Recommended Locations: The Yorkshire Triple: Brimham Rocks, Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Water Garden
Situated near Ripon in North Yorkshire are three National Trust sites that are well worth a trip to if you're planning an itinerary for the Yorkshire area. Brimham Rocks is like a strange, other-wordly landscape with peculiar rock formations of millstone grit scattered across the moorland. The rocks are huge and perfect for climbing, where you can get breathtaking views across towards York. I've visited Brimham Rocks in hot weather (when these photos were taken) in mid June and also in the throws of Winter, when I tried to photograph the rocks in driving rain-not recommended.! Having said that although this is a great Summer location, I actually think you see the rocks at their best in Winter when the weather is moody and the trees are bare revealing the real harshness and weirdness of the landscape.
Fountains Abbey holds the largest ancient ruins of a monastery in the country, dating back to the 1100s. Its Gothic atmosphere and architecture is certainly impressive. Studley Royal water park is in the same estate as the Abbey and here you can find extensive grounds of elegant,formal water gardens dating back to the 18th Century. The classical statues, temples and wide waterways make for a garden which is very unique, and although I normally prefer gardens which are a bit more natural with flowers and more 'mess', the neat, geometrical shapes of this garden were a spectacular sight. These two locations have in fact been recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage site, making them extra special.
