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Eleven miles southwest of Durham city, BISHOP AUCKLAND has been the country home of the bishops of Durham since the twelfth century and their official residence for more than a hundred years. Their palace, the gracious Auckland Castle (May to mid-July & Sept Fri & Sun 2-5pm; mid-July to Aug Mon-Fri & Sun 2-5pm; £3.50; ), standing in 800-acre grounds, is approached through an imposing gatehouse just off the town's Market Place. The palace has been extensively remodelled since its medieval incarnation, redesigned to satisfy the whims of such occupants as the seventeenth-century Bishop Cosin who refurbished the original banqueting hall to create today's splendid marble and limestone chapel . Here, the stained- glass windows relate the stories of early Christian saints familiar throughout the northeast, especially Cuthbert, Bede and Aidan. The other rooms are rather sparse, though - for the moment at least - there's an outstanding exception in the long dining room, with its thirteen paintings of Jacob and his sons by the seventeenth-century Spaniard Zurbarán. However, the Church of England has recently voted to sell the series, its most valuable set of paintings with a price tag of at least £20million; a campaign has started to keep the works at the palace, or possibly at nearby Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle where they would have greater public exposure. In the medieval kitchens there's an exhibition on the life of St Cuthbert and you can stroll into the Bishop's Deer Park , too (daily dawn-dusk; free), where an eighteenth-century deer house survives.

The town itself plays second fiddle to the castle, though the Market Place is handsome enough. However, you could follow the mile-long lane that leads north to the remains of Binchester Roman Fort (Easter & May-Sept daily 11am-5pm; £1.60) - Roman Vinovia - which boasts the country's best example of a hypocaust , built to warm the private bath suite of the garrison's commanding officer.

Bishop Auckland is linked by train to Darlington while buses drop you just a few minutes' west of the town hall, in Market Place, which houses the tourist office (April-Sept Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 9am-4pm, Sun 1-4pm; rest of year closed Sun; tel 01388/604922). The best accommodation option hereabouts is Five Gables Guest House in the former colliery manager's house in Binchester (tel 01388/608204, ), which offers cosy, en-suite B&B (£40-50), a self-catering cottage and midweek evening meals for guests if pre-booked. For daytime food , the Laurel Room in the Town Hall, Market Place, serves up snacks and drinks (closed Sat & Sun), or try the Castlegate Café at 8 Market Place for traditional teas and light meals (closed Sun).