A day at Rievaux Abbey

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Yesterday we visited the ruins of a Cistercian abbey in Rievaulx in the North Yorkshire Moors. Founded in the 12th century, it was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1538. Religious intolerance is as old as time but King Henry's reasons for dissolving the monasteries was perhaps more financial than spiritual. Rievaulx was one of the wealthiest abbeys in the land and Henry wanted that wealth for himself. It was a beautiful day yesterday and I thought the abbey ruins looked stunning against the blue sky. I loved exploring the ruins. I can simply lose myself in all the different shapes and textures. It's hard to try to picture how it was when the monks were going about their business. 'Business' is the right word, because the medieval monks of Rievaulx didn't just spend their days in prayer. They were involved in the mining of lead and iron as well as sheep farming, which was highly profitable. Did you go anywhere interesting this weekend?