Wednesday (24.07.2024) was probably the warmest day of our two weeks in Ripon. At a high of 24C, with a mix of sun and clouds and a pleasant breeze, it was a summer‘s day directly out of a picture book.We chose that day for a walk to Fountains Abbey, as we do every year at least once during our stay here.
From our cottage to the large area that combines Studley Royal (deer park and water garden) and Fountains Abbey (the actual abbey ruins as well as Fountains Hall, Fountains Mill and a few other buildings) run by the National Trust, it takes about an hour at a leisurely pace.
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St. Mary‘s, the beautiful church in the deer park, was closed for lack of volunteers. |
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Entrance to St Mary‘s |
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View from the church towards Ripon, all the way to the cathedral |
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another door to the church, rather narrow… |
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…and a much wider one. |
The visitor centre has a shop we very much like and nearly always leave with some purchase or other; this time, I found a book I wanted. Next door is a restaurant where we sat at an outdoors table for lunch.From there, we made our way to Fountains Hall, where we found the four rooms open to the public furnished differently from previous years, and new guide sheets with information about the hall itself and each room. The gardens between the hall and the river are particularly beautiful this time of year, and the summer house (built in 1911) has always been a firm favourite of ours. Next was the mill, with an exhibition of sketches and paintings by Peter M. Hicks. I liked some of the preparatory sketches more than the finished paintings.
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The grass and wild flowers around the mill have grown very high. |
On to the ruins, as impressive as always. With the wet spring and summer the area has been having, the plants on the walls are more abundant than usual. It looks beautiful but is of course not ideal for the already crumbling structures.
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stairway to heaven |
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looking back towards the abbey |
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and forward to Studley Royal water garden |
Before we left the estate, we stopped at the tea room at Studley Lake for cold drinks and a brownie. ![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0gPyLa7S2eVDHN6MBg_aCa-uWi-Yu09qIaX9IeivfdS95IujNdJjOmpj_ZAPfCYl_GXWTY2n3LR2iIzCrHC5a4H7XCIsVavZnxn7g_RqPazrQimgIgiYlhVXbEusTgsQeJZL7oTX4KDqGZ-BcygZVUQoXHiQ72r7uUT0L4Y8Emhq0Exnt8_3V1I3PYWY/s320/IMG_0839.jpeg) |
Studley Lake with the tea room to the right |
Back at the cottage, it was still warm and nice enough for us to sit on the bench outside. In the garden, a set of swings had been set up since our 2023 visit, and our landlady got the swing seat out of the shed for us.
Glad you made it, Meike! Wonderful photos. I find St Mary's somewhat over the top, but fascinating. I confess I've not made it to Fountains Hall yet - and I really should.
ReplyDeleteYes, St Mary‘s is a little overwhelming, but beautiful, and unlike any other church I have ever seen. Fountains Hall is a place I can well imagine having one or two ghosts, and I would love to explore it from top bottom.
DeleteWow! What a busy day and you sure covered a lot of ground. An hour walk there and another hour walk back along with all of the exploring and walking you did around the grounds, I can see why it felt so good to put your feet up and relax on the swing!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful place to tour, though!
It is the perfect place for a day out, and vast enough for it never to feel too busy even on a fine day during school holidays.
DeleteLovely to see Fountains Abbey again (through your eyes)... I probably repeat it every year, but I visited the ruins on a family holiday trip way back in my teens. I don't think we visited the Hall or other buildings, though.
ReplyDeleteYes, Monica, you have mentioned the family holiday before, and I am glad when my posts trigger memories of that time.
DeleteFountains Hall, the mill and other buildings might not have been open to the public yet in the 70s. Also, many people who (unlike us) do not have all day may limit themselves to the ruins of the abbey and then return to their cars.