Leavin's gonna get me down

Or so go the lyrics from Roger Whittaker's 1969 song Durham Town.

I had to leave the family behind packing up many of our daughter's belongings as she prepares to return home next week.

She's had a very enjoyable three year spell in Durham and at last night's gathering of house mates and parents amongst the great fun there was a sense of departure tinged with sadness. Friendships formed will be strong and no doubt will last for decades. But the close camaraderie and banter and in jokes will become something frozen in time.

As I stood on platform 2 of Durham station taking this view of the cathedral and castle I felt the ending of this phase of the family's life.

Durham may feature again, but it will be different.