OLD boys from a bygone era of higher education took a trip down memory lane when they revisited a city to hark back on their student days.

Twenty graduates of Durham University, who now live around the country, returned to Hatfield College for a golden jubilee reunion celebration.

Hatfield, like many Durham colleges, used to be male-only and had a reputation for sporting excellence.

But in the barriers have come down in the modern era and women have been admitted at Hatfield since the late-1980s.

The former "Hatfield men", accompanied by wives and partners, enjoyed a fun-packed day, taking in the many changes in the heart of Durham, as well as at the college, which lies on the cathedral and castle peninsula.

Despite the permanent features of the World Heritage Site, members of the party were keen to see just how much Durham had developed since their student days as the freshers of 1953.

Cynthia Connolly, assistant secretary of The Hatfield Association, who helped to organise the reunion with ex-student Professor Bill Heal said she was delighted so many familiar faces made it to Durham.

"Although the college has changed somewhat since 1953, now catering for men and women, the Hatfield blue colours still fly high," she said.