Bolton Abbey is yet another of those ‘I can’t believe I haven’t written about this before’ places that we went to again last month. But, apparently, I’ve never written a blog post about a visit, even though I’ve been loads of times over the years.
The Bolton Abbey estate is one of the ‘seats’ of the Dukes of Devonshire, along with Chatsworth (see 2016 blog post although we’ve visited again more recently) in Derbyshire and Lismore Castle in Ireland – none of which are in Devonshire. The 11th Duke of Devonshire, Andrew Cavendish, transferred ownership of the Bolton Abbey estate to a charitable trust who operate it to this day.
As the name suggests, the main feature of the estate is an abbey, now known as Bolton Priory. Part of the church is still in use today, but the rest of it is a ruin, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. I’m beginning to understand why we spend so long learning about the Tudors in our history lessons at school. The priory was built next to a crossing point of the River Wharfe, and the estate essentially covers the river valley.
Our last visit was in the summer of 2020, during the pandemic, and over the years I’ve been on some hikes with the University hiking club,
The Strid
I’m going to let you watch this Tom Scott video about The Strid. Upstream from the abbey, the River Wharfe hits a section of harder rock, and is forced into a narrow, fast-flowing channel, known as The Strid. It’s regarded as being one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world, as whilst it may look sedate from above, there are fast-flowing currents below the surface. And we’re not entirely sure how deep it is – there may be hidden caverns down there.
Due to the exceptionally dry year that we’ve had, there was less water flowing through The Strid when we visited. But there are big warning signs around, advising that people have lost their lives after having fallen in. We had a look at it from a safe distance.
The Stepping Stones and the beach
Back down towards the priory, there are a set of stepping stones across the river. It’s particularly wide and shallow here, and possible to wade across in summer. There have been stepping stones here since the abbey’s heyday, although they’re often replaced due to damage. There are 62 stones in total, and our nine-year-old raced across whilst I nervously followed behind. Nowadays, there’s a bridge alongside, and so Christine took the easy route.
Next to the stepping stones is a beach – a sandy area inside one of the river’s meanders. This is popular, especially on sunny days, as an inland alternative to the seaside. Our nine-year-old had a nice paddle.
On the eastern bank of the river was the Welly Walk, which I understand is only here for this year and closes in November. It’s essentially a series of play areas over a one mile walk. It can get muddy, and the path isn’t suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs, but it’s a fun challenge for kids.
Accessibility
The map given to you on arrival shows the more accessible paths around the estate, but there are some relatively steep ramps even on the more accessible routes. Some paths have steps, and almost all are gravel with some uneven surfaces.
There’s plenty of parking on site, across four car parks. Payment is £15 per car for a whole day on arrival, or £12.50 if pre-booked at least a day before. You don’t need to pay to enter the site, so if you’re able to arrive by some other method, you won’t need to pay anything.
That said, public transport options are limited. There are buses on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and Dalesbus services at weekends. Due to a narrow arch on the road through the valley, these tend to be small buses. Bolton Abbey railway station is about a mile away, but it’s on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway which doesn’t have a mainline connection.
