Retirement properties in County Durham

County Durham is generally a warm and welcoming place with plenty of opportunities to get stuck into community life. Durham Community Association at Shakespeare Hall, Durham, for example, offers everything from ballroom dancing to quilting to Tai Chi. 

With such beautiful countryside, it’s not surprising that golf is a popular pursuit, the annual County Durham Golf Trail offers access to four golf courses, South Moor, Beamish, Brancepeth and Blackwell Grange and women can join the popular Durham County Ladies' Golf Association.

Sports fans will enjoy watching Durham County Cricket Club – the prestigious club was founded in 1882, and festival fans are also spoilt for events throughout the year, like Lumiere Durham, ‘the UK’s leading light show’, Durham Book Festival and the annual Bishop Auckland Food Festival.

Did you know? 83% of McCarthy & Stone homeowners experience a sense of community in their new retirement home.

If you are looking for rural property for sale County Durham, or rural property to rent County Durham it’s good to know that McCarthy & Stone properties are always located with good transport connections in mind, so you’ll always have easy access to amenities, shops and attractions.

The county is well connected by A roads and a comprehensive network of bus and rail routes. You can get from Durham to Leeds in an hour and a half by road and from Durham to London by train takes three hours, Durham to Edinburgh takes less than two hours by train.

Teesside International airport offers a convenient range of internal flights and European destinations and Newcastle international airport offers flights to all over the world.

There are plenty walks in County Durham and the surrounding area, from challenging hill walks to gentle trails. About a third of the county is covered by the North Pennines, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Durham Dales, Teesdale and Weardale, offer rugged and remote fells, moorlands and bogs, while the stunning Durham Coast has over 14 miles of dramatically beautiful coastal walks or explore the gorge at Castle Eden Dene National Nature Reserve by foot or by bike. The location of County Durham also provides easy access to the Lake District National Park, and the great Northern cities of Leeds, Hull and York.

The area is home to some of the UK’s most unspoilt beaches too, the sandy stretch of Seaham is very popular and a bit further north you’ll find Seaburn beach near Sunderland which is popular for water sports and even wild swimming. 

No trip to the county would be complete without visiting the delightful city of Durham home to the stunningly majestic Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. These impressive examples of Norman architecture form a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and the cathedral also played a starring role in the Harry Potter film series. 

The pretty town of Darlington has a bustling weekly market as well as stunning Raby Castle, while at Hartlepool you’ll find the fascinating National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool and the HMS Trincomalee. County Durham is also home to the unique Beamish Museum – which brings to life the history of the North East of England from the 1820s onwards.

The attractive market town of Barnard Castle is well worth a visit as is the castle which gave it its name.  In the area you can also visit the Bowes Museum and gardens, set in an attractive French-style Chateau and the ‘secret garden of the North’ at Eggleston Hall – these beautiful gardens even have their own mini Angel of the North.