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Tintern Abbey

Tintern Abbey is situated in a wooded valley of the River Wye and was founded in the twelfth century by Cistercian monks. It was rebuilt in the late 13th century and its crowning glory, the great church, was built between 1269 and 1301. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 it was the wealthiest abbey in Wales. Rediscovered in the 18th century by 'romantic' tourists, the remains of the Abbey were swathed in ivy, creating 'picturesque scenery...beyond any commendation'. Today the ivy is gone, and remarkably the great church stands much as it was in its glory days, with massive pillars, magnificent archways and elegant windows that frame the hills beyond. Stand in the open space of the chapel and marvel at Tintern's magical beauty, celebrated by notables like Wordsworth and Turner (there are 16 views by Turner in the Tate Britain alone).

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dizzylizzy75 wrote on 13 May 2007 at 09:39 PM

Visited Tintern for the first time in 1988 as a bored teenager with my parents
Felt then (as I still do now) that it was magnificent, rising up against a backdrop of dark green trees right on banks of River Wye. Little rickety bridge over river nearby terrified me!!!
Took fiance back there last year after day racing at Chepstow. It has not lost any of it's atmospheric splendour (can still imagine the monks there) and that rickety bridge is still there
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