The Garden of Eden

On Friday, Mr. and Mrs. C loaded us all into the car and we began the trek back up to Scotland.

Point of interest: We passed Sherwood Forest! I think I caught a glimpse of Lincoln Green...

In the afternoon, we stopped at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire for an hour or two.

Matt, a Yorkshireman whom I met at church, assures me that Yorkshire is actually the Garden of Eden, and that tectonic shifting of the earth's plates moved it from the Middle East to it's present location in the  North of England.

Based on this logic, it must be the most beautiful place on the planet.

The hills are green and rolling, and the moors are wild and beautiful and "Heathcliff." 

While I didn't get to see the moors, the part that I did see was truly lovely.

Fountains Abbey is nestled in a green valley. It was a Cistercian monastery until Henry VIII turned Protestant and ordered that it be disbanded. After that, it fell into ruin, becoming an easy source of ready-cut stone for builders in the area.

First glimpse of the Abbey

It is quite a popular place.

Multiple arches!

I think that this part was living quarters or something along those lines.

We took a lovely walk to the other side of the park.

There were dozens of these young pheasants in the long grass.

The winding stream ended in this lake.

Mallards

Isn't she pretty? 

More multiple arches!

Thomas climbing waaaay up high! 

The weathering of the stones is so cool!

The boys in the old stone water thingy.
Fountain? Baptismal font? Water trough?

James and I

An enormous window at the end of abbey.
It must have been breath-taking when the glass was intact.

Mrs. C patiently urging us to hurry back so we could get on our way again.

Couldn't resist snapping a couple more pictures on the way out. 

See the old stonemasons' marks?
For some reason they were particularly distinct in this arch.

My cozy wee room at the inn we stayed in.

I was pretty excited about having coffee and tea whenever I wanted.