Knaresborough & A World Heritage Site Pt. II

An Autumn vista from the secret view, looking towards the Abbey.

A 20 minute drive through undulating country lanes, scarcely wide enough for two cars, brought us to the entrance and visitors centre of Studley Royal Gardens and Fountains Abbey from Knaresborough. Thankfully the park is well signposted near enough the entire way from Knaresborough, as modern technology in the form of internet signal once again proved that it's not quite as reliable as a good old paper map. North Yorkshire may also potentially be a black hole to the advances of GPS signals. After driving over the dipping blind spots and sharp turns of the countryside roads, giving us the same butterflies that you get from a modern day rollercoaster, we entered the gated grounds of Studley Royal Water Gardens, one of UNESCO's 1031 listed World Heritage sites. The park is preserved and maintained by a combination of UNESCO, National Trust and English Heritage, all of which made our visit very memorable.

The bell tower of Foundations Abbey from the dreaded sheep field.

The extensive ruins of Fountains Abbey.

The visitors centre is made up of a cafe, information desk, toilet facilities and a large shop, selling National Trust merchandise and local produce, as is the norm at these kinds of attractions. Entering through the grounds, you take a pleasant stroll through countryside fields and wooded footpaths. When I was younger I used to hike in the Peak District National Park and one of my most memorable days, not for the right reasons, was getting charged by a ram so it's fair to say I am not their biggest fan. Unfortunately for me, my dad mentioned this to Lidya and her family, so I seem to be the brunt of a long and tedious (for me anyway) ongoing joke. Therefore I had little to no sympathy for Lidya when we walked through a field, on our way to Fountains Abbey, of a large herd of grazing sheep. Now these sheep were the most dormant of livestock, munching away on the grass, but it didn't stop Lidya squeezing and cutting the circulation in my arm whenever one raised its head in our general direction. Coupled with the fact that being brought up in Jakarta, Indonesia, she's unused to pheasants and their often hectic movements, she was very wary of all these hugely 'menacing' animals around us. After recovering her composure we walked along the footpath, the ruinous bell tower of the abbey towering above the trees in front of us, silhouetted against the darkening Autumn sky above us, the aura complete by the cawing of black ravens swarming around the abandoned steeple. Having meandered around a bend through the wooded lane, the extensive grounds of the abbey opened up in front of us forming a vast foundation of what was clearly a magnificent church in its heyday. The grand arches still stood over the entrances, a labyrinth of passageways and corridors jinked through the ancient masonry. Arriving at the western church arch you stand in awe as you grasp the size of the cathedral, still imposing despite being the the grand old age of 800. When considering that this was built all those centuries ago it makes it even harder to comprehend how much of an astonishing accomplishment of architecture this is, coupled with the fact that it's in the middle of nowhere! To the right of the church at the western

Vaulted Cellarium.

doorway is the cellarium, a 100m long vaulted cavern, spine tingling in the day and goodness knows what at night. The one defining feature of any cathedral is the bell tower and until we stood immediately in its presence we didn't quite appreciate the shear size of this one. Despite being a hollow shell, the roofs of the major of the Abbey buildings have since fallen in, the enormity of the cavity still made a resounding echo as Lidya tested with great effect. The arched doorway alone must
have exceeded 10 metres in height. We spent at least half an hour just winding around the rocky outcrops of foundations visualising what and where everything used to be in its glory days. One of the striking features of the smaller buildings attached to the abbey was the refectory where the monks would eat and socialise. Protruding through the ceiling was a chimney, clearly where the large stove had been as there was a large squared out crevice in the side of the wall. I attempted to take a photo looking from the fire place up through the chimney chute, as the National Trust Instagram challenge was to shoot 'Looking Up', but the local ravens had different ideas, perched on the top it decided it would have a poo, fortunately missing me by inches. I took that as a sign that I shouldn't be entering the photography contest!

The bell tower.

After wandering around the ruins we had a walk through Studley Royal Park, an eighteenth century landscaped water garden, complete with Romanesque mausoleums and columned temples. To the west of the abbey is Fountains Hall, a Victorian era period house, built partially from the stones of the collapsed abbey. Although we didn't walk around the house, the grand facades, sculptures and prettily trimmed and maintained gardens add a charming and very much still living aspect to the area.

The facade of Fountains Hall, a Victorian era house.

This section of the grounds has a cafe and information centre for all the details about the life and times of the Abbey. As we visited in Autumn, the trees were just starting to changed hues and go through the brilliantly vibrant process of shedding leaves, the old stone built bridge over the passing stream complimented superbly with the splashes of orange and yellow of the oak trees.

We strolled along the sculptured valley bottom to the east of the abbey, passed a collage of colour and shapes as the foliage of the range of common and more peculiar trees mingled together. We walked the forested path, above the water ponds, snaking along a path with little surprises at each turn: Anne Boleyn's seat, named after a headless statue which was situated here more than 300 years ago, has a glorious view over the lake towards the abbey in the distance (top photo), only marred by the digger employed in maintenance work; the temple of fame, a columned domed structure featuring a giant sculptured birds nest with a cracked egg shell; the octagon tower, pretty self explanatory, with a hall of mirrors inside and a balcony overlooking the water gardens below; and the serpentine tunnel, a pitch black bricked tunnel, complete with freakishly placed doorways throughout to scare even the hardened soul. Why? I have no idea! All I know is the light on my phone did little to illuminate the passageway, it only enhanced the mysterious doorways and portrayed odd looking shadows on the way. Remember the 

The Octagon Tower.

circulation being cut off in my arm because of the terrifying sheep? Well if it had all but returned to normal it was about to be stopped for a second time!

Having survived the tunnel we succeeding in making it to coffee shop number II, after passing the water garden over a small wooden bridge. Here you can enjoy a tea, soup and slice of cake enjoying the picturesque lake and water sculptures. The distance between the Abbey and the cafe is around a mile and a further mile brings you full circle back to the visitors centre so it concludes a good walk. The last stretch of the grounds is through a 'deer' park. I could sense a third and final loss of blood circulation to my right arm but having tiptoed apprehensively to the peak of the field we saw no deer. I had no i-deer (dad joke) where they were! (I apologies profusely for that). The last highlight of day was the church of St. Mary, an 1870's church, exquisitely decorated with stain glass and marbled stonework, plus a beautiful organ. Even though it's not as awe inspiring as the ruins of Fountains Abbey, let's hope that St. Mary's is better preserved in its current state that the state the grand abbey finds its self in today.

   

 

The Facts

Studley Royal Gardens is according to UNESCO one of the finest examples of 18th century landscaped gardens to survive it close to its original form, having influence all over Europe. It was the owner of Studley Royal, John Aislabie, who transformed the grounds into their current state back in the early to mid 1700's. The Abbey began life after 1132 when defected monks from York started to build their own at its current location. The abbey today is the largest medieval ruins in the whole of the U.K.. St. Mary's church is claimed to be the masterpiece of English Victorian architect William Burges. For any further information check out the websites of either English Heritage, National Trust or UNESCO.

Ratings

The Abbey - 5

Studley Royal Gardens - 3

St. Mary's Church - 3

Fountains Hall - (didn't visit)

St. Mary's Church.