It was less than a week ago that we‘d been to Fountains Abbey, but we had planned from the start to go at least twice during this year‘s Yorkshire holiday, and so we set off again after breakfast on Tuesday (30.07.2024).
It was yet another sunny day, and at 26C very warm for this part of the world. Our hats came in very handy.
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| Entrance to Studley Royal deer park |
This time, we waited until St. Mary‘s opened at 1:00 pm, and paid a brief visit to this church, opulently decorated by William Burgess.The visitor centre is a short walk away from there, and by now we were ready for a late lunch of toasties and elderflower lemonade. All to support the National Trust, of course!  |
| View of Marmaduke Huby‘s tower from the path… |
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…and from the garden at Swanley Grange, a farm in the grounds of Fountains, open for visitors and offering activities for (mostly) children.
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| Swanley Grange, as seen from the garden. |
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| Holiday rent near Fountains Mill. I’d love to have a look inside! |
We didn‘t go into Fountains Hall, the summer house or Fountains Mill, since we didn‘t expect any changes there since last week. Instead, we took a different path back along the river, offering good views of the abbey ruins. |
| Last glimpse of the abbey before going round the bend and entering the water garden |
The Studley Royal water garden ends by the lake, and we got cold drinks from the tea room there, sitting outside in the shade before tackling the walk back to Ripon.
Paths have been mowed in among the high grass and wild flowers of the deer park, and we went to explore one of them, taking us up to the high ground above Seven Bridges Valley. The pictures do not really show how high up we were from the bottom of the valley, but it was really beautiful. At one time, I spotted a hare by the side of the path, but before I could get my mobile out to take a picture, he or she noticed me and ran off.
Following the path, the view opened towards Ripon, with the cathedral clearly visible in the distance. It really was a beautiful way to cross the deer park, much better than along the straight lane that can get quite busy with cars.  |
| The cathedral can be seen more or less in the middle between the trees. |
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| Back at the entrance to Studley Royal, coming from a different direction than usual. |
Back at the cottage after more than 13.5 km of walking (mostly) in the sun, we needed a rest and retreated to our respective bedrooms for a while. We‘ve now had our fill of this marvellous place - got to make it last for a year!
As usual, lovely photos of the countryside and buildings, Meike! I especially liked the one of that bare tree out in the middle of the field with its arms outstretched soaking up the sun! ;)
ReplyDeleteStudley Royal has so many wonderful old trees, I could have taken many more pictures. But there is something special about big old dead trees, isn‘t there - they may be dead, but still providing shelter for all sorts of animals, and eventually make way for new life and nurturing the soil.
DeleteBeautiful views and photos, especially of the ruined abbey. So are you heading back to Germany now?
ReplyDeleteWe‘re going back on Monday, and back to work on Tuesday, which will be tough but it was the best options for the cottage and train connections.
DeleteI have enjoyed reading your day to day up-dates on your visit to Yorkshire. I have not commented because I do not know much about the county. I have stayed once on the Durham/Yorkshire border in a cottage but said never again. I prefer a hotel where everything is done for me. I hope you journey back goes well.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachel!
DeleteIf it weren‘t for the family connections through my late husband, I guess I would have never visited Yorkshire, but I am really glad I have.
I do love a good hotel where everything is done for me, too, and usually O.K. and I stay at just such places when we go for our hiking holidays in May and September.