Fountains Abbey

Since I've run out of current photos until I can go somewhere interesting, and since we've recently had a look at Bolton Priory, I thought I'd repost a collection of my images of Fountains Abbey. Up near Ripon, it's probably one of the UK's most stunning ruined abbeys, now a World Heritage Site. It was a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132, and became one of the wealthiest in England due to its extensive landholdings. That didn't stop Henry VIII dismantling it in the 1500s, and then it was sold and became part of a landowner's estate, eventually becoming a 'romantic ruin' in a vast garden site. It's now in the care of the National Trust. 

I'll let the photos speak for themselves. It's apparent that I often visit in winter! That avoids some of the crowds that converge in summer, though it's always busy. I just might drive over there again soon, though not until the weather has improved a bit.  For more about it's history, see HERE.