Quiz Nights in Durham: Where to Test Your Trivia

There is something reliably good about a Durham pub quiz. A cold night, a warm room, a scribbled team name, and the small, serious business of arguing over which member of the group definitely knows the capital of Kazakhstan. The city packs a lot of trivia into a small footprint, from riverside bars on Saddler Street to tucked-away locals up the hill, and most nights of the week you can find a table somewhere. This is a guide to the regular fixtures, written for anyone wanting to turn a quiet midweek pint into something with a bit more competitive spark.

One important note before you set off: quiz nights rotate, pause over holidays, and change host more often than any other pub event. Days and start times drift, so treat everything below as a starting point and confirm the current night directly with the pub before you turn up with a full team.

The Library, Saddler Street

Right on the road up to the cathedral, The Library is one of the busier central pubs, with a patio that looks out over the Wear. Its quiz has run on Thursday evenings using SpeedQuizzing, the smartphone format where you answer on your phone rather than scribbling on a sheet, which keeps things quick and a little frantic. It tends to pair with the pub's cheaper Thursday pricing, so it draws a lively student and local crowd. Nights and hosts here do change, so check ahead if you are making a special trip.

Best for: Best for a fast-paced, phone-based quiz right in the city centre.

Station House, North Road

A wedge-shaped real-ale bar set into the old waiting room beside the railway viaduct, Station House is a proper conversation pub, opened by CAMRA members and run with an emphasis on good beer and good chat. It has hosted a Monday quiz, reported variously as weekly and as running roughly every other week, with a small entry fee and a cash prize for the winning table. Team sizes are usually kept modest, which suits the cosy room. Because the schedule has shifted between weekly and fortnightly, it is well worth confirming the next date before you go.

Best for: Best for real ale, a small friendly room, and a cash-prize table.

The Colpitts Hotel, Hawthorn Terrace

Tucked up on Hawthorn Terrace, the Colpitts Hotel is a late-Victorian Samuel Smith's pub with an unusual A-shaped layout, a snug, and the sort of quiet, telly-free atmosphere where conversation does all the work. Its quiz has been a cheerful £1-a-head affair, often with a rotating host and prizes that change week to week, which keeps the tone relaxed rather than cut-throat. It is a short walk out from the centre and rewards anyone who likes their trivia in an old-fashioned, chatty setting. As ever, check the current night before heading up.

Best for: Best for a low-key, low-cost quiz in a classic traditional pub.

Ye Old Elm Tree, Crossgate

Reckoned to be one of Durham's oldest pubs, Ye Old Elm Tree sits on Crossgate a short stroll from the market place and leans hard into its history and its regulars. It has run a well-established weekly quiz, and has also offered an online version for those who cannot make it in person, which is a nice touch for a pub that clearly enjoys the format. The rooms are small and characterful, so an early arrival helps if you want a good table. Confirm the current quiz night with the pub, as timings here have moved around.

Best for: Best for a historic pub with a long-running, well-loved quiz.

The Dun Cow, Old Elvet

The Dun Cow is one of Durham's most photographed pubs, a narrow, timber-fronted local on Old Elvet with a snug at the front that feels barely changed in decades. It is exactly the kind of place a quiz belongs: intimate, unhurried, and full of regulars who take their general knowledge seriously. Quiz nights here have tended towards the start of the week, but as with everywhere on this list the schedule can change, so a quick call ahead is the safe move. Either way it is a lovely spot for a pint before or after the questions start.

Best for: Best for a characterful, historic local with a cosy front snug.

A few more worth a look

Durham has more quizzes than any single evening can cover, and the roster shifts with the seasons and the students. The Shakespeare Tavern, one of the city's tiny old boozers off Saddler Street, is worth asking about for its events. The Bridge Hotel has been named among the city's popular quiz nights, and the Holy Grale has hosted a self-styled eccentric quiz on alternate weeks, though we have not confirmed a current fixed listing for either. For the freshest picture, useyourlocal.com keeps a live Durham quiz list, and most pubs post the week's plans on their social pages.

Whichever you pick, the etiquette is the same across town: arrive early enough to get a table, keep phones face-down unless the quiz actively uses them, and be gracious in both victory and the far more common defeat. Durham quizzes are as much about the room as the result, and half the fun is the walk between the cathedral, the river, and whichever warm bar you have chosen for the night.

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