Town & Country

FOLLOWING three years of conservation work, the 900-year-old former palace (until 2010) of the Prince Bishops of Durham, Auckland Castle, has reopened to the public. It is the latest in the Auckland Project’s roster of attractions to do so—after the deer park, walled garden, Auckland Tower visitor centre and Mining Art Gallery.

Visitors can now follow architect James Wyatt’s 18th-century processional route through the private chapel and State Rooms, where King John, Charles I and Queen Victoria were entertained, and see the private apartments of bishops whose political and military influence was ‘second only to the king for 750 years’. The collections, which include Zurbarán’s ‘Jacob and His Twelve Sons’ series, are equally impressive and a separate space—bishop Trevor Gallery—will host temporary exhibitions.

‘The story of Auckland Castle and the Prince Bishops of Durham spans more than 1,000 years, but for various reasons has remained relatively untold,’ explains Clare Baron, head of interpretation and exhibitions at the Auckland Project. ‘Now, thanks to extensive conservation work and research, visitors will be able to walk in the footsteps of the men who helped shaped the country we live in today.’

Next on the agenda for the Auckland Project is a new Faith Museum and Spanish Gallery. The Co Durham market town of Bishop Auckland also hosts Kynren every summer, an extraordinary piece of outdoor theatre on a 7½-acre stage that tells the history of England over 2,000 years, with the help of 1,000 cast and crew (www. kynren.com). For further information, visit www.aucklandproject.org.

Flying high: Lancashire’s Ribble Valley—which wraps around the pretty market town of Clitheroe and the Forest of Bowland AONB, where The Queen owns a sizeable plot of land—is apparently the happiest place in the UK. The Office for National Statistics found that residents scored an average of 8.3 out of 10, compared with the national average of 7.56—despite current fracking woes

Once at the heart of the kingdom’s political life, Auckland Castle in Co Durham has reopened to the public