Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Water Garden

Fountains Abbey with Studley Royal Water Garden, four miles west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, is of outstanding historic and

aesthetic importance.

Attracting approximately 300,000 visitors a year, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal is the National Trust’s most visited pay-for-entry property. Acquired by the Trust from North Yorkshire County Council in 1983, it was declared a World Heritage site in 1987.  The 822 acre (333ha) estate, is open daily all year round.

An important feature of the National Trust’s work at Fountains is conservation; in 1983 an appeal was launched to raise £1 million for emergency work. Since that time, and in a continuing programme, the original splendour of the garden and park has been revived.  Garden buildings and statues have undergone extensive restoration and repair, and the crisp formality of the ornamental ponds and canals has been re-established.  Lakes have been dredged, eroded banks re-profiled and sluices repaired.  Overgrown yew hedges have been cut back and re-aligned, and obscured vistas reopened. Thousands of trees and shrubs have been planted and woodland managed with an emphasis on encouraging wildlife. Nature conservation is given a high profile with special measures taken to protect and encourage bats, deer, wild flowers, birds, bees, water creatures, insects and small mammals.

The estate has been awarded the prestigious Silver Medal of Honour from Europa Nostra for its superb restoration of the landscape; and ornamental buildings, and for the creation of the Visitor Centre.

The National Trust is now turning its attention to tasks such as the restoration of the 11/2-mile long Abbey Precinct Wall, the Deer Park Wall (5 miles long) and Seven Bridges Valley - adding up to a backlog of £4 million worth of work - as well as continuing the on-going programme of woodland management and tree planting.

No other site in Europe contains such a rich variety of historic monuments in a beautiful landscape.  Together the Cistercian Abbey, Georgian Water Garden, mediaeval Deer Park, Elizabethan Hall and Victorian church offer the visitor an unparalleled opportunity to appreciate the range of England’s heritage. 

Yorkshire’s first World Heritage Site is a truly remarkable place encompassing nearly 900 years of history, come and explore the largest and most complete ruins of a Cistercian Abbey in the UK.  Built in 1132 the abbey ruins provide a special atmosphere of peace and tranquility, learn about the lives of monks and lay brothers on a guided tour, or immerse yourself in the history of the site by dressing in monks’ robes and joining our ‘It’s a monks life’ tour. 

Fountains also has an outstanding example of a monastic water mill, almost 800 years old,  and the honey-coloured elegance of Fountains Hall and ornate religious masterpiece of St Mary’s Church surrounded by ancient oak and lime trees create striking contrasts that leave lasting impressions on all age of visitor.

The perfect compliment to the Abbey, is Studley Royal Water Garden, a Georgain masterpiece of an ornamental garden adorned with Classical statues and follies.  Once wild and wooded, the valley of the river Skell was transformed into one of England’s most spectacular Georgian water gardens by the Aislabie family.  Disgraced by a financial scandal in the 1700’s, John Aislabie channelled his energies into creating a landscape of often breathtaking and ground breaking vision. 

At any time of the year, there is always something interesting, inspiring and different to see and do at Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal. There is a wealth of activities for the young and old to enjoy. During school half-terms and holidays, there are self-guided trails, quizzes and indoor games that get families discovering the estate. Throughout the year thee are a number of ‘taster tours’, to introduce first-time visitors to all the different parts of the estate, as well as ‘activity tours’, which enable visitors to discover different aspects of the estate, for example, what it was like to be a monk in medieval times, what varieties of flora and fauna can be found in the different seasons, or a closer look at the deer warden’s work.

This is a place where you can truly relax and leave modern day stresses behind as you are transported to another era.  Let the cool secluded shady walks and grand green ampitheatres play with your senses.  Let the artist’s eye guide you across stepping stoned canals, elegant ponds and cascades, to the Georgian follies of the garden including rustic bridges, classical temples and statues and finally into the medieval ruins of the Abbey, providing an unforgettable experience which equally enthralls today’s visitor just as it did the pleasure seeking Georgians.

New for 2007 is the audio guide for adults and children and there is a children’s play area opening by summer.

School groups can book a visit on Tel: 01765 643167

During school holidays there are drop in self-led activities in Swanley Grange, the education centre.  These include trails for children around the estate and water garden and craft activities on different themes each holidays.  In 2007 these will concentrate on Deer, Glorious Stained Glass and Squirrels and Acorns.

Open All Year: except 24/25 December, Fridays in Jan, Nov, Dec.

March - October 10am - 5pm

November - February 10am - 4pm

Last admission 1 hour before closing.

Telephone 01765 608888