Bolton Abbey is one of those special places that has the power to take you back to your childhood.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been. It’s more about the connections you made with nature and the adventures of playing out as a child that make you feel connected with this place.
Saying that, there is one part of Bolton Abbey that stayed with me growing up, and that’s the stepping stones across the river.
The stepping stones at Bolton Abbey
When I was little, with legs not bigger or stronger than two twigs, I’d step across the river with great trepidation and excitement. Arms flung out for balance, eyes fixed on the step in front, and breath held tight with concentration. As I reached the other side of the banking, unscathed and dry, it felt like it was the biggest accomplishment my 5-year old self had ever succeeded in doing.
Even now, I regress back to being 5-years old again when I cross the stepping stones. There’s something eternally fun and charming about crossing over a set of steeping stones no matter your age
A family trip to Bolton Abbey
My older brother’s girlfriend, Sarah, from the travel blog SarahAlexandraGeorge.com, came to visit our house in Yorkshire for the first time recently, so I came up from London to join the gathering along with my twin brother.
We were very lucky with the weather so we decided to take Sarah to our beloved Bolton Abbey. It’s beautiful, and one of those places where we like to take guests who come to visit. We always hope that visitors will love it as much as we do, and without fail, they do,
Exploring the ruins of Bolton Abbey.
You can tell my legs never see the sun!
Set among beautiful nature
Bolton Abbey is an estate located in North Yorkshire and makes up part of the Yorkshire Dales, one of the most picturesque countryside settings in England.
It is made up of walking trails, old ruins of a monastery, rivers, woodlands and wildlife – especially sheep and cows. One of the quirky things about Bolton Abbey is that you’ll find lots of cows, not only in the fields, but on the small beach and in the river!
When the sun comes out in England, we Brits like to bring out the BBQ and things are no different at Bolton Abbey. If you don’t have a BBQ then I would definitely recommend bringing a picnic. If you haven’t prepared a picnic, worry not, you can always pop into the Cavendish Pavillion Café for a quick fix.
The food is quite pricey inside for what it is but we couldn’t resist buying a generously portioned caramel shortbread and sharing it between ourselves.
Walking trails - the Strid
After our foodie stop, ruin exploration, and stepping stone extravaganza, we walked along one of the designated paths to the Strid.
The Strid is where the broad River Wharfe becomes suddenly narrow and the water rushes with great force. It was formed by the wearing away of softer rock by the circular motion of small stones in hollows, forming a series of potholes which in time linked together to form a deep, water filled chasm. It was cool to look into the potholes to see a few tadpoles and other aquatic life including crayfish, but you have to be careful around this area where the force of the water is extremely strong, and the stones are slippery. There are several warning signs to alert visitors of this.
Before we reached the Strid, where the current is much weaker, we tried crossing the river by jumping onto different stones whilst trying not to get wet.
You could say it was like a rougher version of the earlier stepping stones, with a greater chance of falling in and getting wet.
Since I wanted to take photos, and was weary of my camera getting damaged, I decided to leave all the daring stuff up to Sarah and my two brothers.
My older brother, Lee (Sarah’s boyfriend), tried his best to find the right stones needed to get across, but he ultimately ended up walking around with wet feet for the duration of the day after his attempts were unsuccessful.
Ki and Sarah, however, crossed the other side whilst keeping bone dry. Whoop! At one point they even swooped and swung off tree branches in order to skim over the river. Skills of a monkey I tell thee.
If you’d like to visit Bolton Abbey, I would also recommend trying to fit in other places within a 10 mile radius, like Brimham Rocks or Fountain’s Abbey.
These places really do offer some of Northern England’s most picturesque views. What’s more, they offer a narrow gateway back into the landscape of childhood – one of the few places I’m happy to always return back to.
For more information on how to get there and things to do, please visit www.boltonabbey.com.
8 Responses
The River Wharf and the Strid picures are absolutely beautiful, Shing!! I have never been to Bolton Abbey but you nailed a beautiful story about your childhood to present day here. That one with you on the stepping stones is priceless! You have white legs? Didn’t see that coming lol 🙂 You have me pondering favorite childhood places…great post, our friend! 🙂
Haha legs like a milk bottle! The photo of the River Wharf reminds me of Yosemite National Park – so beautiful! Have you decided on your favourite childhood places? Do you get the chance to return to them?
Lovely post! I especially like the pic of the river – looks so peaceful and golden and warm 🙂 I loved Yorkshire, it must have been a great area to grow up in! Thanks so much for showing me around 🙂
The pleasure was all ours, my parents really like having you here! 2 nights isn’t enough to see it all so you’ll have to come again.
As someone else from Yorkshire I have similar childhood memories. Going to Bolton Abbey and Fountain’s Abbey were definite days out when the sun was in the sky.
The sad thing is I don’t think I’ve revisited as an adult and I would really like to. I think I would find a new appreciation for these places and would love to see how much I remember. I have memories in my mind but would like to recreate them.
Get your bottom back to Bolton Abbey now!! Recreating childhood memories is a lovely thought. Sometimes it can be a complete and utter anticlimax though, like the time I went back to Tropical World in Roundhay…
When the sun is shining I really feel like nowhere quite compares to Yorkshire, of course I’m biased, but I think non Yorkshire folk would feel the same if they caught the sun over the picturesque Yorkshire countryside!
Stunning pictures! I went to Bolton Abbey earlier this year actually with a friend who lives nearby in Keighly – he said it was THE place to go. I thought it was incredibly beautiful, so I guess the locals have got it right 🙂
Your mate did good Charlie! Pleased to hear you think it’s beautiful too, I’d be telling you to wash your mouth out with soap if you didn’t 😀