Bolton Abbey

A day of glorious sunshine.

We don’t get many of those so decided to make the most of it and head over to Bolton Abbey near Skipton in *cough* Yorkshire *cough*.

I’d never been to Bolton Abbey before and wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d heard it was lovely there and imagined it to be a place where we could take the dog on a lovely walk and maybe see some old ruins. I was actually very pleasantly surprised to find that there is a heck of a lot more to Bolton Abbey than that. A couple of shops, an ice-cream parlour, beautiful ruins, a lovely church and over 80 miles of walking routes are just a few of the many reasons we will be returning later in the year.

There is a small fee for the car park but aside from that there isn’t a penny to pay unless you want to.

When we visited the weather was hot and the sun shone brightly so we were very lucky!

 

It was far too warm to take up any of the suggested dog walks from the Bolton Abbey website, though I was quite impressed when I found them. I thought it was a lovely idea to go to the effort of planning suggested walks for dogs because more and more frequently I find that dogs aren’t allowed to go into places like this. Betsy loved chasing pebbles into the stream and did a lot of excited barking! The children played on the small sandy beach and other people were fishing for tiddlers in the stream.

If you fancy catching more than tiddlers, Bolton Abbey have fly-fishing facilities too (they really have thought of everything!). Prices can be found on the website and tuition is also available.

For anyone wanting to make a weekend of it, which would be easy peasy to do with everything that there is to do on the estate, there is a caravan site on the estate. If you’re a camper like us there are sites within a few miles. If, however, you fancy less mud and more comfort there are several accommodation options within the estate ranging from a bunk house for large groups to small private cottages.

Just 30 seconds away from our stream-side spot was the wonderful church. Inside the church (no photos, sorry) is some pretty impressive architecture. Children (and adults if they feel inclined) can partake in a quiz which makes you really look properly at the wonderful workmanship. On completion of the quiz the boys were given a very cute little bookmark for their trouble.

Bolton Abbey was really busy when we went and there were many people having a barbecue or picnic. If you don’t fancy taking your lunch with you there is a quaint looking tea room there which smelled delicious when we walked by.

If you plan your visit ahead of your journey you can download an I-Spy bingo card from the website that even the younger members of the family can join in with. I forgot to do this but I will next time.

I could harp on all day about this gem of a day out but if you’re close enough you really ought to see it for yourself. We had a truly wonderful day there and didn’t see anywhere near everything we could have. We’ll definitely be back.