Duke visits Fountain Abbey and Studley Royal
Repawter: Duke

I want to tell you about my visit I took earlier this year to Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal National Trust.
It’s a National trust venue but also free to English Heritage members in Ripon, North Yorkshire.


It has 2 different experiences an Abbey Ruins and then moves into a Georgian water garden that has been a world heritage site since 1986.

There are 2 main car parks one at either end of the sites along with the west gate which is a disabled priority car park. At the west gate car park battery powered wheelchairs can be borrowed (must be pre ordered).

The overall site is 800 acres with a circular 2.5 mile wheelchair route. On this occasion we parked at the fountains abbey car park as it has 6 electric charging points so the Dukemobile was put on charge. (Free to use recommended £2 donation).

The abbey has ruins of the main church, refectory, infirmary and brewhouse to name some it it. Continuing away from the abbey you move down towards the water garden.

The water garden has the lots to see - the river, half moon reservoir a rustic bridge and 3 ponds and Sculpture before leading into the lower canal and then the Studley lake.

I enjoy walking all these but to make the trip more exciting until the 19th September there is “These Passing Things” 3 temporary installations by Steve Messam an environmental artist from County Durham.

The first is “Bridged” an arch high over the River Skell where the red colour stands out from all the green landscape around.

Then we moved down to “spiked” a starburst of yellow poking out from the Temple of Piety.
For some reason Star and I weren’t allowed to get too close. In case our teefs got to close to the spikes. (Pop)

The last installation was after a quick stop for a drink in the cafe at the bottom entrance. “Drifted” was floating pyramids to a scaled version of a pyramid that never got built at the site.

As well as getting a leaflet telling you about the installations there is also a kids activity sheet to do. Hoomans got one of the Souvenir guides of the site as it has some amazing photographs that is far better than hoodad could hope to achieve.

Even without the installations the site is well worth a visit for all the family and hounds.
Until next time
Love and licks
Duke x