Loes and I were off to her house in Harewood for a very sociable
Christmas with her family and friends.
The week also included a first visit (for me) to Fountains
Abbey, part of the Studley Royal Estate near Ripon.
We only managed a walk around the lake and the old Abbey today,
but that means we have the majority of Studley Royal Park to
explore at some point in the future.
The Decorated welcoming arch of The Harewood
Estate, along with one of many Christmas trees.
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Christmas Eve, the day before my birthday,
was celebrated by a nice meal at home.
I raided the fridge and freezer
and a Christmas Hamper from the Village Hall
in Ennerdale Bridge (The Gather)
which we had brought with us from Cumbria,
to make a rather nice Fish Platter.
I even impressed myself !
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Christmas was family time for Loes this year.
Robin (her son) and his wife Rosie had already joined
us
a few weeks ago for an early Christmas weekend.
Tomorrow we would entertain Loes's daughter
so I put the birthday champagne in the fridge to
cool.
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Peter and Danielle (seen here on holiday in
the summer) arrived with the news that
they had become engaged after living together
for several years.
It seemed my birthday excuse to celebrate had
been "top-trumped" by a wedding proposal !
Still the bubbly tasted just as good either
way.
Boxing day was equally sociable with close friends
Miranda and John (both on the right) who brought their family
over for an evening meal.
Left to right . . . Sophie and Sam, Loes, Feodora
and Alexander (seated).
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Boxing Day
dawned fine so Loes and I headed north towards Ripon. |
The first views of
Fountains Hall from the West Gate bridge. |
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This is the impressive frontage
and entrance to Fountains
Hall Ref:
Wikipedia
The house was built between 1598 and 1611,
partly with stone from the ruins of Fountains Abbey
which had closed following the dissolution of the
Monasteries
by order of Henry VIII in 1539.
Fountains Hall was sold some 150 years later
and incorporated into the Studley Royal Estate.
In its time the hall has also hosted royalty,
notably King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen
Mother).
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The Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved
Cistercian Monasteries in Britain
and is set in beautifully maintained grounds
alongside the River Skell.
Six springs within the site inspired the monks
to name it Fountains
Abbey
The Great Tower seen over the Refectory and
other administrative buildings of the Abbey.
The original abbey was built of wood but was
soon re-developed in stone.
The tower was 160 foot tall and was one of the
later additions to the structure, only some 13 or so years before
the Dissolution.
Many of the Cloisters and accommodation halls
for the monks and lay workers were built spanning the river.
These included the Infirmary, the kitchens and
conveniently, the toilets.
The ruins were bought along with the grounds
and were incorporated into the Studley Royal Estate,
which no doubt led to the detailed landscaping
of the whole area.
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They are now owned by the National Trust,
open to the public
and have aquired World Heritage status.
On our visit today we would just visit
the Abbey and the grounds close to the West Gate.
Here the River Skell heads off down the valley
and landscaping has incorporated
several weirs and waterfalls along the way.
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The walk would follow the river down to the
"Swan Lake" (my name).
No sign of the famous swans . . .
. . . only joking !
Looking back at the Abbey.
We crossed the river and had views of the extensive
water gardens and estate that is known as Studley Royal.
However, today we would turn at this point and
retrace our steps, but on the opposite side of the river.
A view of the Chapel of 9 Alters that made up
the eastern section of the main Abbey.
Unusually the Great Tower was built to the north
of the Nave rather than over the centre of the building.
This was probably due to being built at a much
later date than the main structure.
We headed over to the river to look at the Abbots
House and Infirmary area.
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Though in
ruins, the remains were impressive. |
Loes heads into the
main Abbey. |
Looking west down the main Knave.
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Once inside
you really appreciate the scale of the building. |
The columns must have
held a spectacular ceiling and roof. |
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Quiet
organ music from a hidden loudspeaker drew us into
the Tower . . . |
. . . as did the sounds
of carols from the covered Cloisters. |
Click
here for a short YouTube
video to soak in the atmosphere of the day.
(with possible apologies from the trumpet
player who had a bad day at one point)
Right click the link and "open in
a new window" or back-arrow he YouTube screen to return
here after viewing.
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Time for us to be heading back home as we
had another activity lined up for later.
These were marked as "Houses for Strangers"
. . . presumably a guest house in the Abbey for visiting dignitaries.
The one building that survived the Dissolution
was Fountains Mill,
presumably because it was used by the local
population and was separate from the ecclesiastical organisation.
The modern Mill Tearooms were close to the
mill stream outflow.
This picture was from earlier. Sadly
on our return closer to lunchtime it was packed out and we
chose not to queue.
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In the evening we had an invite to Sam and
Sophie's home and neighbourhood in Leeds.
The Kirkstall area of the city had a window
display, where private owners had decorated their windows
for Christmas.
Window number three was rather good.
Number 10 window also showed artistic merit
. . . and inside was the offer of tea and home made mince
pies.
What a great close to Christmas in Yorkshire.
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Technical note: Pictures taken
with my iPhone 11pro mobile phone camera.
Resized in Photoshop, and built
up on a Dreamweaver web builder.
This site best viewed with
. . . future opportunities for walks revealed.
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Hi Roger,
Hope you and Loes had a good Christmas, it certainly
was busy judging by your latest post.
I used to live in Kirkstall many years ago, they
didn’t run the Christmas window competition
then.
Fountains Abbey is a place John and I have visited
a couple of times – usually on our way back
from the cricket at Durham.
The first time we visited we interrupted a wedding
celebration as the couple had chosen to have their
reception in the grounds of the Abbey – picture
enclosed.
Angela . . . (Peakwalker)
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