A RANGE of events will be held to mark St Cuthbert’s Day on Wednesday (March 20).

This year’s celebrations will have special significance as the Lindisfarne Gospels, created partly in honour of Cuthbert – the patron saint of Northumbria, will be loaned to Durham for three months this summer.

Tickets for the exhibition, which opens in July, will go on sale on Wednesday.

Also, the Northumbrian Association, which campaigned for the Gospels’ return, will stage its annual pilgrimage from Chester-le-Street to Durham Cathedral.

The parade will halt in Durham Market Place for music and entertainment at 2.30pm.

An outdoor market will be open from 9am.

A replica of St Cuthbert’s Banner, created last year at a cost of £35,000, will be carried from the Market Place to the cathedral for 3pm.

A special cathedral service will include prayers of thanksgiving for the life of John Danby, who led the Northumbrian Association until his death on New Year’s Eve.

The following Saturday (March 23), the cathedral will celebrate ‘Cuthbert-tide’ by being open from 10am to 3pm for free family events and tours.

Future plans for the cathedral’s development, known as the Open Treasure project, will also be on display.