4Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire

While visitors flock to York Minster and Whitby Abbey, fewer make the journey to Rievaulx Abbey, hidden in a wooded valley of the North York Moors.
Founded in 1132, the Cistercian abbey was once one of the most powerful in England before Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. Today, its ruins stand in quiet grandeur, surrounded by rolling countryside. Unlike busier sites, Rievaulx offers solitude and the chance to imagine the monastic life of medieval England.

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