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.
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 -.-)
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