Rievaulx Abbey

Absolutely breathtaking. The visitor's centre is very well thought out, and we appreciated that they had tables outside for us to enjoy our picnic directly in front of the ruins. The circular trail to go there from Helmsley is a pretty easy one (it does last about 4 hours and you need appropriate shoes, and bring some water). The audioguide is probably too long though, and if you plan on visiting the terrace as well, get the 2 in 1 ticket which is cheaper overall.

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I have visited 3 English Heritage sites since the beginning of April, and this has been the most tremendous so far! The remaining are so tall and spacious, that its greatness makes your heart stop for a moment. It’s a magical place and even reminded me of The Chronicles of Narnia. Also I would recommend purchasing a guidebook as it provides so much more detail about how the Abbey originally looked, and how the brothers lived at the time.

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Absolutely Gigantic. Visit early, you WILL need the entire day to explore the entire site. We arrived at 12, left at 5, and still missed afew things!!! because my parents were clearly getting bored while i was not hahaha. Be sure to visit the watch-tower that's on the side of the dining area! It's hidden away and you'd never know it was there apart from the little doorway it has. If you want to listen to music at the site, bring something that doesn't need Wi-Fi!!! i wanted to listen to Golden Brown as i had seen a post of this place on Instagram with that song & i wanted to mentally recreate it but there was no service lol so i just had to sing it in my head while i walked around 😂😂😂

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What an absolutely amazing place to visit. In all honestly this makes Whitby Abbey look bad and I never thought I'd say that. Rievaulx Abbey, founded in 1132, was the first Cistercian abbey in the north of England and became one of the wealthiest monasteries in England. It was seized during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. The abbey's ruins are a popular tourist attraction, and the wider site has been awarded Scheduled Ancient Monument status. Rievaulx Abbey's history is a testament to the Cistercian order's influence and the monks' dedication to a life of prayer and self-sufficiency.

· via Google