Auckland Castle: Auckland Castle is the home of the Bishop of Durham, and has been for the past 800 years. The Bowes Museum: Where else in the world can you see a 230-year-old mechanical silver swan, still in working order, alongside a Turner or a Canaletto? Durham Castle: Durham Castle dates from 1072 and was the seat of the Prince Bishops of Durham until 1832. Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum: Beamish is no ordinary museum but a living, working experience of life as it was in the Great North in the early 1800s and 1900s. Raby Castle: Built for the mighty dynasty of the Nevills, this great fortress stands proud and defiant, its history rolling back almost a thousand years.