Another visit to Fountain's Abbey/Studley royal.

Lol Brilliant blog BLoomer..I wouldnt have wanted to go to those loos either! Brrrr!
Lovely old buildings and nice pic of you!
Very intersting blog..thanks :)

Great blog Bloomer, enjoyed it. My daughter used to work at Fountains Abbey when she lived in Harrogate a few years ago. Very interesting thank you.

Great birthday treat Bloomer, I enjoyed seeing your pics, the church and choristers house are lovely, I like visiting these old ruins and reading up on their history,and of course doing that whilst the sun`s shining is a bonus, I think they appear sad on grey days....

Perfect! Thank you! :-)))))
The pretty tree with the berries must be a yew, but never ask me for varieties, I just don't know.

one of my favourite places, glad you had a lovely time,

A beautiful place , we have been and would love to go again glad you reminded me with your lovely photos Sandra , yes they are Yew berries , very poisonous by the way ..

I agree they are yew berries B. and as Amy says dangerous. Can you imagine the monks feet only being washed once a week! Yuk. No wonder they dont talk to each other Lol.

Thanks for the tour, Bloomer...
nice set of pics :o)

Thanks for taking us on a visit with you really enjoyed it.

Thanks Pixi,glad you enjoyed it..and to think it was only a week ago.. Today ,all wrapped up ! cold ,heavy rain,hail,and gale force winds...so just had to go the pub with a friend for a bar meal ! What a hard life..Lol.
Thank you,Cinders..what a lovely place for your daughter to work..can't think of anything better..i would have loved working there..at anything..:o)
Wonderful place,Lincslass.,thank you.I also love history,and especially how they lived...a very hard life..we are so lucky
these days..We also visited Rievaulx terrace (NT) and Rievaulx Abbey( English Heritage) ..also very interesting...another blog for another day :o)
That's kind of you,Gattina..and thanks for telling me it was Yew..I did sort of recognise it,but old age didn't let me remember ! Lol.
You know what I mean then,Yorkshire..aren't we lucky we live quite near ? Thank you,we had a lovely day :o)
Thank you Amy..it's maybe time you paid another visit !
If I lived in the area,I could go every day,and never tire of it :o)..thanks also for for naming the berries..shame they are so deadly...they would add some lovely colour to a pie,or fruit salad ! Lol.
My,my..I certainly will remember those berries next time I see them,Grandmage..:o).I agree about the feet..ugh!
...and a bath 4 times a year ? all that wet wool too.. very mucky,smelly" habits"..Lol.
Thanks Terra,pleased you enjoyed it :o)
Thank you,Carol..you are welcome to come with me anytime Lol.

the yew tree is likely to be older than the abbey....they are very often older than the church they stand outside of...part of ancient traditions.

I didn't know that,Sandra..There were quite a few of them around the lake..but not very big ones..There are a lot of woodlands around it,but I would imagine it was all forest,before it was cleared to make the lake..it is a nice thought that they are probably offsprings of them..

Another wonderful place to visit - interesting and beautiful. You look very relaxed and happy, glad you enjoyed your birthday treat.

I can see why you love it so much Sandra, all the old buildings [especially those two old ruins lol] maybe it somewhere we could go together some time in the future;0)

Nice blog Bloomer

When was it your Birthday - didn't know about this . Lovely photos Bloomer and nice one of yourself - I couldn't believe bathed 4 times a year - wy word :D What a lovely treat for you :)))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you Stroller..I was very relaxed and happy..who wouldn't be,in a place like this ..and sunshine as well?
A great birthday treat..mch nicer than a present.although I had a gift and flowers as well..:o)
Lol,Carol...don't think this old ruin will be standing as long as the Abbey ! ..all things are possible..so maybe we could visit together,but Russell has already planned our next visit..weather permitting..and you would love it..he says,optimistically ! :o)
Thank you,Sheilar..sorry I haven't commented on your holiday,but still on catch up..but you look as though you had a wonderful time..living it up in Marbella,and Puerto Banus! very posh..all the beautiful people go there,don't they ? Lol.

It was on the 2nd Paul..that Shirley tulip spilled the beans on here ! Lol...she is still my friend though :o))
Glad you enjoyed the blog and pics..if you ever get the chance,do go..it's wonderful.....I agree..4 times a year ?
Probably smelled like their sheep !! Lol.

We did have a good time Bloomer and yes, it was quite 'posh' and where all the rich people go (dunno about beautiful people though, we saw some right old sights!!). It certainly is not cheap, well about the equivalent to Britain (when you think how cheap Spain used to be in the 70s lol).

I am so sorry I missed that - you had a great day though - happy very belated Birthday :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

We noticed at Chritmas when we in Spain,Sheilar..just about the same as here..we used to get a lot of Pesetas didn't we ? mind you,all the workers were paid an absolute pittance for long hours then...till they all went on strike in later years..can't say I blamed them..don't think changing to the Euro has helped ???.
No problem,Paul...and thank you for your good wishes...just send me a double bunch of flowers next year ! Lol...virtual ones will be fine .:o)

;)))))))))))))

Good to see you back Sandra.......lovely blog.....lots of memories for me, as you can imagine.....Will write soon.....promise xx

Hi there,Lou..glad you enjoyed another visit..I seem to have been busy too..so don't worry,I haven't had time to 'write' either..:o) x

Very interesting :o) The old ruins have weathered the ravages of time very well I think ;o)) lol
I would say the tree with red berries is a yew.

ha ha,Hywel...how very tactful:o))..and it seems you are all more knowledgeable than me about the Yew ! Lol.

;o)

What a lovely blog and abbey, Bloomer :)
I really like the frescoe paintings on the ceiling...done in a much older style, I think? No wonder you keep going back... :)

Glad you enjoyed it,Karen..I thought it looked quite old too,much older than the church really....It is in the Studley Royal part of the grounds,which is actually the deer park,although we never saw one this time..I think they must have been sheltering from the hot sun,somewhere..which won't be very often ! Lol.

It was probably their last chance this year, Bloomer... and they were making the most of it (like everyone else in that cold northern hemisphere! lol!)

There is a history going back much earlier, though, I think?

I really enjoyed this blog Sandra, it was really interesting. I love old churches and they never fail to fascinate me one way or another. I do hope the monks got around to adding some doors to their `smallest rooms`...lol! :o))

lol yeah!

I think so too,Karen..what a change this week,and glad we changed our plans after seeing last weeks weather forecast ! I don't think we would have gone there,in the cold,wet and gale force winds we have had..
The Abbey itself was built in the 12th century,a gift of the land,from York minster..but the church of St Mary came much later...
Thanks Sandra..I agree..what with the smelly feet etc..not nice ! Hope you are feeling better now,and nice to see you again :o))
Wouldn't have wanted to be downwind of them either ,Pixi! Lol.

Those monks didn't look very happy did they? It wouldn't half have cheered them up to see the glamour puss posing with the old ruins! Another great blog Bloomer, I had to defer looking as something cropped up:-)

Thanks Ba,.. Methinks they would have run a mile..and I probably would have been burnt at the stake ! .they would have made me wear itchy wool too ! Lol.

Hello, I think the tree on the photo below swan is old Taxus baccata with fruits.

Hi Katarina..lovely name :o).I didn't know what it was,but it was so nice..thank you..

It is European yew, or if you want, English yew. Some of the oldest grow in Scotland and in Spain, mostly in church yards.

Ah its all coming back to me..as the monk said as he peed into the wind!

lol,or as the old man said as he peed in the sea.'every little helps'! :o)

hehe

If I remember rightly, the yew symbolises everlasting life:-)

I've heard that, too, Bornagain - that's why it was planted in churchyards, it signifies eternal life after death.

ooh i didnt know that :)

Hi Gattina, hi Bornagain, you are right. Yew is a symbol associated with death in all European countries (the gender name Taxus relates to Greek "toxicon", what means "poison"). However it is also a symbol of ressurection. As I said, in some countries grow very old yews, some have 1000 years. This high age is reached because when the central part of the trunk starts to die, peripheral parts continue in growing, so far old dead wood is soon substituted by "daughter" trunks. That is the reason why it is almost impossible to state exact age of old yews.
I read that especially Irish nation has a lot of stories and sayings related to yew. Might be Pixi will know some, lol.

Well I;m Scottish so I dont really know Katarina lol :)

Love this blog, Sandra ... those doors (Oak?) are wonderful ... as is the pic with the reflection in the water ... great to read about the monks ... what hard lives they must have led . . . . .

Thanks Shirley..I would have thought the doors were Oak..aren't they great? We never get fed up of visitng ,and the weather was such a bonus..:o)