Fountains Abbey, Ripon

May brought up Fountains Abbey as a must place to go, and since she can't go with me, alone it is :)

Fountain Abbey is..so..far..away. It's in Ripon and to get there, I need to get a bus from Birmingham to Leeds. Phew, 3 hours drive. My ass is killing me by the time I got to Leeds. Because Megabus drops the passengers off at a bus stand, I needed to find my way to the bus station to get my bus-36 to get me to Ripon. It's quite near, I just needed my handy GPS and it's just 6 minutes walk away. From Ripon, it's another bus to the Fountains Abbey and that ride was about 10 minutes away. By the time I reach the Fountains Abbey, the weather was scorching hot, I'm sweating like a pig and my ass is numbed from sitting too long, but the minute I saw the Abbey, the pain is gone.

Huge huge place, it's breathtaking.

The Cellarium (where the monks stored their food)

The Refectory

 For monks who break the rules O.o

 Please don't fall O.o

 The church

The Huby's Tower

 Green Man

 The Guest House 

Anne Boleyn's Seat 

(named after Anne Boleyn because of it's headless statue -.-)

 View from the Anne Boleyn's seat named the 'Suprise View'

 Temple of Fame

 Octagon Tower

 Water Garden and Banqueting House

 I was walking along the deer park hoping to catch some deer's (which by the way, did not find any..) there are no signs indicating where to go and where you are, I ended up walking into a middle of a field.. until now I have no idea how I ended up there. I ended up back tracking, and walking another 40 minutes back to the Abbey.

 Headed back to the Lakeside to get some lunch. 

 View from Banqueting House

Overall, Fountains Abbey is a HUGE place. Looking at the Abbey now, I can't help wondering how grand it must have looked when it was one of the richest abbey in Europe. It is no wonder it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I was suppose to only spend 2 hours top, and head to another location but I lost tracked of time, and.. got lost (remember the field?) Anyways, another great location to visit in the UK. 

Directions from Birmingham:

Bus (Megabus) from Birmingham to Leeds - 3 hours

Leeds to Ripon (Bus 36) - 1 hour 20 minutes

Ripon to Fountains Abbey (Coach 139) - 10 minutes (be warned, last coach is at 4.40pm - I missed it, so I had to call a cab to pick me up -.-)

Chatsworth House

First stop, Chatsworth House!  

From Birmingham, it is a little troublesome to get to Chatsworth House. First, a train ride from Birmingham New Street to Sheffield, since there is a bus from Sheffield which would take me directly to Chatsworth House. 

B6 stand, where I took bus no. 214. Bus ride cost ₤4.80. 

The bus took me directly outside Chatsworth House. 

Little bus stand

 The entrance itself is spectacular and huge

                        

One of the many statues at Chatsworth House

 Entrance into the house. The Golden Carriage

Nearly every ceiling has a painting

 The chapel

 Ceiling chapel

 Drawing Room

 Huge door

 This is a really small bed..

 The library

 The Great Dining Room

Sculpture Gallery

Next, I headed out to the gardens. One word, Incredible! It was such a beautiful day, everything was so green. If only the grass wasn't wet, I would have just sat there all day. 

  

                      

The Cascade Temple

  

 View from inside the Cascade Temple

A pathway leading to..

 The squirting willow tree

 The Ring Pond

and the magnificent view of the house

 Little duckie

 Wildflowers

 Love the red on the tree

After the Gardens, I left Chatsworth House to soak in the field outside. I can't believe I could just walked through the field, with cows grazing, sheeps walking pass me like nobody's business. There are even deer's here! It's a view where I thought only exist in picture books. 

 Entrance to Chatsworth House

 Field of Green

 Queen's Mary Bower (it's 5 minutes away from Chatsworth House)

 Another postcard view of the house by the bridge

Even though I had to switch transportations to get here, but I don't regret coming here. View is amazing, the House is spectacular, not to forget, it's where my favourite Pride and Prejudice was filmed ^^. One of the most go places in the UK.

Just a simple direction on how to get here (if taking public transportation):

Bus from Sheffield bus station (No. 214) - ₤4.80 (stops right outside Chatsworth House)

My fee to get in - ₤13 (Student Discount)

Bus from Chatsworth House to Matlock (No. 214) - ₤2 (to head back to Birmingham New Street-where I transit a train from Derby)