Bolton Abbey

Some more views of Bolton Abbey

Bolton Abbey is a quaint dales village adjacent to Bolton Priory, a ruined Augustinian monastery on the banks of the River Wharfe, in Wharfedale just north of the spa town of Ilkley in the Yorkshire Dales.

This renowned beauty spot forms part of the Duke of Devonshire's country estate, which also includes the riverside walk through the woods to the Strid, a notorious stretch of water where the River Wharfe is forced into a deep thundering channel.

Another walk leads through the so called "Valley of Desolation" (actually a pleasant wooded ravine) to Posforth Gill waterfalls and on up to the rocky crest of Simon's Seat, towering over the quaintly named village of Appletreewick.

Much of this area is bracken moorland much famed for grouse shooting and hunting on the Duke of Devonshire's country estate. Also worth a visit is Barden Bridge and Barden Tower, an ancient ruin a few miles upstream of Bolton Abbey and the Strid.

Also close by is the Bolton Abbey terminus of the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway - from where it is possible to take a ride on a steam train to the village of Embsay, near to the market town of Skipton.

In September 1833 the Brontes visited Bolton Abbey on an excursion from their home at Haworth in West Yorkshire's Bronte Country. This excursion is described by Ellen Nussey (a close friend of Charlotte Bronte), and her account of the visit is included (along with a reproduction of a drawing by Charlotte Bronte of Bolton Abbey) in a book about the dales entitled The Yorkshire Dales - A View from the Millennium.

Other Bolton Abbey related websites:

For more information about Bolton Abbey, Bolton Priory and the surrounding area please visit the following (externally maintained) websites (listed in approximate alphabetical order):

• The Priory Church of St.Mary and St.Cuthbert

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