Cake Trails: Early Christianity and the Natural World in Durham Peninsula

Sacred Landscapes of Durham

In the first of two unmissable historic walking tours exploring the relationship between landscape and belief in the North-East, our expert guides walk you through the historic peninsula which sits at the heart of this historic Cathedral city. Settled in around 995 by the Anglo-Saxon Community of St. Cuthbert, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place of outstanding natural beauty and deep monastic history, and its unique geological structure, river system, and biodiversity were closely connected to the Cathedral's development. Join us as we uncover the spectacular geological and ecological history of the Wear's banks, the religious philosophies and political contexts which drove the peninsula's settlement by Cuthbert's monks, and the ways in which the Community and its environment in Durham have transformed one another over the course of the last millennium.

 Cake Trails

Step into history with our trained archaeologists and historians this summer, as they guide you through the region’s most fascinating historic sites, events, and people on our new series of walking tours, from ruthless royals to the women persecuted as witches in the chaos of the English Civil War.

Let them eat cake!

With a maximum of ten tickets available per event and complimentary cake and a hot beverage at a local tearoom with your guide concluding each two-hour walk, this is a fantastic event for those wanting to discover history within a more informal, conversational atmosphere.

Booking Information & FAQs

Tour Start: Tours start at 11.30am and finish at approximately 2.00pm, before moving to a nearby tearoom.

Meeting Point: Your guide will meet you on Palace Green. More information will be provided in advance of the event.

Duration: The tour is approximately 2 1/2 hours in length followed by cake and a hot beverage.

Inclusions: Access to key historic sites and tearoom refreshments are included in ticket prices. 

Access: The tour covers the Riverbank, Palace Green, the Bailey, and the Cathedral interior. While the Cathedral is fully accessible, accessing the Bailey and Riverbank and may prove somewhat challenging for wheelchair users, as much of the entry points are step-down only.

Refund Policy: Due to the nature of the tour, 100% refunds of the ticket price will be given for bookings cancelled 7 or more days before the event. 50% refunds will be given for bookings cancellations made more than 2 days and less than 7 days before the event.

About Iles Tours

Iles Tours is a five-star historic tour group specialising in small-group, guided visits to historic sites in the North East of England and Southern Scotland. Founded by archaeologist and historian Alex Iles, our guides are experts in their fields with formal training in historical and archaeological research, and our tours are consistently rated five-stars on TripAdvisor and Google Reviews. For more, see ilestours.co.uk.