Is Durham skateboard-friendly?

Hi,

I am an upcoming postgrad student this September. It turns out that my allocation for college accommodation sent me to Dryburn Court which is pretty far from Science Site either by bus or walking. And that makes my college membership changed as well by uni (I have no choice).

So, I just wondering that is Durham a skate-friendly town? I know that the road is hilly even for bike. So, I can decide that I should bring my skate and grind it to the building or not.

Thanks a lot!

Hi,
I don't live there but I did visit (I'm applying to Durham in a couple months for undergrad psych) and I'd say it seemed relatively skateboard friendly. The only real problem was how hilly the area is- If you're going to one of the sites up the hill, you will not be able to get there by skateboard. Seriously, I had to go the long way round (through grass and things) because I couldn't even WALK up the hill, I just kept tumbling backwards. (Then again, I do have mobility issues, but I know I wouldn't have been able to bike that either).

However, the town itself seems to have relatively good roads and pavements, so I think although getting to class may prove challenging if the science site is at the top of the hill, you'll probably find that the rest of the town (the shops, library, etc) are eay to get around by skateboard.

Good luck!

Hi there

I wouldn't say that it's a very skateboard-friendly town. For one, there are some cobble-stone paths on which it would be difficult to skate plus as someone has mentioned, the science site gets very busy during term-time because of students walking on the pavements so that will be a hassle too. Bringing a bike would still be a better option because you can get storage around the campus easily. And from what I can see, there's a very straightforward bus route to the science site and it takes about 20 mins to get there so if you time it right, I think this can work as well.

-Himieka

Hi Himieka,

Thank you very much for this insight. I will be taking that into consideration about me taking my skateboard to uni. Not sure that they have the skatepark around the town, if so, I may still bring it to uni just for some casual grind but not exactly used it as commuting method.

I did some research and found out that there is skateboarding society at Durham, but they seem to be inactive on their social media since 2019. Do you have any idea about this? And, are there any good bike shop in Durham? I am a postgrad student, so not sure that buying a new one would be an ideal option here as my program is only one year.

Thanks!
M