Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens

Last time N and I were in York we didn’t get chance to go to Fountains Abbey, so I was determined I’d make the trip this time round. I wasn’t disappointed. On the same site is Studley Royal Water Gardens so it’s a nice walk seeing two very different things.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because of the way the abbey ruins were incorporated into the design of the estate when the Aislabie’s managed to buy the ruins and combine the two. The elegance of the water garden, with the wild, wooded areas and walks around the abbey.

Parking at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal

I’d planned to park at the level Westgate car park which is also the accessible one  which would mean no big hills to return to it. But I missed the sign, so I parked in the main Visitor Centre car park. The walk down is quite long, but all downhill so isn’t too bad. But the return walk would be horrible unless you’re super fit (not me, and not in the heat).

The alternate car park is the Studley Royal car park near the water gardens. There’s only a small slope down to the entrance. And would probably be less walking in total as going from the visitor centre is a long walk to Fountains Abbey ruins and then onto the water gardens. Whereas from the Studley Royal end you don’t need to do the final bit up to the visitor centre.

Although September 2026, the Studley visitor centre/cafe is closed for refurbishment, so pick where you want to walk from the other car park until that entrance is back open.

Fountains Abbey

Arriving just before opening time, there was plenty of parking, and only round the corner to the large visitors centre which in itself has quite a lot going on. Plants for sale, the shop, toilets, coffee and refreshments stop.

The person who scanned my card was very cheerful and pointed me in the right direction. There are a couple of different routes, and signs at each split path.

I opted for the walk via the playground which is the way they sent me anyway. It looked everything was set up ready for lots of summer activities for children and families in the central grass area.

The playground was large, with lots of wooden play equipment for different ages. Plus it was in the wooded area so great to have shade while children play.

En route down you can stop at Swanley Grange. It’s a small building telling you how the monks grew their food, looked after the bees and more. You can wander through the garden too. There were some female and young male pheasants wandering around in there, and the wildfowl was certainly something the estate isn’t short of.

As you spot the ruins of Fountains Abbey through the trees it really is a catch your breath moment. I’ve seen beautiful large ruins before, but this was something else. The sheer scale was so much more than I expected.

Fountains Abbey was a Cistercian Monastery established in 1132 by 11 Benedictine monks. It became the richest monastery in the country, due to the production and land worked by the lay brothers who also lived in the grounds. The abbey was ruined after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, and later suffered from quarrying too. 

You’re given an outline map on arrival at the visitors centre to give you a guide on the different areas and rooms. There’s also a few small signs, but otherwise you’re on your own to enjoy and explore.

I did see a sign that at certain times of the day there’s a guide to ask questions, so I presume that’s during holidays and weekends.

It was just peaceful to wander around, enjoying the ruins, taking photos. And often feeling like I was the only person there.

Some areas are more ruined than others, usually the smaller rooms but you can still imagine how it might have been all those centuries ago. 

After I’d had my fill, it was time to walk to see the water gardens.

Studley Royal water gardens

It was getting busier by this time and there were lots of dog walkers, but all on leads and I didn’t see any being any bother. 

The walk is fairly flat, I walked alongside the huge rocky outcrops, and listened to the birds. There were so many pheasants and similar birds around, N would have loved spotting them all.

The water gardens were created in the Georgian period, with follies, statues and various paths, caves and other sights to find. You can just imagine people from the period coming to walk and be seen alongside the lakes.

In the sun, they’re beautiful to see with the reflections. Although photos don’t really do it justice – just some statues in the middle of water. The shapes that were created are interesting, and again, everything’s on a large scale. Not just a few fountains in a garden. I’m sure if Studley Hall hadn’t been burnt down, it all would have been quite spectacular.

I didn’t divert off to look at all the different follies and temples, but there were plenty more routes to go down if you wanted to.

It was a lovely relaxing place to take a seat and enjoy the quiet.

At the end was a little (didn’t feel that safe) bridge to go over, and the gulls, ducks and swans had found their way over to a family with a toddler. Watch out for those swans!

The cafe was popular with lots of people stopping in on arrival. I decided I’d just head on to my next stop.

I did the walk all the way down, but didn’t fancy the long walk back up the steep slopes, so I got the shuttle minibus back up to the visitor centre. You can book these at the visitor centres, and they just come along when requested.

As I was walking back to the car, it was certainly getting busier with families turning up. I was glad I’d experienced the peace and quiet before it got too busy.

People say they can spend all day at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal. I’m sure you could if you wanted to walk into the deer park, up to the church which is open in the afternoons, get some lunch or have a picnic and enjoy the children’s activities up at the visitors centre. For me, a couple of hours was plenty to get my fill.

It’s definitely one not to miss if you’re in the area, the abbey ruins in particular are not to be missed.

For other days out in Yorkshire, check out my posts here.