What’s Onat Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal

Spring—Summer 2019

This summer we’re replacing the bosquet hedging by the Temple of Piety with specially grown yew, which will grow into a healthy new hedge for the water garden. The abbey pathways will continue to have work done to minimise water damage and, thanks to you, we’re getting closer and closer to our fundraising target to replace the long lost Dying Gladiator statue.

If you’d like to read more about the work going on or support our conservation work please visit the website.

Conservation

Birds of all sizes spend their time splashing about on the moon ponds, feasting in the trees or nesting in the abbey. As we speed into summer you can see bees abuzz in the herb garden and butterflies floating through the air.

Find nature

Join us in June for two weekends of Beer and Bread, staples in the monks’ diet and favourites today. There’ll be local breweries, bakeries and street food outside Fountains Mill, and a chance to have a go with dough.

Beer and Bread Become a nature explorer with a spotter trail on your next visit, spotting animals and flowers around the estate. Be an historian with an audio guide or family tour in the abbey and race around the moon ponds. Have a snack stop at Mill Café or indulge in ice cream with a lakeside view at Studley tea-room!

Feel free

The light is lingering and the butterflies are beginning to flutter. As the warmer months creep closer, it’s time for picnics and ice cream after long walks. The water garden’s green lawns offer a summer spot amongst water lilies and white statues, and the fig trees are beginning to grow inside the abbey walls.

Bird detective trailSat 30 Mar (until Sun 28 Apr, exc. Fri 19–Mon 22 Apr) 10am–5pmDiscover nests and eggs, feathers and bird song on an interactive trail around the abbey and water garden to learn about the life of a baby bird.* Make a lavender bagSat 30 Mar (until Sun 28 Apr) 11am–4 pmLavender bags were the natural way to make sheets and clothes smell clean and crisp in medieval times. Have a go making your own out of hessian in Swanley Grange. Drop in.* Make a bird feederWed 3 Apr (also 10, 17, 24 Apr) 11am–3pmGet creative with your recycling to help your feathered friends this spring. Hang it in the garden when you get home. Drop in, £2.* Meet the makers Easter marketSun 14 Apr 11am–3pmJoin us for a pop-up market in the visitor centre courtyard to celebrate some of our local crafters. Find intricately decorated glassware, locally made chocolate, a potter who uses Fountains Abbey oak leaves to create patterns on his ceramics and more…

Cadbury Easter Egg HuntFri 19 Apr (until Mon 22 Apr) 11am–4pmWhat does spring mean for birds? Easter Bunny has hidden clues to help us discover more about the lives of our fluttery friends. Tell us your three favourite things you’ve learnt about birds today to get your chocolate prize. Meet by the abbey to start. £2.50 per trail.*

Golden egg huntFri 19 Apr (until Mon 22 Apr) 10am–4pmSshhhhh…there’s a tiny golden egg hidden somewhere on the estate and it’s your job to track it down. However, you must keep its location a secret! Tell us where you saw it and we’ll enter you into a prize draw to win an eggcellent prize.* Good Friday ServiceFri 19 Apr 3–3.45pm To commemorate this day there will be an ecumenical service in the abbey cellarium. Everyone is welcome to worship together.* Egg rolling competition Mon 22 Apr 2–2.30pmBring your hardboiled egg and see which one wins the race to the bottom of the hill. Meet on abbey green.*

Make a journey stickTue 23 Jul (also 25 Jul) 11am–3pmDrop into Swanley Grange to make a journey stick with wool before heading out around the abbey and garden to decorate it with nature from around the estate.*

Water wheel workshops Thu 6 Aug (also 8 Aug) 1–3.30pmCome and make a ‘splash’ down by our 800 year old mill as we show you how a water wheel works — and get you to make your own! Drop in.* Get MedievalSat 10 Aug (also 11 Aug) 11am–4pmStep back in time as you enter the Rosa Mundi medieval camp by the abbey and discover what domestic life was like in fifteenth century England. The villagers will transport you to the time of the abbey’s heyday with their music, dancing, traditional fifteenth century crafts and more.* Make your own breadTue 20 Aug (also 22 Aug) 1–3.30pmWork your muscles kneading your dough like the monks would have. Watch it cook before tasting it at Swanley Grange.*

Over the centuries, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal has been home to the monks and the Georgians. The abbey once housed the largest Cistercian order in England, bringing in wealth and riches making it a powerhouse of its time. Then, the Georgians came along, making the abbey an eye-catcher, or folly, within their carefully designed garden.

We’re exploring the different ways of seeing this place from June – October, through events, tours, and trails.

MonksMonastic powerhouse

romantic folly?

It’s a monk’s life tour Wed 24 Jul (also 7 and 21 Aug)

2–2.45pm Join us at Swanley Grange

to dress up as a monk before setting off on a journey around the monastic landscape to learn all about how the monks lived in the abbey’s heyday.*

Fun and frivolous Georgians Wed 31 Jul

(also 14 and 28 Aug) 2–2.45pm

Don your hat, flip your fan and pop up your parasol and come along on a garden tour to learn more about the Georgians who designed and loved to visit Studley Royal water garden.*

Build a mini raftTue 13 Aug (also 15 Aug) 1–3.30pmThe Georgians loved extravagance and fancy things including sailing boats. Create your own miniature raft and see how far it will sail on the moon ponds.*

Make your own mini statueTue 27 Aug (also Thu 29 Aug) 1–3pmBe inspired by the garden statues to make your own to take home. £2 a statue.*

Archery in the water gardenSat 17 Aug (also 18 Aug) 11am–3pmThe Georgians loved archery as a sport. Come along to test your aim in Studley Royal water garden. £4.*

Make a mini follyTue 30 Jul (also 1 Aug) 1–3.30pmBuild a miniature folly in the landscape by the Temple of Piety using sticks, stones and nature from around the estate.*

Georgians

*Normal admission charges apply

Easter holidays

Romantic folly: an exhibition by Ian Scott MasseySat 1 Jun (until 14 Aug)Local artist Ian Scott Massey creates romantic watercolours of garden follies, including the greatest folly of them all: Fountains Abbey.* Monastic powerhouse: an exhibition by Joseph Hayton Sat 17 Aug (until 3 Nov)Bold stone sculpture responds to the abbey’s past at the second exhibition in the Mill by stone carver Joseph Hayton. *

Bring dad to Beer and Bread this Father’s Day

Make a fluffy spring lambSat 25 May (until Sun 2 Jun) 11am–4pmScamper along to Swanley Grange to make your own fluffy wool lamb decoration. It will be baaa-rilliant!* Nature scavenger hunt Sat 25 May (until Sun 2 Jun) 10am–5pmPick up a card and get sticking! Cover with special nature finds from the estate to make your own collage.*

Paint with natureTue 28 May (also Thu 30 May) 11am–3pm Use materials and patterns from nature to inspire you next masterpiece. Drop in at Swanley Grange, £2.* Create with NatureSat 1 Jun (also 2 Jun) 11am–4pmPop by the BMWi stand to have a go with some nature inspired craft.

May half term

See May wildlife walks over the page.

or

VS

Summer Family activities

Beer and BreadSat 15 Jun (also, 16, 22, 23 Jun) 11am–5pmWe’re celebrating beer and bread through the ages. Come along to Fountains Mill to experience local street food, breweries and bakeries, as well as family games in the orchard. There’ll be a chance to learn about the history of the Mill, take a tour of the monastic Brewhouse and Bakehouse, and have a go with dough. In association with Leeds Indie Food.*

The Mill comes alive this summer with two art exhibitions and a new daytime food event.

Art and eating at Fountains Mill

Fountains rocks!Wed 17 Apr 1.30–3pmThe monks arrived here 800 years ago but the rocks have been here longer. Explore the geology that shapes the scenery of the estate and was used to create the abbey. Meet at Porter’s Lodge.* Fascinating nature factsWed 1 May (also 5 Jun, 10 Jul) 2–3.30pm Enjoy a walk bursting with interesting facts about the wildlife on the estate. From poisonous plants to ingenious ways nature is used, your guide Mike will astound you with fascinating facts and amusing anecdotes as you walk around this beautiful estate. Meet at the visitor centre.*

Minibeasts to mammals walkWed 29 May 2–3pmAdventure out into the estate with your guide to see what creatures large and small you can find. Meet at the visitor centre.

Deer watch walkSat 20 Apr (also 25 May, 22 Jun, 20 Jul, 17 Aug) 2–4pmDo you know your stags from your hinds and your Reds from your Sikas? Head out with our expert guides to discover what the deer are up to in spring and summer.

Busy BeesSat 13 Jul (also 14 Jul, 24 and 25 Aug) 10am–4pmSwanley Grange is a hive of activity this summer. Pop in to meet members from Harrogate & Ripon Beekeepers to learn all there is to know about these busy little creatures, taste some local honey and make some candles. Watch a bee demo at 2.30pm.*

Pond dippingFri 31 May (also 26 Jul, 9 and 23 Aug) 11am–3pmNewts, water lice, water boatmen, molluscs, pea mussels... there’s an extraordinary world waiting to be discovered under the surface of the moon ponds in the water garden. We’ll provide the nets, identification charts and the pots so you can see what you might find. Pop along to the water garden moon ponds to have a go at this drop-in session.* Summer in the herb garden drop-inWed 12 Jun (also 30 Jul, 27 Aug) 1.30–3.30pmMeet Rosemary, Angelica and Rose in the hidden herb garden opposite Fountains Hall. Pam will offer some sage and thymely advice to help you get to know these and other members of the herb family that grow in this little garden in summer.* Deer drop inMon 26 Aug 11am–3pmFind out about our deer herd with our wildlife team who’ll also be on hand to share their knowledge of other wildlife on the estate. Drop by the visitor centre.

Wildlife and nature walks

*Normal admission charges apply

When you visit, donate, stay, volunteer or join, your support helps us look after this special place for ever, for everyone.

Photography: © National Trust Images Printed on recycled paper. Please recycle this leaflet after use. Design: Journal

© National Trust 2019. National Trust is an independent registered charity, number 205846.

Getting hereFountains Abbey & Studley Royal Visitor Centre, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3DY

There is a limited bus service available. Please see the website for more details.

Get in touch01765 608888

www.nationaltrust.org.uk /fountainsabbey

fountainsabbey @fountainsabbey @ntfountainsabbey

#nationaltrust

Become a memberAsk on entry about joining the National Trust today. Enjoy free entry and parking at over 500 special places.

Stay a little longer…We have 14 holiday cottages here and you’re welcome to enjoy the abbey and garden free of charge throughout your stay, so when everyone else goes home you don’t have to.

Come back another timePick up a leaflet or visit the website to find out about tours, wildlife walks, events, family activities and more.

If you would like this leaflet in large format please call 01765 608888