Bolton Abbey

Another classic post from the archives--"this past weekend" was in October 2011!

We visited Bolton Abbey this past weekend (which may be a long, long time ago depending on when you read this). It was a fun Saturday adventure wandering over hill and dale, through ruin and rain. We parked at the first parking lot we came too, which was also the closest one to the ruins of the abbey and the still functioning church. We did have to walk through a little bit of the town and a big hole in the wall to get there.

Sneaking in to the Abbey!

Wandering down the hill, J wanted to see the big bridge and waterfalls we could hear below. We wandered over. My wife and I remembered visiting long ago and seeing the stepping stones across the river. I can't remember if we used them but I don't remember the bridge being there either. We walked out across the bridge but came back so we could visit the abbey.

Check out that bridge AND waterfall...

And stones to walk across the water!

J's favorite part of the bridge

This abbey is unique in that it is both a ruins and a functioning church. During the closing of the monasteries, this church was divided in half and partially used as a parish church. We were able to see both.

Model of the 14th century abbey

Ruins on right; working church on left

The church had a bell pull in the corner that J was very interested in (just like the bell ringing in Hexham Abbey!). A nice lady told us they allow children to ring the bell at noon during the week for midday prayers. We'll have to come back at just the right time.

No ringing right now, alas! Also, we couldn't go up the staircase.

Main altar at Bolton Abbey church

The church does still have 14th century stained glass, along with a memorial window of St. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne and patron of the Bolton Priory.

14th century stuff--long-lasting and beautiful.

St. Cuthbert with the head of St. Oswald, King of Northumbria

After the priory, we headed off to the tea shop to get a snack. It was a long walk. We passed a memorial to the Cavendish family (who are the Dukes of Devonshire, but who also inherited Bolton Abbey through marriage). J loved this because it was a fountain.

L races ahead to the Cavendish Memorial

J enjoyed it even though he could barely see it

We also had to go down a long stair case and cross a large field and an even larger parking lot. Eventually we found the tea shop and had snacks.

Mommy and J head down from the memorial

L races ahead!

The snack shop had lots of Halloween decorations, mostly cotton spider webs and little insects. J had a fun time explaining to mommy and daddy when we'd point to a plastic spider and he'd say it wasn't real and we shouldn't be worried. We walked back with another stop at the bridge. It was a fun visit and we may come back again, if only to ring the bell.

12 Days of Christmas at Bolton Abbey

There's some confusion about the twelve days of Christmas. Some people start counting on Christmas Day. Others start the day after Christmas (Boxing Day, also St. Stephen's Day). Either way, the coming of Epiphany brings the Christmas celebrating to a close. How awesome is it to have a day so grand that it takes twelve days to celebrate it properly?

In honor of the great feast, Bolton Abbey has had a "Twelve Days of Christmas" trail that visitors can follow and see the gifts. Jacob, Lucy and I went for the walk last week. Jacob was thoroughly delighted to go in spite of the chilly weather. The walk was also quite damp because we followed along a river. Jacob walked the whole route. Lucy walked most of the way, having me carry her for the last half of the way back. I guess that's the one complaint I would have. If the trail had looped around back to the starting point, it would have been easier on us. But it was so much fun. Jacob talked about it for days and days afterward. Mommy was jealous she didn't get to go.

Here are the twelve days we found at Bolton Abbey. It all started with a nice archway leading us to the trail.

Festive and welcoming!

Closer inspection of the arch revealed the first day of Christmas: a partridge in a pear tree.

Trifecta! Not really a tree or pears or a partridge!

A little further on we spotted the second day of Christmas: two turtledoves.

Much easier to spot

Things got real for the third day of Christmas: three French hens.

The sign said to keep fingers away because they might peck!

The four calling birds for the fourth day of Christmas reminded me of the vultures from Disney's Jungle Book.

We're your friends!

A certain upcoming event clearly inspired the fifth day of Christmas: five golden rings.

Needs a flaming torch!

Lucy liked the sixth day of Christmas: six geese a-laying.

Lucy was hoping for a golden egg!

The next group was hard to get in one shot. So here's two photos of the seventh day of Christmas: seven swans a-swimming.

Togetherness adds warmth!

You're swans a-swimming, not geese a-laying!

We had to fill in for the eighth day of Christmas: eight maids a-milking. They must have been on a unionized break.

About to learn the shocking truth about where milk comes from!

Here's another group that had a hard time fitting in one photo. I did my best for the ninth day of Christmas: nine ladies dancing.

Dancing women in the woods always make me think of Evil Dead II (yeah, zombie reference!)

A similar problem happened for the tenth day of Christmas: ten lords a-leaping.

Are these lords or knaves?

Approaching the next set, we couldn't see anybody but we did hear music. Eventually we discovered the source for the sound of the eleventh day of Christmas: eleven pipers piping.

Speakers hidden in corners provided bagpipe music.

The eighth day seemed to repeat itself on the twelfth day of Christmas: twelve drummers drumming. We had to fill in for absentees. Jacob and Lucy were quite happy to fill in here.

Jacob spotted the mother lode and made a beeline for it. I made a video:

That was our wonderful experience of the twelve days of Christmas at Bolton Abbey.

I hope you don't mind, but the next couple of days will feature some Christmas leftovers, i.e. posts about UK Christmas experiences that didn't make it into the twelve days of UK Christmas.