Fountains Abbey

The view of the abbey opened up as I reached the valley bottom. I have to say that it looked awesome as its stone walls glowed golden in the morning sun. It seemed so idyllic, nestled in a wooded valley with a beck running through it. I reckon I could have quite happily made a career of being a monk here. Although, I'd probably would have had to ring in sick when they asked me to attend the 04:00 prayers...and I'd definitely have to work on my singing. Henry VIII put a stop to all the fun though and now the Abbey lays in ruins. A lot of the walls are still intact and it is possible to go wandering around all the various rooms. The reverse side of the NT's trail map had a floor plan of the abbey. I visited the Lavatorium and my O-level Latin failed me, as I assumed it to be the toilets. I should have seen it as an obvious mistake since the Refectory was just next door. It would have added a certain fragrance to the meals. Later research revealed it to be the place where people washed and this made a bit more sense. The Reredorter (the laybrother's toilets) were actually situated next to the river and so I'd guess that back in the day, you'd have to be careful where you got your drinking water. There is actually a lot of the Abbey constructed over the river. It seems an odd thing to do when there is so much land around. It was hard to drag myself away from the buildings, but I had an itinerary to complete and winter days are short. 

Peregrine

'Have you seen the Peregrine yet? I've been told that it goes up to the tower.' My informant was a young lad serving me a coffee in the Mill Café. I confessed that I hadn't seen it. I'd seen lots of crows flying around the Abbey walls and I suspect that they'd harass any predator that trespassed into their territory. I took my coffee outside to a picnic bench and used it for a Peregrine stakeout. I became distracted by a persistent knocking in the tree next to me. It sounded like a muted Woodpecker. I was surprised to find a Great Tit tapping away at a branch. I'd never seen that behaviour from them before. There must have been a buggy treat tucked away in the bark.

After my caffeine hit I went behind the Mill Café to the Old Mill itself. It has been turned into a museum. The old water wheel is in view, although the supply pond next to the mill was completely frozen over, and so there was no way it would be turning today. There was an example of one of the old millstones on display. I've seen many of these discarded across the moors of the Peak District. It did make me wonder where the monks got their supply from. I wandered over to Fountains Hall, but wasn't sure whether you could look around or not, and so I decided to press on and explore the rest of the location. 

The Valley

I followed a trail, away from the Abbey, along a very pretty wooded valley. A sign offered Surprise View, the Temple Of Fame and the Octagon Tower, up in the trees to my right. I couldn't resist and so I branched off the valley trail and wound myself up the hillside on another trail. Surprise View wasn't much of a surprise, since the sign had raised my expectations somewhat. It did provide a wonderful view down the valley to the Abbey at its end. Directly below, the river had formed a lake and then disappeared into the Studley Royal Water Garden, to my right. Surprise View ticked, I continued along the trail and came to the Temple Of Fame. Looking at the stonework, I'd guess that this is a more modern construction. Further along the trail and I reached a building known as the Octagon Tower. I counted 8 sides and so I guess the architect fulfilled his remit. The trail from here headed back down to the valley floor. Almost immediately it went through a curved stone lined tunnel. This was longer and darker than I was expecting. How curious. There again, I suppose it was no more curious than the Temple Of Fame and the Octagon Tower. 

Seven Bridges Valley

I found myself back on the valley floor with three large ponds in front of me, each one home to a statue. I wandered up to a mini-Parthenon know as the Temple Of Piety. It's aura was rather spoilt by some barriers and scaffolding. There was obviously work in progress. I continued down the valley until I reached a large lake. It was partially frozen and I could see some Swans and Seagulls sat on it. I was surprised to find another NT ticket office. It then clicked that it was only the Fountains Abbey grounds that you had to pay for and the the rest of the Studley Royal park was free. Well, not totally free, since you had to pay for the carpark...unless, you are a National Trust member, in which case I presume its free. It's all very complicated and any dispute would require barristers and a Public Enquiry to sort out.

'It's an ice rink up there mate!' A couple were retreating back down the 'Seven Bridges Valley.' 'I'll go as far as I can' I told him. About 5 minutes earlier I'd gone flying; one moment I was vertical and the next I was horizontal on my side. Luckily my cameras were okay. The path certainly was treacherous, with some bottlenecks where I found it impossible to avoid walking on ice. The Seven Bridges Valley does exactly what it says on the tin. It was an out-and-back walk up a wooded valley, following the River Skell and crosses 7 bridges. Well, 14 if you are doing an out-and-back. It was pleasant enough and I soon found myself back at the large lake. 

Deers

My NT Trail Map promised me deer encounters in the Studley Royal Deer park and so I set off in its direction. I came across a crossroads. Off to my right, down an avenue of trees, I could just see Ripon Cathedral; off to my left I could see something that looked like a Saturn V rocked ready to blast off. It wasn't some awol NASA hardware of course; it was St Mary's Church, and I'd meet up with this tremendous building later on.

The NT promised me deer and they weren't wrong. I saw Red, Manchurian Sika and Fallow deer. There are supposed to be around 300 of them and I reckon I saw 50 or so altogether. They are actually the tamest, wild deer I've come across (although it's obviously wise, and best for them, to keep your distance). They seemed to look at me with interest as I walked by, rather than trotting away. A couple of the young bucks had a brief tangle of horns, but it didn't look like their heart was in it. 

St Mary's Church

I made my way around to the Saturn V rocket...sorry, St Mary's Church. It really is a magnificent structure. Looking at its style, I thought it might have been designed by John Loughborough Pearson (see Wentworth Woodhouse Wander and North Of Tynemouth), but in fact the architect was William Burgess. I didn't go inside (it seems to only be open to the public from April to October), which is a bit of a shame, since the décor of the interior looks even more interesting from what I later saw when i Googled it. There is a large obelisk to the west of the church. It was actually constructed before the church and was used as an 'eyecatcher' at the end of the avenue that I'd looked along, earlier in the day. 

The winter sun was getting lower and the shadows were lengthening and so I started making my way back towards the carpark. There was still plenty of ice around and I still had to take care on the trails. The carpark itself was just as icy as it had been this morning. They've forecast an equally cold night tonight. 

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal were far better than I expected. The Abbey is spectacular and the grounds picturesque. The deer provided entertainment too. I almost don't begrudge paying the National Trust a hefty annual lump sum when days like this are on offer.