I Love Travelling But...

Sometimes we lose touch with the past, we get wrapped up in our modern world of cars, planes, trains, work and holidays that we forget what is on our doorstep.  I for one was never any good at History at school... I tried.. ’god loves a tryer’ my mum says...and I managed to scrape a result.  I do very much enjoy listening to someone explaining about history...the stories behind things...the tales, letting your imagination run wild as you picture what life must have been like hundreds of years ago...I just struggle to remember it all!

So imagine casting your mind back to 1132!... no...not 11.32am or pm... I mean the year 1132...the place...Fountains Abbey...near Aldfield...2 miles south west of Rippon, North Yorkshire...England.

It is here that one of the most amazing ruined Cistercian monastery’s I’ve ever seen was constructed...and still stands today...well...barely.

It’s the first time I’ve visited this place and I wasn’t sure what to expect when I was told we were going for a walk in the grounds of an old monastery.  Normally I’d have said ‘Can’t we walk around a golf course instead’... but we were going to entertain the kids... 3 of them...all under the age of 8.

We pack up a picnic, sandwiches, cheeses, fruit, cake and juice...and all the associated wipes, bags, flasks and cutlery... oh... and Pete the dog.  Who, by the way, is a dog lovers dream... here is a retriever that has never barked once in all the years I’ve known him, fiercely loyal, and is a fully trained gun dog...he loves going shooting.  He is amazing with the children and shows affection befitting a human...any way... back to the story.

We all jump in the car and make the 30 minute journey with the usual ‘are we nearly there’... ‘I need a wee’...and Harry falling asleep as he normally does in the car.

We arrive around lunchtime and unpack the car of bags, kids and the dog and head into the grounds... imagine my amazement when I set eyes on this!!!

WOW doesn’t describe it’s beauty.  It’s incredible.  I’ll let you look at some of the pictures so you can judge for yourself. (click on them to enlarge them)

We walk around the ruins, climbing and laughing, taking photo’s and kids jumping from rock to rock.  We stop for lunch at the back of the Abbey...setting out our picnic blanket and unpacking all the lovely food...yum...lunchtime.

With frizzbie in hand we mess around for a while until we decide we need an ice-cream.  Normally, if you’d have told me I need to walk nearly a mile and half to get one I would have jumped in my car...but this place is so beautiful , you feel compelled to explore on foot...briefly imagining what it must have been like to walk these grounds over 800 years ago.

So we stop by the lake to enjoy our fresh and much needed ice-creams...strawberry...mmmm my favourite.

On the walk back we walk through the statue gardens in awe of the elegance and grace.

But it’s this final picture that stuns me...finding amazing photo opportunities like this don’t come very often and just makes me feel proud to be British...it kind of captures the ‘Robin Hood’ type feel...totally back to nature... the essence, the peacefulness and sheer beauty of the forest and woodland areas in Britain.

I urge you to visit this place... and all the other wonderful sights around Britain protected by the National Trust and World Heritage...before they are gone for good...before there really is nothing left to see.