Tea at Betty’s Tea Room.
We left London for our new home, Harrogate. Once a playground for the Victorian aristocrat, the Turkish baths and the gardens still draw the posh and provisioned. From here we would venture forth to York, Whitby, Durham, the Fountains, and a host of other locales. Before those journeys it was time for tea at one of England’s famed tea rooms, Betty’s. What can one say for cucumber sandwiches, macarons, scones and clotted cream? There is nothing to say, it is only for one to eat and enjoy. Filled with confectionaries and tea from England’s best, it was time to venture forth for adventure.
I set off alone for Fountains Abbey. It was a must-see for me. While we would not be able to make it to Tintern Abbey, Fountain would have to serve as my closest substitute. The abbey itself was like many that dot the English landscape. Once bustling sites of commerce and prayer, the Cistercian ruins are testaments to the political upheaval of Henry VIII. The ruins they left behind may be beautiful, but they speak of the violence of the English Reformation.
Fountains Abbey is particularly interesting. At a time when ruins where all in fashion (1768), William Aislabie purchased the ruined abbey for 16,000 pounds. He combined it with the Studley Estate where he constructed a magnificent water garden. Walking the grounds will take you on a healthy trek of several miles. In many ways the ruined abbey sits as a lawn ornament at the end of one of England’s grandest gardens. Combined with the lake for the swans, the deer park, and the beautiful St. Mary’s church at the far end it is unlike anything I have experienced. Louis XIV may not have liked the aesthetic, but he may have been jealous all the same. Apparently you can still rent Studley Hall for a party or a wedding, and have the grounds to yourself in the evening much like William would have two centuries before.
A few others from our group would venture out to Fountains two days later. They were able to spend most of the day there. I only got a couple of hours, but going by myself was special in its own way. I have been blessed to travel to many places, but Fountains Abbey was, for me, a unique experience.
