab, discovery museum cheaper! Heard lots of good things about seven sisters. China town if you don't have a local one to you for Dim Sum for lunch (Mango's, or the one at the end of the road that is upstairs)

Enjoy the weekend!

Thanks everyone, lots of ideas.

KenDodd - that sounds like the voice of experience :)

I'd say your quite limited to things to do in central Durham. Yes to the ice cream place & the river cruise & there's a lovely cafe called flat white just tucked away over elvet bridge.

Crook Gardens is lovely (not sure if it'd be the kids cup of tea). You can often look round the castle which is nice. The Oriental Museum might also interest the kids.

There's the Gala theatre which might have a show on & there's a cinema there (in case of bad weather).

Fat Buddha is nice for food & Bells fish shop gets good reviews.

I'd agree about getting a train into Newcastle (20 mins & both stations in city centre). Centre for life is great in Newcastle (& 2 min walk from station), as is the Discovery Museum (10 min walk max) - have a look at their websites to see if there's any specific exhibits on. There's also the Hancock Museum a bit further up in Newcastle. The Baltic is nice to look around (Newcastle quayside) & 7 stories is also great (just a metro ride away). Also, tonnes of lovely places to eat in Newcastle!

There is also a topper little gift shop called Mugwump. It has been there ever since I was tiny!
If you fancy fish and chips there is a proper sit down place called Bimbis in Market Square.
Oldfields is a terrific restaurant that uses local produce. Children are also welcome in there.

Thank you for all the suggestions.

We came back last night after a brilliant w/e.
We did - cathedral (both for service and next day for a good look round), several walks along the river, shopping including Mugwump and charity shops, Crook Hall and Bells for fish and chips.
My lot are easy to please so didn't need to venture further afield, DS(7) was just happy to be able to go on the top deck of the bus to and from the B&B :)

Thanks again for helping us plan our w/e.