Not Just for the Romantic in You. (Tintern Abbey (Tintern Village, Wales))

Member Name: QueenElf

Product:	Tintern Abbey (Tintern Village, Wales)
Date:	09/05/08 (69 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots to see and do.

Disadvantages: None.

When I first joined dooyoo I was in the middle of writing travel reviews, especially those that concentrated on the British Isles. That was back in 2006 so I don't expect you read any of those. It does limit me in what to write about, especially with the spell of nice weather we've had recently though. So I thought about particular places, rather than regions or National Parks. I don't hide the fact that I live in South Wales. There would be little point since a few of my reviews have appeared on Welsh Travel Sites. I even got contacted once by the BBC though it came to nothing. At that time I was writing about Pendine Sands, a part of Wales with a great history. One of my favourite places to visit is Tintern Abbey in the part of Wales that's on the border with England. It still comes under the heading of the Forest of Dean though.

~~ The Approach~~

Half the fun of going somewhere is the actual journey there and I feel so sorry for the driver who is en route to Tintern. There are several approaches to the junction, but once you take the A446 from the M4 then it's only a matter of some four to five miles before you reach your destination. The road starts out flat, following the general run of the Chepstow Racecourse. After about a mile the road starts to rise rapidly until it snakes through the many bends that once made this a dangerous road to navigate. When I was a child we often visited this area and I remember the signs that warned motorists of falling rocks. Now the cliffs have been shorn up and the road widened slightly, but it's still enough to send shivers down your back as twilight starts to fall.

It's the geology of the area that causes this particular place to show visitors many different aspects of itself, and I've seen the reactions of people when they see it in various seasons.
For the Wye Valley cuts through some rugged landscapes and the combination of river, cliffs and deep forest is endemic to this one special valley.
On a sunny day the view through the trees as the motorist starts the descent from the cliff-side is one of dappled sunshine opening out onto a vista of pure delight. The plain of the River Wye opens out at Tintern for a few miles and what a spectacular place that is!
The river widens and opens out here so that it causes a specific aspect once the sun starts to go down and the mist creeps across the river, rising to the tree line and engulfing the abbey itself in a hauntingly beautiful gossamer thread.
But the day is sunny, we have just arrived and what can we expect?

~~ The Abbey and Grounds ~~

Tintern Abbey was founded by the Cistercian monks in 1131, the second community that settled in Britain and the only one until then in Wales. Over the next two hundred years it was considerably remodelled and the grounds spread out to house several less lofty buildings so that the Abbey became self-sufficient. The valley is quite sheltered and even in winter it rarely sees snow. To get an idea of what it once looked like the visitor needs to enter the abbey, where the entrance price is surprisingly good value for such a large and imposing building. Like many monasteries and religious buildings, it was damaged considerably with the dissolution of monasteries under Henry V111. It once had large stained glass windows and would have been richly decorated.
Legend has it that many of the Monks managed to escape the slaughter by means of a bridge over the river Wye and following a path which led to hidden caves. Certainly the old wooden bridge was rebuilt with iron and the caves are still to be seen free of charge for those that can make the rough journey.

Entering the Abbey itself, you can look around the exhibition first and listen to the audio tour. Or you can glance around at how the abbey once looked and then just go on at your own pace to marvel at the wonders that are still visible. Maybe the soldiers had little heart in destroying this wonderful building, or perhaps it was just too imposing. Either way there are still a lot of the ruins to see. The North Nave rises to 228 feet along with remains of the nave column and the Southern arcade. The lower window hasn't the impact of the main one, but it still looks amazing, especially by moonlight. Expect to see sumptuous carvings, elaborate mouldings and tracierced windows. In places you might have to read about the ruins. The monks quarters certainly suffered along with the outbuildings. Some are even outside the abbey proper, as the cost of keeping this monument from falling down must be expensive to say the least. Yet one wouldn't begrudge a penny of the amount spent on it, not with the views through the windows that have captured the imagination of visitors for over a century.

~~ The Romantics.~~

Although greatly reduced and left to decay, the abbey became a favourite place of poets and artists alike. The most famous of artists to paint it was Turner. It appealed to his style of painting with its stark walls rising through the mists of the valley. Once you have seen the abbey close to nightfall, with white mist curling around its walls you cannot fail to see why poets and artists were swept away by the sight. Tennyson visited, as did Wordsworth. In fact Wordsworth returned and wrote one of his best-known poems here. *

Romantic still visit, but these spend special nights in the many inns that started to spring up in the Georgian era. These places are soaked in atmosphere and offer the visitor such romantic delights as four-poster beds, Tudor beams in the dining area and the best of both Welsh and English cuisine. A round of drinks won't leave you penniless either. Tintern village gives value for money.

~~ Other Delights.~~

Apart from the inns, there are a few café's and some gift shops. None are commercialised to any extent though. The village has an old mill that still works, but nowadays just turns water and has a delightful garden under the shop premises. Children scamper around safely, though it's wise to keep an eye on them near the river banks.
There is a road leading up to an old church which perches on the edge of a hillside. Now it's not in use anymore, but one famous writer used it in one of his horror stories. It's certainly very desolate.

Overall you can spend an entire day here and still want to come back to see it in other seasons. Since I've been inside the abbey a few times I am happy to have a picnic on the banks of the river and maybe do a few sketches of the abbey and environs. Back In March of this year I watched as my grandson Jack skipped from stone to stone on the abbey outskirts. He peered under rocks to look for Macca Pakka (from the TV programme in the Night garden), and generally enjoyed himself by making up his own games.

~~Prices.~~

Entrance fees for the abbey are £3.25 per adult, £2.75 concession and £9.25 for a family group. Since it can take several hours to wander around the price is reasonable. Of course you can just park and take in the general view, but there is something special about being in the abbey itself. Whether you feel closer to nature there or closer to God, I can't say. But on a misty evening when the whole landscape is dark green, blue and gold, you can imagine the monks with their candles, breath pluming in the evening air as they walk the long aisle to the grand window.

*
Tintern Abbey
Lines Written A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, On Revisting The Banks of the Wye During A Tour, July 13, 1798.


Five years have passed; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a sweet inland murmur. -- Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
Which on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
The day is come when I again repose
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view
These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,
Which, at this season, with their unripe fruits,
Among the woods and copses lose themselves,
Nor, with their green and simple hue, disturb
The wild green landscape. Once again I see
These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines
Of sportive wood run wild; these pastoral farms
Green to the very door; and wreathes of smoke
Sent up, in silence, from among the trees,
With some uncertain notice, as might seem,
Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods,
Or of some hermit's cave, where by his fire
The hermit sits alone.

Part of a longer poem by William Wordsworth.

© Lisa Fuller May 2008.

Summary: A great Day out for all the family.