New Lists
The Top Ten Britain's Most Scenic Ruins
Don Willmott
Crumbled castles and great places to stay
There it is in the distance: a crumbling castle or skeletal church wall majestically perched on a seaside cliff or rising silently from the middle of a windswept moor. Get closer, and walk through the vaulted archways. Run your hands along the carved stones. That's what history feels like.
Visiting a scenic British ruin is one of those quintessential European experiences, a chance to reflect on natural and architectural beauty and to ponder the passage of time. Britain wears its old age well, and at its most scenic ruins, echoes of the past are always in the air. It's enough to inspire romantic verse. Just flip through your dusty poetry anthology and reread Wordsworth's "Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey." You'll get the idea.
You can walk in the steps of King Arthur at Tintagel Castle, set high on the Cornwall coast. You can climb the remnants of the battlements of Scotland's Urquhart Castle and scan Loch Ness for mysterious ripples on the surface. At Linlithgow Palace near Edinburgh, you can wander through what's left of the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots...
| # | Ruin | Location | |
| 1. | Dunstanburgh Castle | Northumberland | Although this northern beauty is a very ruined ruin, it's a tourist favorite because of its dramatic setting high on a cliff at the edge of the North Sea. Getting to it is part of the fun. You'll either walk two miles across fields just like 14th-century visitors did, or take the coastal walk from the village of Craster (famous for its kippers). As photographer Rod Edwards puts it, "The castle seems to sum up everything that is special about this part of England: the solitude, the crashing waves upon the beach, and a dramatic landscape all within one breathtaking view. Stay at The Oaks Hotel in nearby Alnwic. |
| 2. | Rievaulx Abbey | Yorkshire | Yorkshire is famous for its gorgeous ruined monasteries, and the scale and architectural excellence of Rievaulx make it the outstanding example of the group, according to English Heritage's Jeremy Ashbee. "Because Rievaulx belonged to the reclusive Cistercian order, which tried to site its monasteries 'far from the concourse of men,' its location is beautifully remote, in a deep valley," he says. The nave of the church has mostly disappeared, but its eastern parts and the monks's buildings around the cloister and to the southeast are as well-preserved as you'll see, and the standards of craftsmanship are astonishingly high. Consider it an alternative to the much better known Fountains Abbey. Stay at the Middlethorpe Hall & Spa in York. |
| 3. | Goodrich Castle | Herefordshire | Goodrich is located on the peaceful River Wye in some of the most lush and beautiful countryside in England, and it's been attracting travelers in search of romantic visions since the late 18th century. English Heritage's Jeremy Ashbee says, "Goodrich is a castle in which it's easy to imagine oneself living: the pink sandstone hall, chambers, and chapel, while mostly being ruined, are still complete enough to see how the occupants came and went, where they washed their hands or warmed themselves by the fire." The residents of this castle certainly knew how to enjoy the good life in the country. Stay at the Holme Lacy House Hotel in Holme Lacy, Hereford. |
| 4. | Castle Acre Priory | Norfolk | A favorite of historians, Castle Acre Priory, which dates back to 1089, stands beside a historic Norfolk village that's also home to a castle. It's a complete microcosm of medieval British life. The priory ruins feature some of the best examples of Norman architecture in England. Take note of the intricate arches carved with zigzag decoration and grotesque human and animal figures. The prior's house, which survived King Henry's Suppression of the Monasteries and still stands, features a long gallery and lots of comfortable rooms. Stay at The Old Rectory Hotel in nearby Norwich. |
| 5. | Rochester Castle | Kent | This imposing ruin, parts of which date back to 1127, looms powerfully over the town of Rochester and features the tallest tower of any castle ruin in England. In fact, Jeremy Ashbee tells how in 1665, famous diarist Samuel Pepys visited the castle, made the acquaintance of three young girls in a nearby pub, and took them up into the tower only to be undone by his fear of heights, thereby missing out on "much pleasure which I would have made to myself in the company of these three if it had not been for that." Very bad luck for old Sam. But time-pressed travelers are in luck, because Rochester can be visited on a day trip from London. |
| 6. | Tintern Abbey | Wales | This southern Welsh charmer is the place that inspired poet William Wordsworth to pen some of the most romantic blank verse ever committed to paper. Founded in 1131 as the the second Cistercian monastery in Britain, it flourished for 405 years until 1536, when the abbot surrendered the Abbey to Henry VIII, and its destruction commenced. Today the beautiful walls of the main nave of the church still stand, and the delicate stonework and dramatic arches will take your breath away. Wordsworth was right on the money with this one. Stay close by at the Marriott St. Pierre Hotel and Country Club in Chepstow. |
| 7. | Kenilworth Castle | Warwickshire | This boxy castle dates to about 1122 and once featured an impressive manmade lake that protected it on three sides. The lake was found to be so effective in fending off attacks that it inspired the moats everyone now associates with archetypal fairy tale castles. Kenilworth (and its water defenses) were destroyed by Parliamentarian forces on the orders of Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War, and it then passed into private hands for more than 300 years. English Heritage has maintained it since 1984. Stay nearby at The Kenilworth Hotel. |
| 8. | Corfe Castle | Dorset | Corfe, a hilltop castle ruin on Britain's southern coast, was a royal fortress until it was sold by Elizabeth I in the 16th century. During the English Civil War, the castle twice came under siege by Parliamentarian forces in 1643 and 1646. In the years (and centuries) that followed, local townspeople helped themselves to stones, masonry, door frames, and more. Today part of the fun of visiting the village is to look for these building blocks in the walls of nearby houses. Stay at |
| 9. | Dunnottar Castle | Scotland | Choose a clear and windy day to visit this isolated ruin, stunningly perched on cliffs 150 feet above the North Sea just 15 miles up the craggy Scottish coast from Aberdeen. Well-protected by a daunting approach and the cliffs all around, it's hard to believe the castle could ever have been successfully attacked, and yet the ruins, which date from the 13th through the 17th centuries, clearly show cannonball damage on their walls that dates back to the English Civil War. Take an especially close look at the towering castle keep. Stay in Aberdeen at The Marcliffe Hotel and Spa. |
| 10. | Whitby Abbey | Yorkshire | This spectacular seaside spot in north Yorkshire is steeped in history. The first time the abbey was attacked, it was ninth-century Vikings doing the damage. Given a new life in 1078 as a Benedictine order, it lasted nearly 500 years until the Suppression of 1540. Locals took the place apart to use its stones as building materials, but what remains today is beautiful and also creepy enough to have inspired Bram Stoker to choose it as Dracula's landing place at the end of his journey from Transylvania. Check into The Thistle Hotel in nearby Middlesborough. |
[source: http://www.forbestraveler.com/luxury/britians-most-scenic-ruins-story.html ]
Not watching this list (get updates on this list).
(all people watching this list)
).
Find more lists
| This Category (Places and Destinations): | ||
| Previous: |
| Top Ten Over-Hyped Beaches (And Our Alternatives) |
| Next: |
| Top Ten VIP Secrets to a Fantastic Cruise |
Comments