Chipping Campden to Durham

A lot of the journey is on the M1/A1 so there's plenty of motorway services - Pontefract may be one good services to stop at in terms of geography.

As for places to see along the way: Stratford upon Avon? Harrogate? York? All nice places though may be difficult to park in.

The A429 is your fastest way to get to the Motorway and it takes you almost straight to Warwick, where you might want to see the castle.

If you choose Stratford-upon-Avon instead, know that the country roads between Chipping Campden and S-u-A are slow, and once you get into town there's likely to be a fair amount of traffic, even on a weekday. You have to pay to park; there's a large parking garage next to the TI (behind the Crowne Plaza, near BridgeFoot) from whence the HoHo bus runs. You could also skip the bus and drive yourself to the outlying sights (Mary Arden's Farm, Anne Hathaway's Cottage) though navigation could be a challenge.

Once you cut over to the M1 -- which you can do via several different routes & I dunno which is best -- there are some highway rest areas. Off the M1, York is a popular destination. Between the Warwick area and the M1 there are lots of what Rick would probably call minor places of interest, it just depends how keen you are to see a relatively small stately home or a garden or parts of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (e.g., if you go up the M6 to the Peak District and then head east).

What about visiting Chatsworth, which is about half way?

https://www.chatsworth.org/

The Bridge Street multi-storey car park referenced above is pay-on-foot and the first hour is free.

Note that there is presently major road construction on the M1 in Leicestershire between J23A and J25, and this also affects joining from the A42.

Thank you all for the great advice! I will certainly look into all of the recommendations.