Rievaulx Abbey

The breathtaking abbey ruins that must have been held in astonished awe by our forebears when the abbey broke through the soil of Ryedale, adjacent to Farndale, in only a couple of decades before it started to take control of vast swathes of those lands

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This page accompanies the story of Rievaulx. There is also a chronology of Rievaulx, with source material.

Directions

If you follow the B1257 Stokesley road northwest from Helmsley, you will come to the well signed left turn to Rievaulx after only a couple of kilometres. You follow a steep downward drop into the small hamlet of Rievaulx from where you will have your first glimpse of the lovely abbey. Stop for a moment to take in the view from the hamlet.

I suggest that before going into the abbey, you then drive along the road to the Rievaulx Bridge and then return along the same road, from where you can take in Rievaulx Abbey from a distance. If you see sheep in the field in front of the abbey, you ponder for a moment on the significance of wool to the abbey’s history.

The Abbey

Rievaulx Abbey is an English Heritage site, so if you’re a member of English Heritage or Historic Scotland, you can visit for free. Otherwise you can book online.

From the visitor centre you approach the abbey and start to appreciate its grandeur and scale, a place though of tranquillity and calm.

Before exploring the abbey there is a small museum on the far right of the pathway in, and it is worth starting here.

You can then amble around the abbey and take in its atmosphere.

This page is intended to provide some guidance to a visit to Rievaulx and it is accompanied by and should be read alongside, the history of Rievaulx Abbey.

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