The day started with a trip to Rievalux Abbey, a very famous set of ruins in North Yorkshire. Rievalux Abbey has its own car park which is free for English Heritage members.
Hidden in the deep River Rye valley, the beautiful and tranquil abbey ruins reflect nearly one thousand years of spiritual, commercial and Romantic history. Rievaulx was one of the first Cistercian abbeys to be founded in England in around 1130, and after the dissolution, became the centre of commercial activity for many years. The abbey forge was used to set up an ironworks on the site. The abbey then entered its Romantic period when its picturesque ruins became a beacon for poets, painters, and scholars. It was one of the first major ruins to be conserved by the Office of Works (ancestor of English Heritage) in 1917.
Not far away is Byland Abbey. We parked here, a short walk away from the Abbey following the road. There is parking in the village of Byland Abbey but it is limited.
Another helpful model of the Abbey to see how it used to look.
