Wednesday, 7 September 2022

A ramble to Shap Abbey .


So we took the opportunity of the fine weather and my wife's absence from work to have a walk from Shap across the fields to the hidden Abbey . Here we have the author and dog (who got bored posing and wandered off) with the Gogglesby Stone - a prehistoric standing stone - one of the few still standing that once was part of a prehistoric avenue - very impressive - if you like that sort of thing . (which I do - Mrs K less)


We past the little Chapel at Keld , sadly we couldn't look in it as you have to get the key from the house opposite - and they were out shopping ! .Think it's 16th century made from bits of the Abbey when it was dissolved by Henry VIII .


First view of the Abbey hidden in a valley , I haven't been here for years and we only got lost once ! 


It has a very impressive tower !


It is protected by English Heritage , built in 1199 it housed an Order of Premonstratensian Monks it survived the initial dissolution in 1536 but finally closed in 1540 and was subsequently robbed of stone.


Mrs K and hound .


Looking up through the tower .


We came across Mr and Mrs Walker inspecting the site .


Mr Walker like a bit of 12th century masonry (Mrs Walker less so)


The last resting place of one of the Abbots (?) (who must have been of slight build )


The site of the Guardrobes (loos) - I assume they drew their drinking water upstream  from here - well I hope they did ! . We managed to get back to the car before it rained , a grand day out !












 



 .









 

13 comments:

  1. Thank you for the wonderful tour Tony, so very interesting and impressive! Great to see the Walkers once again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes it's a while since we've bumped into Mr amd Mrs Walker .

      Delete
  2. Wonderful pictures.

    I'm always amazed/impressed that an island so small, with such a big population, has managed to preserve so much ... green space, wild lands etc as well as historical places, ruins etc. Great use of what's available. Well done all around!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you , Shap is off the beaten track and the Abbey even more so .

      Delete
  3. Lovely pics Tony. Beautiful scenery. Especially liked that chapel.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a fascinating site... I've never even heard of it. Thanks for the tour.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good to see you out and about touring - we've nothing like this here- fascinating. Cheers. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not far from where we live and we are making the most of the good weather .

      Delete
  6. Looks like you had a good walk and are blessed with a surfeit of history - do you always take your little men and women with you on your perambulations?

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a nice spot Tony, the tower is stunning. The Gogglesby Stone is impressive too, very atmospheric. We went to see Long Meg a while back on our way to High Cup, that was a grand day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'ts a long while since I visited 'Long Meg' and her daughters - but very impressive .

      Delete