Saturday at Fountains Abbey

Yes, again! My sister had bought Explorer Passes for us from the National Trust, valid for eight days. Our first visit was on Tuesday, so we were well within that for our second visit on Saturday (25 July).

This time, we walked in on a slightly different route, entering the estate at the tea house by the lake and making our way towards the abbey on the other side of the river.

A sign pointed to the Banqueting House being open, and since I had been there many years ago but didn‘t find it open then, we decided to have a look. And that little detour was well worth it!

The view from the Banqueting House goes straight to the Octagonal Tower on the other side of the river Skell‘s valley. Nothing was left to coincidence here when the grounds of the estate were designed.

I love such puzzles and mysteries as the one about the painting of the (presumed) Sultan of Surat! 

Back at Marmaduke Huby‘s tower

By the time we had walked past the ruins of the abbey and reached the visitor centre at the top end of the estate, lunch was a good idea, and we still had a good choice of tables at the restaurant before many more people arrived. I enjoyed my Cornish pasty; a hot meal was welcome after having walked a while in the very windy weather.

At the shop I bought a few little souvenirs and then we walked to St. Mary‘s. We had timed today‘s visit deliberately to find the church open and had a good look around. We‘d been inside before, but that was years ago.

Floor mosaic in front of the altar

Spiral stairs leading up to the organ

Back at the cottage, a rest was followed by coffee/tea on the bench in front of the house. Food shopping at Aldi was next, and for our evening meal I made avocado on toast with a leafy salad and coleslaw.

I ended the day facetiming with my husband.