Fountains Abbey

We visited Fountains Abbey two days ago — right after visiting Rievaulx Abbey — and the two sites are perfect for visiting on the same day. The ruins at Fountains Abbey can be seen «up close» and they’re fascinating. There’s also a walk along the water to the gardens, but we didn’t think the gardens were at all worth the extra walk; in fact, they were rather crummy-​looking. However, the abbey ruins are *very* well worth visiting (and worth the admission price).
The Visitor’s Center has a very attractive and good-​sized gift shop with some nice items. Also; the two women working at the ticket desk were *very* friendly.
Note that the amount of walking is substantial, and there’s a steep climb uphill when returning to the Visitor’s Center.

This place is pretty awesome — in fact it better had be as it’s an Unesco world heritage site and I’m sure they just don’t give out these awards willy nilly!
Situated in North Yorkshire, a great part of the world with Harrogate, York and Knaresborough just around the corner it’s a load of old ruins which have stood up to the test of weathering quite well considering the Abbey’s were dissolved by Henry the 8^th back in the day. The painter Turner was inspired by this area and produced some great paintings back in the day — and it still draws loads of painters and photographers to the area to try and recreate these images!
A National trust site, it’s free with membership but £11 entry on the day — not bad value as the miles of gardens with incredible man made lakes will keep you occupied for hours.
There’s 2 food options — just at the main entrance there’s a large café (scones and sausage & mash were ace) and there’s a smaller tea rooms in the far part of the park near the deer grounds.
Overall a fantastic place to get out to and enjoy a day — it was also such a sunny day that this made it deserve a 6^th «enjoying life» star!