Tintern Abbey – a photo essay

Tintern Abbey is situated in the beautiful Wye Valley in the southeastern corner of Wales.  This Cistercian Abbey sits near the A466 north of Chepstow and is said to be one of the greatest monastic ruins in Wales, founded on … I’m not sure how they know this because it is pretty exact … founded on May 9, 1131.

Of those buildings dating from the 12^th C little remains but the Abbey was more or less completely rebuilt in the 13^th C and it is these buildings and walls around which we strolled.

Lord Tennyson was inspired to write “Tears, Idle Tears” upon a visit to Tintern Abbey and William Wordsworth wrote “Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey”.

One of my favourite books is Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth”.  The immensity of the achievements in building these great cathedrals, abbeys and churches is staggering and never fails to capture my imagination.Personally, I can’t go into places like this without searching for the voices, the ceremonies, the sounds, and the small dramas that played out in the halls and back stairs.  I love British history.

Below is an artist’s rendering of the Abbey.

After spending some time roaming the ruins we continued on up the lush and verdant green Wye Valley. We were told we were about two weeks ahead of the fall colour but it was beautiful as it was.