Bolton Abbey

Been busy again and also ill. I got a cold off my friend though I knew something had been hanging over me for a little while, but I was busy and didn't really have the time to give in. Now though I'm just getting over a mild cold, though I'm suffering from lack of sleep due to noisy housemates......Anyway, I had my exam on Monday, which was my last thing of the year really, but I'm not sure if I've passed or not. I ran out of time and messed up the ending. I'm not really sure why I didn't have enough time, I know what I was going on about, but I think I tried to pace myself too much so that I didn't miss something important out. Still though, its done now and I'll know on my birthday if I've past 2nd year or not. How rubbish is that? Then I go on Holiday - 2 weeks camping in Cornwall. That should be good!

Anyway, today my post is about an outing that I had with my family-minus 1-a few weekends back, on bank holiday Monday weekend. Just image for a few minutes that you've gone back way in time and your standing in almost untouched British countryside. Its a mild spring day, though the sky is cloudy, it still feels warm and some times there are a few drops of rain and a refreshing breezy which carries with it the scent of damp woodland, wild garlic and soil. You here the bells of a monastery and the chiming of a clock.

You are walking down a road, past fields and already old oak trees, when you come across a tall boundary wall. You see a little wood door, which is half open, further down and decided to investigate.....You step through the small door and your breath is taken away by a view of sheer beauty. You see before you wide open fields through which cuts a mighty river and hills towering above you and covered by so many different trees that you're not sure if you can name them all. The fields are home to some sheep and other farm animals, which you can hear adding their voices to that of the birds and a strange humming sound which seems to rise and fall in pitch......

You turn and a twisting path catches your eye, but it also spies something else, a building hidden by tall trees almost too perfectly. Its old and made from stone and wood. Suddenly you figure out that the humming is the sound of the monks singing and curiously, you let your feet take you through the fields and towards the Abbey. You keep the arch of a massive window in your sights at all times, but the path leads true and soon you are turning upwards towards the side of the Abbey.

You can see it clearly now and also some of the massive stones and columns that are part of the structure. The monks are still humming and there's a slight ringing in your ears and then.....things began to change around you and all of a sudden you find yourself in the middle of a ruined Abbey. You pause, looking down at the stumps of columns that line your way and wonder what happened here......

Moving through the archway, you find yourself in a room and looking up you can see the sky and the clouds sweeping across it. Your feet take you to stand in front of that massive window and you feel something.....worry? fear? guilty? you are not sure, but it seems that the window is staring down at you, judging you and yet all you can see is the sky and the hill covered with trees, wonderfully famed by the stone window.

Turning, you nearly bump your leg against something and staring down you see a row of stone coffins led against the wall and which, when the sun shines through the window can fall upon. You quickly hurry through, but the path leads straight out into the graveyard. As you cast you eyes around and take in the old moss covered gravestones, who's names have been erased from time, you feel a kind a of peace settle over you. You drift through the graveyard, taking in the names of those who wished to be buried in the grounds of such a holy place. Then your feet led you out and down towards the river.

Its a slow winding flow of water and there's a man fishing in the middle of it. There seems to be a pathway made out of stones that cuts across the natural flow of the river. You watch for a few minutes as a daring young man runs across the stones. You think he might be some warrior in training, showing off to his peers. Next to the stones is a bridge, you think its safer to cross there and so do so. Then you are climbing upwards, following a path that leads through the trees and climbing so high that soon you can stop and slightly turn back to view the Abbey.

Then you continue, moving swiftly and keeping an eye out for hobbits and such creatures which may be lurking under or in the trees. Along the way you discover some fallen down trees, which once most have been very mighty, but now lay in pieces across the floor. You see something sticking out of one of these trunks and as you get closer you see that someone has hammered 2p coins into the brittle wood. You ponder on this, but can come up with no reason to why someone would do this......Money Trees? Then you walk on, following the path higher and deeper into the woods......

A strange smell reaches your nose as you began to come down from the hill side. You believe you know it, but can't really put your finger on it. Then as you reach a small stream, you realize its garlic and looking around you, you see wild garlic growing on the woodland floor. The stench is very over powering, even for garlic lovers and you quickly move on, but at least you feel a little safer walking through the woods...vampires won't harm you here!

Stepping out of the woods, you follow the great river and soon reach a bridge which you cross over and then you began to walk back, but this time on the other side. There's more wonderful woodland and twice you think you can hear children laughing above your head, but you know you are alone......Then as you look below you and see the river, you also see a strange sight....weird rock formations on that side of the river. You go down for a closer look.....

Then you continue your walk and climb back into the woodlands, suddenly you find yourself at a clearing a large cafe and shop. You take a break, drinking warm/cold drinks and eating sandwiches/ice cream. Then you pause at a sign post to figure out which way to go now....

You decided against going to there and decided to head back to the Abbey, taking a path which leads back to the main road and all to a memorial fountain. There you study the gargoyles that decorate the top of the fountain, before winding your way back to the Abbey......

The end