Banks Homes Riverside

The River Wear curves round Durham in a way that feels almost deliberate, and Banks Homes sits right there on that bend - a Victorian riverside development that's easy to walk past without really seeing it. These aren't grand mansions; they're solid, handsome townhouses built in the 1800s when Durham's prosperity was tied to coal and industry. The river views are genuine: the water moves fast enough to hold your attention, and you get a proper sense of how the city turned its back to the Wear for centuries before realising what it had.

It's the sort of place walkers passing through Durham on the Wear Valley Way will stumble across and think "oh, that's rather nice". There's no admission fee and no faffing about - you simply walk along the riverside path, peek at the architecture, and keep moving. Allow twenty minutes if you're the type to loiter; five minutes if you're just cutting through.

You won't spend hours here, but it's a genuine highlight of a Durham riverside walk, especially when the light's right in the late afternoon. Couples and history-minded types get more from it than families with young kids. It slots perfectly into a wider park holiday using Finchale Abbey or Beamish as a base - both are within three miles and offer proper camping facilities. Come early morning or late afternoon; the town traffic doesn't reach down here, and the Wear's at its most photogenic when the sun's low.