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Fountains Ways - Abbots' Way, Nidderdale
North of England
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Abbots’ Way (Winksley, Aldfield, Sawley and Studley Royal), 8 miles, 1 day
This walk links four rural churches and an abandoned spa in the Skell Valley close to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Fountains Abbey: an unspoilt landscape shaped by this medieval monastery and by two landowning estates.
The tower of St Cuthbert and St Oswald church in Winksley
The tower of St Cuthbert and St Oswald church in Winksley contains reused stones from a chapel built by Abbot Huby of Fountains Abbey in 1502-4, though the church was newly constructed in 1914-17 with an impressive Arts and Crafts interior. The mystery of its unusual date and size for a parish of just a few dozen houses can be explained by the death of the shipping magnate Christopher Furness, First Baron Furness of Grantley Hall, in 1912. The church was built in his memory at the expense of his widow. Nearby Grantley Hall is now a luxury hotel.
The church of St Lawrence Aldfield
The church of St Lawrence Aldfield was rebuilt in the late eighteenth century (the reused sundial over the door is dated 1696). It has a well-preserved interior with a plaster ribbed vault, box pews and a triple-decker pulpit.
The walk passes the remains of Aldfield Spa in the deep, wooded valley of Spa Gill Wood. A sulphur spring was discovered here in the late seventeenth century and the well is visible in front of the farmhouse ruin; the carved stone well head can be found abandoned nearby. Water from Aldfield Spa was pumped to Ripon Spa Baths when it opened in 1905. Sawley has a nineteenth century church dedicated to St Michael.
From here, the walk follows the River Skell to the extensive ruins of Fountains Abbey (National Trust) and on to the highly ornate church of St Mary, Studley Royal (English Heritage, free admission) designed by William Burges in the 1870s and standing in isolation at the head of the deer park with views down the avenue to Ripon Cathedral in the distance.
This route is part of a group of three intersecting Fountains Way routes:
Route highlights
Location
Nearby Places
Nearby Sanctuaries
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Discover holy places, and bring your own beliefs.
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At the British Pilgrimage Trust, we believe a pilgrimage should be made on an individual’s own terms. We are founded on the principle that we can all bring our own beliefs to the journey, accessible and welcoming to all.
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Tom Jones
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Tom Jones
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