Fountains Abbey near Ripon was founded by Benedictine monks in 1132 CE; after Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 it fell into ruin. During the 18th C. the abbey estate was incorporated into the landscaped garden of Studley Royal Park, with both elements contributing to today’s UNESCO World Heritage listing. The abbey became one of the wealthiest* in England & is among the largest Cistercian ruins in Europe (📷1&2). Although the medieval Studley Royal House burned down in 1946, this National Trust property also contains a deer park, water mill, the Jacobean mansion of Fountains Hall (📷3), a Victorian church & a Georgian water garden (📷4).

*Through the labour of lay brothers the secluded abbey’s natural resources (water, wood, stone & earth) were converted into wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding & stone quarrying. This allowed the choir monks to live by St Benedict’s principles of simplicity, solitude & austerity—spending the majority of their time in prayer & worship.

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Well, I DID say I wanted to escape those awful summer temperatures in the California valley. Guess I succeeded. The low overnight was 27.3°F / -2.6°C 🥶

#Wyoming #Nomad

[2/2] We ate a picnic lunch—containing Wensleydale cheese, naturally—with a view of Bolton Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was held under house arrest in 1568–69 CE (📷1). Despite the blustery conditions (but far more comfortable temperatures) this Vanessa atalanta | red admiral still managed to make its rounds (📷2). Our return leg took us through an exposed upland farm grazed by cattle & sheep; we wondered how quickly one might become accustomed to the solitude if relocating to an isolated farmhouse such as this (📷3). Our descent into Carperby provided memorable views over the Wensleydale landscape (📷4). A 13km/ 3h 45min circular hike.

🇬🇧 #uk #england #yorkshire 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #hiking #nature #nationalPark

[1/2] If you’ve heard of Wensleydale, it’s possibly in connection to the crumbly & tangy Wensleydale cheese, made at a creamery in the dale town of Hawes. Further downstream are Aysgarth Falls, a series of 3 broad limestone cascades on the Ure (📷1); this is Lower Force (‘force’ is derived from Norse 'foss' = waterfall). Our route left the river to gently climb towards Bolton Castle, transiting meadows where we unintentionally flushed out Numenius arquata | the Eurasian curlew, nesting in the grass (📷2). There were more quaint stone barns to enjoy (📷3) & thankfully we just managed to clear this squeeze stile, one leg at a time (📷4).

🇬🇧 #uk #england #yorkshire 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #hiking #nature #nationalPark

[2/2] After ~6km/ 2h on trail we reached Keld, the highest village in Swaledale. After 🍦 we began climbing Kisdon via Corpse Road when we spotted our flora small of the day: native flowering succulent Sedum acre | the goldmoss stonecrop (📷1). Elevated views from near the Kisdon summit offered a sense of landscape scale (📷2) & served as a stage for the ground-based & aerial antics of avian fauna of the day, Vanellus vanellus | the northern lapwing (📷3). We descended towards Muker (📷4) & returned to pitch: a 12km/ 4h loop.

🇬🇧 #uk #england #yorkshire 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #hiking #nature #nationalPark

[1/2] From pitch on a farm in Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales National Park, we walked the short distance into Muker. From that village our trail entered the Muker Meadows beside the River Swale (📷1); the wildflower display here at the right time can be phenomenal. Also notable are the numerous small stone barns or cow'usses that once housed cattle over the harsh winter (📷2); the style dates from the 17th C., long after Scandinavian farmers settled the dale from the 8th C. The meadow section follows a flagged path (📷3) until it reaches the river, where there is the option to cross onto a section of the ~300km Coast to Coast Path, linking St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay; this view is from said path (📷4).

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Eye candy roadside views from the village of Reeth in Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales National Park.

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With the van interior reaching 53° on the driveway during a heatwave, we decamped into a friend’s house & took advantage of home comforts for a couple of nights. We revisited Chesterfield, which has seen renovations to its market since our departure 4 years ago (📷1). The town’s Crooked Spire has the same twist: it was built with green oak & warped as it dried out under the weight of lead cladding. Curbar Edge in Peak District National Park was one of our favourite places to hike, with limestone edges affording views over the Derwent Valley & purple heather adding a splash of colour (📷2). In the opposite direction Baslow Edge—seen here from Curbar Edge—leads the eye towards Chatsworth Estate, marked by the white spire of its fountain (📷3). Also in the Peak District is the National Trust property of Longshaw Estate. Given the heat we curtailed a planned circular hike from here, instead walking out-&-back via Padley Gorge under the shade of an oak forest for 🥓 bacon 🥪 butties at Grindleford Station. This view from an exposed part of the 6km/ 2h hike is across moorland towards the flat top of Higger Tor (📷4).

🇬🇧 #uk #england #derbyshire 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #hiking #nature #nationalPark