Cool Places
Victoria Inn
86 Hallgarth Street Durham DH1 3AS
The Victoria Inn is stuck in the past – but that’s a very good thing. With its wood-panelled bar, etched and cut glass, narrow drinker’s tables, and cheerful William Morris wallpaper, this place oozes Victoriana. In winter there’s a roaring coal fire, making this the perfect cold-weather bolthole for its crowd of local fans, as well as the odd student who’ll pop by for a pint and a packet of pork scratchings. It's a great real-ale place and boasts something like 70 whiskies behind the bar, not to mention good-value accommodation upstairs. You need to know it's here to make the walk, but it's only five minutes' or so from the touristy centre of Durham, yet feels like another world.
