Durham Self-Guided City Walking Tour & Scavenger Hunt

3.3
(3 reviews)
Middlesbrough, England

2 hours (approximately)
Offered in: English

Durham's cathedral and castle share a peninsula above the Wear — and the city that grew up between them has stories to match both.

This app-led scavenger hunt takes you through Durham on foot, using phone-based riddles to guide you from one landmark to the next. No guide, no fixed start time.

• Follow clues to St Nicholas' Church, Durham Castle, and the atmospheric Sewer Lamp — medieval faith, Norman power, and Victorian ingenuity in one compact walk
• Start when you arrive and go at whatever pace suits the group
• Great for families, history lovers, and groups of any size

Around 2 hours, any group size, available in English.

Durham Cathedral is one of the great buildings of the world. The Sewer Lamp is arguably more memorable.

What's Included

Learn about town stories, history, and local legends
Total flexibility: no waiting, start anytime, walk at own pace and do as many breaks as you want
Free download of the Explorial App from your appstore required (iOS and Android supported)
Points and scoring system — compete with your group
Self-guided city tour with interactive riddles, trivia challenges and photo tasks
Clear hints and map guidance — so you never get stuck or lost
A Smartphone is required and not provided. Fully charged with active data connection (internet)
No live guide: The tour is 100% self-guided – no one will be meeting you at the starting point
This is not an audio guide

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point
8 Millennium Pl

→ Book 1 ticket for each participant → You get one game code per booking by text or Viator message → Download the Explorial App from explorial.com or your app store → Open the app and enter provided game code (6 digits) → All particpants join the game with same game code

End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What to expect

Starting at 8 Millennium Pl, Durham DH1 1WA, UK, open the Explorial app and enter the 6-digit game code that you received by text and Viator chat message. The riddles take you from the modern city gateway into streets that have barely changed in outline since the Norman Conquest.

Your first stop is St Nicholas' Church, the parish church on the Market Place whose 19th-century Gothic tower dominates the square where Durham's commercial life has gathered since the medieval period.

From there the app takes you to Durham Castle, the Norman fortress built in 1072 that has formed an unbroken line of occupation with the cathedral on the peninsula above the River Wear for nearly 950 years — now part of Durham University and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The route then leads to the Sewer Lamp, a unique Victorian gas lamp on Drury Lane that is fuelled by gas produced by the decomposition of sewage in the pipes below — still lit, still functioning, and one of the most genuinely peculiar landmarks in Britain.

Around 2 hours on foot. The riverside paths and cathedral close are beautiful extensions if you want to keep exploring.

Additional info

  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • After booking you receive a text message and a Viator message with your game code. Download the Explorial app from your appstore or explorial.com. Open the app, enter your 6 digit game code
  • Technical requirements: You will need a fully charged smartphone and an active mobile data connection
  • Recommended attire: It’s best to wear weather-appropriate clothing and comfortable walking shoes — approx. 2 hours of light walking
  • Weather & Health Guarantee: If bad weather or illness prevents you from going on the tour, you can simply reschedule it for another day. You can also rebook to a different city or request a refund
  • Entrance fees are not required for the game. All puzzles relate to the public areas of the sights
Supplied by Explorial
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Tags

Self-guided Tours
Walking Tours
Fun & Games
Scavenger Hunts
New Product
Short term availability

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

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Rating

3.3 Based on 3 3 reviews
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