best ruined abbey?
 

Hi,
I am trying to decide which of the ruined abbeys around York and Edinburgh to see. I only have time to see one, and I'm going to be using public transportation. Was thinking of Melrose, Fountians, or Reivaulx and would love to hear everyone's opinions!
thanks,
Erin

We loved Fountains Abbey; the setting is superb.

We loved Fountains, also...but Melrose is outstanding...There is an air about it and the color ..fantastic.

Another I particularly like is Eggleston Abbey,,in(near) Barnard Castle, outside of Durham. Lovely ruins , set in the middle of a pasture with cows coming up to inspect one before allowing you to pass. There is also a little stream nearby with a perfect millhouse..I want to live there in my dreams!

Of those, I've only been to Melrose so far, so I can't say which is "best.". As I recall, bus service from Ripon to Fountains is spotty, but Edinburgh to Melrose is quite doable (you may have to change at Galashiels). The abbey at Melrose is on the edge of the small town, with hills beyond, and a very short walk from the bus stop in the main square. So it's probably not as romantic as a more isolated ruin, but it's easy to visit, and you can easily get a good meal in town (at Burts Hotel, for one). The ruins themselves are quite lovely, and if you have more time, Priorwood Gardens almost next door are nice and so is the town.

Of the 3 we've visited Fountains Abbey and Melrose...Melrose was lovely, Fountains was MAGICAL (and I don't even like that word!). Fountains is also very close to York.

I can't really argue with the suggestions posted, but I prefer Dryburgh to Melrose. They are so close that you can easily see both. Fountains and Rievaulx are both excellent and close to each other.

Oh yes, I would absolutely recommend Dryburgh over Melrose, it is REALLY beautiful...

Fountains every time! Have a look at www.fountainsabbey.org.uk
Next to Fountains (on the same site) you have Studley Royal water gardens complete with temples and follies - entrance fee to Fountains includes Studley Royal as well. I live a few miles from Fountains but never tire of visiting the place.
M

My favorite ruined abbey was Arbroath, a bit further out but doable as a day trip from Edinburgh (we took the train, about an hour & a half from Edinbrugh to Arbroath, then you can easily walk from Arbroath station to the abbey.) Not only is it beautiful and evocative, but also extremetly important in Scottish histoy, for it was here that Robert the Bruce made his "Declaration of Arbroath" proclaiming Scotland's independence from England, and this document was later used as the basis for the American Declaration of Independence. We were fortunate to be in Scotland last year on April 6, the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, and made a point of visiting on that day. The historical society put on a fabulous costumed recreation of the event in the abbey forecourt which was being filmed for the History Channel. It was the highlight of our trip to Scotland. Arbroath Abbey is also the site where the Stone of Scone was brought after being liberated from Westminster Abbey in 1950, though it was only their briefly before being whisked back to London.

OK I'll pop back in! We also visited Arbroath and it WAS great, but, IMHO,didn't do it for me like Dryburgh, and didn't even come close to Fountains.
If you would like to see pics of all of these places, visit our site at www.panteravb.com and click on Scotland trip (for the scottish abbeys) or UK trip (for Fountains)

Melrose and Dryburgh are very near each other so you would probably have time for both. Melrose is large and interesting, but Dryburgh's setting is so wonderful and it is really lovlier.

If you had time to get to Melrose you'd certainly have time to scoot over to Dryburgh too.

Fountains and Reivaulx are also wonderful - but Fountains is the larger tourist attraction because of the fabulous landscape gardens.

But since 2 of these are near York and 2 are in teh Borders, I'm not clear on why you'd only have time for one. What you visit out of York probably doesn't have any bearing on what you visit out of Edinburgh . . . .

thanks for the replies!
loved looking thru your pics, Ani

well, it sounds like Melrose has more interesting ruins while Fountians and Dryburgh have beautiful, isolated settings.

I am thinking that I can only visit one because I don't know how hard it would be catch a bus between them. The bus turns seeing even one into a day trip, and I only have one free day to use as a trip out of Edinburgh or out of York.

right now, I'm leaning towards Fountains
but it's a hard choice!
thanks again!!

If for some reason you can't make a day trip out of town, Holyrood Abbey is an evocative ruined abbey right in Edinburgh.

http://www.cin.org/churches/holyrood.html

Fountains is stunning, and Rievaulx is another one of my favorites. Morgana's already given you the website for Fountains. Here's a great one for Rievaulx Abbey:

(This website isn't an official one, but it's got some fantastic photos of Rievaulx.)

http://www.nymcam.free-online.co.uk/040101.htm