Hilbre Islands: Advise and tips

My trip to the Hilbre Islands was amazing! I would highly recommend this as a great day out for all the family. Did you read the first and second blogs on this incredible little hidden gem?

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

If you are considering a visit here, there are just a few important things you need to know in order to have a safe visit to the Islands, as well as some useful information.

Getting there

By public transport: Get the train to Liverpool Lime Street train station. From here you will catch the Merseyrail to West Kirby from platform A. Platform A is located underground of the station. The journey should take approximately 40 minutes. It is then approximately a short 4 to 5 minute walk from the station to West Kirby beach.

By Car: It is approximately a 30- minute drive from Liverpool, depending on which route you choose to take

Parking: I used public transport but I noticed there was plenty of side street parking for free and a section by the marina for around 20 cars which are free although,, it goes without saying you would have to arrive early to snatch up these spots. Other than this, there is pay and display parking all along the promenade.

The route you MUST take for a safe journey across

1 Start at Dee lane slipway

2 Walk straight to Little Eye which is the smallest of the Islands. Make sure you keep to the right, but straight.

3 From here turn right and walk to Middle Eye Island keeping on the sand

4 On middle eye next to the arch, there are some rough carved out steps. When you get to the top there is a path that will lead you to Hilbre Island.

*Important notes*

please try to avoid stepping on the rocks, if you need to do be extremely careful because some are very slippy (Don’t let small children walk alone)

Also Make sure you take this route and do not cross straight over to Hilbre Island from Hoylake

Please make sure you check the tide times before walking out

This is extremely important as the tide comes in very quickly, many people have had to be rescued off the island. I saw people walking over with small children at the time they should have been heading back.🤦🏽‍♀️.

All the information states to walk over 3 hours after high tide and return 3 hours before the next high tide.

There is a noticeboard on the beach informing you of when the tides are high and low. I wasn’t confident about this because I wasn’t sure if I should walk out at those times or wait 3 hours after the times shown.

I found this website incredibly useful. I can’t swim and this gave me the confidence to see if the tide was rising or falling and a clear understanding of when it was safe to walk.

What to wear

Wear a good pair of walking boots or wellies. Your feet will get wet and you will get full of soggy sand no matter how carefully you try to walk. Take spare socks, shoes and pants.

Make sure you wear or bring something warm the weather can change quickly here.

Take a beach towel to dry off

Where to get changed

If your in a car it will be easier for you to change. For those that are not, there is a Morrisons store near the beach with toilets where you can change.

I wore two pairs of leggings and two pairs of high socks, so I was able to just whip everything off on the beach and continue to wear the leggings from underneath.

Food and drinks

There are no shops or anything on the Island, so you may want to take something with you although, there are plenty of shops, cafés and restaurants not far from the beach.

As mentioned in the last post there are toilets, so not to worry if you need the bathroom whilst there.

A worthy mention

if you can, stick by to watch the tide come in. It’s quite fascinating that the beach is next to the marine lake, with only a narrow path separating the two. It looks as though people are walking on water from a distance.

Other useful websites

Hilbre Islands local nature reserve

Visit the Wirral

Don’t want to walk alone? Book a walking tour here

I hope this is helpful for anyone planning to visit.

Thank you for your visit today

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤

Apr 30

Part 2 Hilbre Islands: A Uninhabited Island Near Liverpool

Comments 16

After my dramatic failed attempt of reaching this Island, I can happily announce I successfully made it over two weeks later.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

It was a glorious sunny week and about to get even warmer as we approached the weekend. I figured if it was sunny there would be a fair chance of other people taking walks out to Hilbre Islands, so I booked my trains for the very next day.

I was absolutely right! I arrived at West Kirby beach at 10.45am as the tide was coming in much later than last time. I was confident, very well equipped and a lot more organised than last time. Nothing whatsoever was going to stop me. Walking out to sea, I could see other people walking out and I could also see the coast guard’s vehicle sitting on Little Eye Island as I approached. It felt much safer than last time.

I had already experienced Little Eye, so didn’t stop here and headed straight over to Middle Eye.

Middle Eye

Middle Eye is a small Uninhabited tidal island located to the South of Hilbre Island.

Over on this Island there are interesting rock strata, caves and seasonal flowers. Many rock pools to explore with lots of crabs, shrimps and tiny fish to find hiding in the shadows.

It seems like everyone loves this natural arched cave here. Not surprising its quite impressive don’t you think?

The rock formations and the views from this island are just surreal.

This was taken whilst heading back to mainland. Most of us were heading back because we could see the tide coming in.

….And I finally made it to Hilbre Island!

At last, I finally made it to Hilbre Island after weeks of hesitation, fear of crossing because of the lack of being unable to swim and one failed attempt. Don’t you just love it when you conquer something you were so fearful of? This felt like a victory for me. 😂

What’s on the Island, things to see and facilities

Houses

There are a few cute houses here, however as I have mentioned I’m my last blog. Nobody has lived here permanently since 2012. However, some of the houses are privately owned.

The last person to live here permanently was a Wirral Council Warden, but since January 2012 it was announced there will be no permanent residents here. This was after the Wirral Council struggled to find a ranger willing to live without electricity or water supply. The rangers now visit on a daily basis.

Could you live here without energy or water supplies?

The Hilbre Bird Observatory

One of the most interesting buildings here is the bird observatory. This is where birds are monitored for the recordings of a national network of observatories. And as a place of nature reserve, you bet you will spot some of the more unique birds.

The Old life boat station and slip way

The old life boat station was built in 1839 and remained in service until 1939 after being abandoned.

It was built here along with a long slipway so the life boats could be used even if the tide was low. But it was abandoned for the tractor that towed the boats across instead.

Enjoy the panoramic views

Enjoy the panoramic views where you can look out to The River Dee Estuary, the mountains of North Wales and the Wirral Coast line.

The views here are breathtaking! You’ll be glad you took the walk out.

Spot the grey Seals

The island has a colony of grey seals. Apparently the best place to spot then is behind the old life boat station. I didn’t know this until I had left the island and unfortunately didn’t get to see any.

Image borrowed from Dragon Tools on pixabay

Bird watching

The island is a prime spot for bird watching. There is an array of different birds all throughout the year. They fall into four groups estuary birds, sea birds, migrating birds and breeding birds.

Facilities

There is a little seating area with a shelter on the island as well as two toilets

If you would like to know more advice and tips on visiting the island stay tuned for my next up and coming post.

Thank you for visiting my blog today

Stay blessed ❤🙏🏾

Apr 08

Hilbre Islands Part1: A beautiful Uninhabited Island near Liverpool

Comments 15

Travelling to Liverpool? You may want to take an adventure over to these cool islands located between England and Wales.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

The Hilbre Islands are an archipelago made up of three Islands: Little Eye, Middle Eye and the largest of the three, Hilbre. They are located at the edge of the estuary of the River Dee, at the border of England and Wales. The Islands can be reached by foot during low tide from West Kirby on the Wirral peninsula, Merseyside and can take anywhere between around 50 – mins to an hour and a half to get to all three, depending on your own pace.

Once you arrive, it offers amazing photo opportunities of beautiful beach houses, panoramic sea views, and wildlife. If your lucky you may even spot some grey Seals!

Most Challenging trip of my year so far

This adventure has been my favourite adventure so far this year, but it has been my most challenging of the year so far.

I first made the discovery of the Islands back in February. I was super excited so couldn’t wait to do the adventure. Although, I hesitated for around two weeks before booking the trip.

The thought of crossing over was causing me to feel a little nervous. I kept reading about how the tide comes in so quickly and about people who had to be rescued after getting caught in the tide. Also, I was a little confused about the safest times to cross over. I understood it to have a safe journey. You must cross 3 hours after high tide and be back on the mainland at least 3 hours before the tide comes in. The times of low and high tide are stated clearly on the few websites I visited, but the times stated for low and high tide were always six hours apart, which didn’t make sense. Therefore, I wasn’t sure if these were the times I should head out and come back, or wait three hours after the times shown 🤔. I eventually found some really helpful websites that put my mind at ease ,which I’m so grateful I did as the ones shown on the beach were confusing. ( I will share these websites along with other advice and information in a later blog)

It was a little frightening

I eventually booked the trip in the first week of March. I arrived at the beach around 8.45am and started to walk out, but got cold feet when realising no one else was walking out to sea. I headed back and asked a kind man with a dog if I was heading in the right direction. Looking quite worried about my wellbeing, he said “Yes, but have you checked the tide times? Be careful the tide comes in quickly”. His reaction made me want to check to see if a coastal guard was around, but there didn’t seem to be any around. I spotted a lady working near by the lake, so asked her if it was a good time to walk out. She, like the man earlier, had the same reaction. She explained to go immediately, but to not hang around for too long once there. She also told me the safest way to reach all the islands. Well, I am definitely a lot more nervous now. Regardless, I started to head out there.

The further out I got, the more my fears grew to the point of wanting to turn back. It was an incredibly frightening experience for someone who can not swim. 🤣 Nonetheless, I would not allow myself to turn back with the promise to myself of being allowed to turn back after reaching the first tiny little island.

I had tortured myself enough, Therefore, I didn’t want to force myself to reach the other two. Well, not this day anyway, but definitely next time.

Once there, I felt better, but still didn’t feel brave enough to attempt the other two Islands. However, was really proud of myself for facing this challenge.

On Little Eye are the remains of a brick and concrete moorings a long with a substantial iron bolt remaining in place. The island is mostly made up of red bunter sandstone and grass.

I must admit it felt great heading back to the mainland having not been swept out to sea 🤣.

My return journey was much more successful. I will share that in the next blog.

Thanks for reading

Stay blessed 🙏🏾❤

Apr 03

Manchester: A new love for an old place

Comments 10

Nowdays I often think of how incredibly fortunate I am to be from one of the best cities here in the UK. But, I must admit I have not always felt this way. Instead, its been a kind of love hate relationship thing. Loving the place for all my connections such as family and friends, but hating how incredibly tired and bored I had become of it, truly believing the next cities were much better.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

It wasn’t until Covid came along that I found this new revitalised love for my city.

As challenging as covid has been it has left many of us with silver linings such as teaching us to love harder, to be kind, to appreciate and have gratitude for all we have been taking for granted. Reconnecting with my city has been one of my many silver linings.

Coming up on Nattytravels…

As part of my new reconnected love and appreciation for Manchester, it will now have a well deserved spot on my blog. The blogs will consist of places I have been to revist and new discoveries in the city.

Also in the next up and coming months I’m excited to announce I will be starting to travel abroad again after three very long years 🙌🏾. So you’ll be seeing more blogs on places abroad.

For all those who have been enjoying the UK blogs, I will still be continuing to travel the UK, therefore there will be plenty more👍🏾.

Thank you for all your support

And on this note I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your continued support here at Nattytravels, regardless of all the incorrect typo’s 🤣.

I really do appreciate it.

Thank you ❤🙏🏾

Mar 20

Manchester,England: The world’s first industrial city, and more interesting facts

Comments 24

Hi all! Welcome back to my blog. I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

In this blog, I would like to introduce Manchester, my home city. Have any of you ever visited? If so, what did you think? Be sure to leave your comments.

Location

Manchester is one of UK’s most popular cities. It is located in the north West of England and is the fifth largest city in the UK.

Here are a few of my favourite facts about Manchester

The World’s First Industrial City

It was the world’s first industrial city which led the way to transforming people’s lives in the area and across the world.

You can still see several of the old warehouses, mills and signs in and around the city

Due to it’s astounding growth of the cotton industry in the early 19th century it became a major global centre for trading and manufacturing. Textiles was the driving force, but it soon emerged to producing all kinds of products.

Manchester’s Symbol ‘The Worker Bee’

The Bee was adopted from the period when the city first became the global centre and leader in the Industrial Revolution. At the time it had been described as being like a hive for activity due to it’s hard working population, this was the motif behind it. Since this time, the Bee symbol has been the feature of the city and you’ll be sure to spot several symbols in and around the city .

Britain’s first ever black professor worked at Manchester University

Sir W. Arthur Lewis became Britain’s first ever black professor at aged 33, he was a Saint Lucian economist who come to work at Manchester University in 1948. Not only was he a professor, but a Noble prizewinner who was able to persuade and negotiate with world leaders.

He helped post- war Afro-Caribbean people arriving and settling in the areas of Hulme and Moss Side by creating centres of support for them. These centres supported people for socialising and learning at the height of racism and prejudice views. One of the centres still exists today in the moss side area. Sir Arthur wasn’t a Mancunian born, but he will be forever in the heart of manchester for his work and courage, and is commemorated at Manchester University with a building named after him.

The Suffragette Movement was founded here

Emmeline Prankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union, known as the Suffragettes Movement in 1903. Emmeline a local Women from Manchester and her members fought to enfranchise women here in the UK, using militant strategies. In 1918 women were given limited rights to vote, and full voting rights in 1928 just before the passing of Emmeline Pankhurst.

One of the first cities in the world to celebrate and commemorate LGBT

Manchester was one of the first cities in the world to commemorate LGBT people by commissioning a local artist to paint the city with rainbow tiles in to flagstones across the city. Manchester Pride is one of the UK’ s leading charities celebrating LGBT and helping individuals to thrive as well as fighting for equality. It has held one of the worlds leading pride festivals since 1985 every year which is centred around the vibrant gay village.

The place where Charles Rolls and Henry Royce first ever met

It was at Manchester’s Midland Hotel where Rolls and Royce first met, and just two years later the pair formed the Rolls Royce company. There is a statue at the hotel dedicated to this meeting.

Hope you enjoyed my blog today. Which was your favourite fact? Do you have a favourite you know of that is not listed here?

I appreciate your visit today

Have a fantastic week

Stay blessed 🙏🏾❤

Mar 09

The lake district: Pleasant moments with some not so pleasant moments

Comments 14

One thing I absolutely loved about my trip to The lake district was getting lost. Well, I wasn’t exactly lost, It just felt like it at the time.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

On my way to Hawkshead the bus journey took me around some of the most stunning lake views which inspired me to jump off the bus to visit on the way back. Although, I didn’t quite get off where I had originally intended.

I got of the bus just outside Ambleside centre and walked along what I now know to be Ambleside road.

The road curves right around this huge beautiful lake and these breathtaking views.

I did not expect it

As I’m walking around what feels like heaven, I unexpectedly hear the loudest aircraft noise I have ever heard, then two aircrafts (like the one pictured above) zoom over my head. They were extremely fast, low, twisting, and doing all different types of mamanoeuvres. All whilst staying very closely together. I completely froze! It certainly wasn’t something I was expecting to see. I come to the conclusion of how it most definitely must be a military training session. Though, this thought didn’t seem to have much of an effect. I still found the whole experience unpleasant and they really made me a little nervous for some reason. I think it was the incredibly loud sound of them and how low and fast they were flying. Nonetheless, I just wanted to catch a bus and get a way from them 🤣. The only thing was, I couldn’t actually find a bus stop.

I walked and walked whilst these planes kept coming. There was not a bus stop anywhere, nor a single soul in sight apart from the odd car that went by. This only intensified my nervousness, as I felt more and more isolated with each step I took. But, I come to a hotel and hope I will find someone to ask where the nearest bus stop was. Well, that was my intention, until I was distracted by most beautiful views I had seen from the bus earlier.

As I walk through the hotel gardens and admiring the lake views, wondering if its a private part of the lake for guests and I’m not supposed to be here. Regardless, I continue in the hopes I won’t be asked to leave.

It was so blissful with not a single person around and finally the planes had stopped flying.

For those interested the hotel was named Langdale Chase Hotel, a beautiful country house hotel.

Oh! And I did eventually find a bus stop 🤣

Thanks for stopping by

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤

Feb 12

The lake district: Hawkshead Village/Cumbria

Comments 8

Hi all! Welcome back to my blog. It’s been a while since I posted about my failed trip to the Lake district, but I’m back today with a post of the more successful visit.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

Unlike the organised trip last time, this trip was carefully planned out. Well, I say carefully planned out, but due to my train being two- minutes late on arrival, I missed the bus to Hawkshead, then had to wait an hour for the next one🤦🏽‍♀️. Nonetheless, it turned out to be one of my favourite trips of 2021.

Location

Hawkshead is a beautiful market village made up of white stone houses, arches and cute tearooms. It is located in Cumbria, England in the South Lakeland area.

Some fun facts about Hawkshead

It was established by the monks of Furness Abbey (The wealthiest and largest monastery in North England) as the main centre for the wool trade.

Beatrix Potter lived only two miles away from here in her Hill top house in a village called Near Sawrey. Her husband William Heelis, a solicitor from Hawkshead worked in the building which is now the Beatrix Potter Museum in Hawkshead. Beatrix also spent many family holidays here in Hawkshead.

Most of the buildings here were built in and between the 17th and 18th centuries.

William Wordsworth schooled here at the Hawkshead Grammer School, he came here in 1779 after his mother passed away. He and his brother Richard stayed here and lived with a local widow named Ann Tyson. His experience of the nature here during his adolescent years inspired his poetry writing.

How I spent my time here

In all honesty, I didn’t spent a great deal of time here, due to me missing the bus. I only spent around 50mims here as I had to take the very next bus back to Windermere. Although, to be fair I think this was sufficient time since there wasn’t many places open due to Covid.

I Strolled around the streets, alleyways and residential areas admiring the beautiful stoned white buildings and houses.

I visited St Michael and All Angels Church

I had the place to myself, it was so peaceful up here

This church and church yard sits on a hill looking over the village, with views of Esthwaite Water, Helvellyn and the Langsdales, aswell as Claife Heights.

It was also the place where William Wordsworth liked to sit and I could see why.

As I mentioned earlier most of the places were closed, but if your thinking of putting this place on your bucket list I have listed a few suggestions of places to visit here.

Places to visit here in Hawkshead

Beatrix Potter Museum

Minstrels Gallery

St Michael and All Angels Church

The Little Ice Cream Shop

The Old Grammar School

Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top House

Hawkshead Courthouse

The Chocolate factory

Tips and Advice for travelling to Hawkshead

Car

Travelling by car – Please be aware the centre of Hawkshead is closed to cars as it is a car free zone. There is a car park just on the outskirts, see here for more information and price details.

Public Transport

Travelling by bus or train – Take the train to Windermere train station, get on the 505 at the bus stop directly outside the train station.

Purchase a Hop on and off day ticket for £8.50, this can take you all around the lake district. Check here for more ticket options including tickets for children, families and groups.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog today, please feel free to share with anyone you feel it may benefit.

Many thanks for reading

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤

Jan 24

Lake District: Epic fail

Comments 13

I finally made the trip to the Lake District in December, something I had been getting round to for pretty much the whole of 2021.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

I had woken up a little later than usual this morning so spent the morning catching up with my online work, taking a shower and getting ready before booking my train tickets. The earliest train I could make at this point was the 11.01am and the return ticket I chose was 17.08pm, which all seemed quite reasonable at the time of booking. That was until I got to the train station and realized I had to make two changes and not one as I initially thought. This meant I wasn’t going to arrive until 1pm. Still, I felt optimistic that 4 hours in the lake district was a reasonable amount of time.

A cruise to see nothing and the most expensive pee’s ever!

On arrival I discovered I had just missed a bus and had to wait 20-minutes for the next one. Anyway, I was still feeling optimistic as I had a few hours remaining.

I had no real plans so when the bus turned up I just purchased a £8.50 day rider with the idea of jumping off whenever I see anything of interest. We arrived at Bowness Pier it looked beautiful, so this was where I jumped off and at this point I really needed to use the ladies. Luckily enough there where some public toilets to use, but not without charge. £1.50 to have a pee! And the cheeky buggers take card payments too!🤣 This was the most expensive pee ever!

Anyway, Bowness lake was beautiful (shown in above picture), I should have stayed here and explored, but my irrational thinking this day lead to me going on a 45- minute return boat cruise to lakeside.

Trying to kid myself I wasn’t cold on the top deck. Then the unthinkable happened…….My eyelashes flew off 🤣

It was a nice cruise but really didn’t see anything on the cruise apart from a few houses of interest and trees.

When I arrived at Lakeside I asked one of the crew members what time the last boat back was. He explained, that this was the last boat back and it was boarding in 10-minutes. So, basically I paid £14.50 to see nothing! It was my own fault for not checking before hand🤷🏿‍♀️.

I managed to take this shot down a little village lane before having to head back on board for the 45 minute journey back.

You can see by the look on my face I’m still happy and making the most of it

By the time I got back to Bowness It was pretty much time to head back to the train station, but not without having another £1.50 pee. I honestly can’t believe the cost to take a pee here! Can you imagine the cost for a family of four! It would cost £6 😮.

Anyway, enough about pee’s. I think it’s fair to say, this trip was a little bit of a failed trip, but it taught me to be more prepared for next time. I did return to the lake district better prepared and had a more successful trip, which I will share with you in my next blog.

Thanks for visiting today

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤

Jan 16

Stoke-On-trent: Trentham Estate

Comments 7

Stoke-on-Trent is another one of our cities, it is situated in the centre of England, Staffordshire. It is often referred to as simply ‘Stoke’ and is the biggest settlement in Staffordshire. It is known for it’s pottery industry and has a number of art galleries and museums dedicated to this.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

It was just after another lockdown when I visited here. Needless to say, there were many places still closed and the city was incredibly quiet. I knew this would be the case before I arrived, but I had just found a fantastic £2 return train ticket deal with Northern. It was an offer I couldn’t resist.

After researching and discovering many places were still closed, I discovered Trentham Estate.

Trentham Estate

The Trentham Estate is in the village of Trentham on the edge of Stoke city. It occupies 725 acres of nature and one of its main attractions is the award-winning gardens.

Trentham Gardens

This historic garden is one of the best in the UK. It offers a vast contemporary perennial of plantings and is absoulety stunning to walk around.

The garden has been designed in an Italian style garden, in the framework of Sir Barry’s 19th century Italianate garden.

At the back of the gardens stands the remains of Trentham hall. The parts of the remains date back to 1833-42.

It was a bit eerie

It was a little eerie here, I’m not really sure how to describe the feeling. Nothing really happened, but I had the strangest feeling I was being watched and suddenly felt a bit spooked out. I mean, I feel like I should make a disclaimer here, so please consider this as a disclaimer. It was a rainy day and I suddenly found that everyone had disappeared, therefore I was here alone for a short while. I was enjoying my time and everything was fine until I stood at the hall taking my pictures, this was when I got the strange eerie feeling. But who knows maybe a just got spooked out because I was alone in such a huge unfamiliar space🤷🏿‍♀️.

Nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. Its such a beautiful tranquil place.

The Lake

The lake here is at the centre of the gardens, it is actually the first place you arrive at as you go through the entrance, so immediately your surrounded by the natural beauty. The walk around the lake gives views of the River Trent and leads to the woodlands and the wildflower meadows.

Other things to do here

There are lots more things to do here at Trentham gardens such as the fairy trail, the children’s playground, boat trips, the tree top adventures, the monkey forest and trentham shopping village. See here to discover more about The Trentham Estate.

Thank you for visiting my blog today

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤

Jan 11

North Yorkshire:Bolton Abbey

Comments 7

Hi there, hope everyone is good.

This post is going to be about Bolton Abbey, a place I visited on the day I visited Malham Cove.

Did you read my last post on Malham Cove? If not and your considering visiting here you may want to take a look at the post as the two are within only a half an hour drive from each other.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info

Location

Bolton Abbey is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, near the little market town of Skipton and is situated on the border of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Things to do here:

Priory Church and Ruins

There are a number of things to do and see in Bolton Abbey, but the main attraction is the Priory Church and Ruins.

The church and its ruins are of an Augustinian Priory which had be given to Augustinian Canons (A Roman Catholic Order group) in 1154 by Alice de Rumilly, a lady of craven and Skipton, who had inherited the area. The Canons lived here until it was stripped of its assets during the dissolution of the monasteries.

This is a perfect place for escaping the 21st century and getting a glimpse of some incredible views.

Walk along the stepping stones

There are 60 stepping stones here which have become the challenge for visitors to take. I sat this one out as I had just almost broke my neck after stumbling at the top of malham Cove earlier this day.

The stones used to be the crossing point for the lay workers who worked at the priory. Can you imagine having to cross these everyday to get to and from work?

Just North of the stones is a large popular beach. This is a perfect place to relax and enjoy the surrounding views and views of the priory.

A walk to the Valley of Desolation & Simon’s Seat

The valley is linked with the River Wharfe. There is a beautiful waterfall and the walk can be continued where visitors will arrive at Simon’s seat where they experience beautiful views.

Other things include

Strid Wood and the Strid which is an ancient woodland

Flora and Fauna, a wildlife habitat

Burden Tower, a ruin which was a hunting lodge

The Aqueduct bridge that stands over the river Wharfe

Have a walk around the quaint Bolton Abbey Village. The village has a number of cute cottages, tea rooms, a book store, a post office and a steam railway.

Tickets

The Bolton Abbey Estate is open from 9am to 5pm, tickets are £10- £12.50

For more information visit here

Hope you enjoyed the blog today

Many thanks for stopping by

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤