Once again we were warned of limited parking but luckily there was space available. These remote villages are serviced by very narrow lanes and no way to get off the road except into a proper carpark.
Rievaulx Abbey is a magnificent ruin and was occupied by Cistercian monks from 1132 when St Benedict and 12 monks arrived from Clairvaux in Burgundy and found the piece of land he needed for his 'retreat'. The local landowner agreed to gift it to him. At its peak it had 800 monks but only about 22 remained when Henry VIII finally closed it down and pensioned them off in the 16th century!
For this visit we got the free audio tour which gave us a great insight into life in the monastery. At various places around the site there are plaques with a sketch of life in the abbey. The audio commentary then gives a description of what went on here on a daily basis from the point of view of the monk narrating!
Life as a monk was often seen as better than life outside but must have been tough. Wearing nothing but a course cloth habit they woke at 4am and went to bed at 10pm. During the day they had 7 prayer times plus Mass and in-between they worked the fields or studied. Most of the Abbey was not heated so winters must have been very challenging. They were fed as well but their break-fast was actually early afternoon and was mostly vegetarian and not very appetising. The Abbey itself was enlarged over the centuries as more monks took up residence but, after Henry VIII closed it down, the new owner deliberately destroyed a lot of it. However, much remains to impress the visitor.
We then headed off to drive the couple of hours to Brampton (near Carlisle). This was pretty straightforward except for a road closure in the middle of nowhere which meant we had to backtrack to find an alternative route. We finally got to Barbara's about 5:30pm and Michael arrived from Newcastle at 7pm. At which point we had a home-cooked meal and a few well-deserved drinks.
We are here for a week now and will do a bit of sight-seeing in the local area and generally re-group before continuing our travels next week.