In the 1530s, Henry VIII dissolved over 800 monasteries. North Yorkshire was particularly affected.
For centuries, abbeys influenced North Yorkshire’s spiritual, economic, and social life. Cistercians farmed sheep, Augustinians ran hospitals and schools, and Carthusians lived in seclusion. This ended suddenly with the Dissolution of the 1530s.
What remains is extraordinary. Ten routes, ten sets of ruins, all within a county whose landscape was shaped by the people who built them.
County: North Yorkshire
Walking difficulty: Easy to moderate on established paths
Heritage management: English Heritage (most sites), National Trust (Fountains Abbey), privately owned (Jervaulx Abbey)
Best season: Enjoy these walks year-round. In autumn, clear views through open woodland reveal the abbeys’ structures—a striking time for photography. In spring, Jervaulx Abbey stands out for wildflowers; many routes are lined with blooming hedgerows and fresh greenery.
Trail navigation: AllTrails includes all main routes with offline maps.
1. Whitby Abbey
Whitby Abbey was founded in 657 AD by Hild, the daughter of a Northumbrian noble, with the support of King Oswiu. It became a key Anglo-Saxon religious centre, led by Hild, housing monks and nuns.
In 664, the Synod of Whitby settled the dispute over the Easter calculation, aligning England’s church with Rome and shaping its religious future.
The Danes destroyed the first monastery in the 9th century. The current Benedictine ruins date from 1078 to 1539. Bram Stoker’s 1890 visit inspired Dracula.
The 3-mile loop begins in Whitby, climbs the cliff to circle the abbey with sea views, then descends directly through historic streets back to town on paved, clearly marked paths.
Where to Stay: White Horse & Griffin, built in 1681 as the first coaching inn from Whitby to York, has 11 rooms on the east side of the old town, eight minutes’ walk from the abbey steps.
Worth Knowing: English Heritage manages Whitby Abbey. The visitor centre in Cholmley House presents the history of the Anglian and Benedictine periods.
2. Rievaulx Abbey, Ryedale
Founded in 1132 by Cistercians from Burgundy, Rievaulx thrived under Abbot Aelred. He oversaw the diversion of the river during construction.
Rievaulx prospered from wool, mining, and iron, but later declined due to debt and a Scottish raid before suppression in 1538.
The ruined nave, chancel, and refectory rise prominently in a narrow valley below Rievaulx Terrace, built in the 18th century by Thomas Duncombe to frame views of the ruins. The National Trust’s terrace is a one-mile walk, and the valley floor path around the abbey is an additional two miles.
Start the 5-mile walk at Helmsley, ascend wooded Ryedale trails, reach valley overlooks to view Rievaulx, then retrace your steps along well-marked woodland paths.
Where to Stay: Feversham Arms Hotel in Helmsley, three miles from Rievaulx, is a 4-star property with 26 rooms, a spa, and an outdoor pool in its grounds.
Worth Knowing: Rievaulx Abbey is managed by English Heritage. The Rievaulx Terrace above the valley is a National Trust property that provides the most famous viewpoints across the ruins.
3. Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, near Ripon
In 1132, thirteen expelled monks settled by the River Skell and joined the Cistercians in 1135. Fountains became England’s wealthiest monastery.
The main abbey buildings rose between 1170 and 1247. After the 1539 dissolution, John Aislabie designed Studley Royal Water Garden around the ruins.
Follow the 5-mile estate path along waymarked National Trust trails that circle Fountains Abbey, pass through the deer park and water garden, and offer alternating abbey views before looping back to the start.
Where to Stay: Sawley Arms in Sawley village, adjacent to the Fountains Abbey estate boundary, is a 4-star country inn serving food from local Yorkshire produce.
Worth Knowing: Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal are the most visited National Trust properties in northern England. Arriving before 9.30 am allows for a quieter walk through the gardens.
4. Byland Abbey, near Coxwold
Byland’s community moved five times after 1134, finally settling at New Byland in 1177. Their bells once clashed audibly with Rievaulx’s.
Byland’s church was 100 metres long. A 13th-century account called it one of “three shining lights of the north,” alongside Rievaulx and Fountains. At its height, it housed around 100 monks and 200 lay brothers.
In 1322, the Scots defeated Edward II’s army at the Battle of Byland above the abbey. The monks returned his belongings but were poorly rewarded.
From Coxwold, walk 2.5 miles across open farmland and woods to Byland Abbey, then return by the same straightforward, signposted route.
Where to Stay: Feversham Arms Hotel in Helmsley, ten miles north, is a comfortable base for visiting the Ryedale abbeys.
Worth Knowing: Byland Abbey is managed by English Heritage. The excavated tile pavement in the nave is one of the most significant surviving examples of medieval floor tiling in England.
5. Jervaulx Abbey, near Masham
Jervaulx was founded in 1145, became Cistercian in 1147, and moved to its current site in 1156. Today, it stands on private land, with honesty box admission.
The monks of Jervaulx are credited with creating Wensleydale cheese, originally made in the abbey dairy from ewes’ milk. The horse-breeding tradition they established on the abbey lands continues in Middleham today, the North Yorkshire village that remains the centre of northern horse racing.
Abbot Sedbergh joined the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace, was arrested and died in prison; the ruins were left scattered after demolition.
In their place, over 200 species of wildflowers now colonise the fallen stone. In May and June, the ruins are carpeted in colour.
Where to Stay: Swinton Park in Masham, five miles south, is a Grade II* castle hotel with 42 rooms, set in 200 acres of parkland on the Swinton Estate.
Worth Knowing: Jervaulx Abbey remains privately owned and is open year-round with honesty-box admission. The tea room at Jervaulx Hall welcomes visitors during the summer.
6. Easby Abbey, near Richmond
Founded in 1152 by Roald, Constable of Richmond, Easby Abbey was England’s third Premonstratensian house. The canons preached locally, unlike the silent Cistercians.
Begin in Richmond, follow the 1.5-mile riverside path south along the Swale to Easby Abbey and St Agatha’s church, then retrace your route to the town.
Admission is free. English Heritage manages the site, but there is no staffed entrance, so the ruins are open to visitors at any time of day.
Where to Stay: Frenchgate Hotel in Richmond, 1.5 miles from the abbey along the riverside path, is a boutique 4-star Georgian hotel with nine rooms in a 17th-century building in the town centre.
Worth Knowing: Easby Abbey is free to enter. The Easby Cross, a 9th-century Anglian carved cross found at the site, is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, with a replica on site.
7. Kirkham Priory, near Malton
Founded around 1122 by Norman lord Walter l’Espec, Kirkham Priory was built by Augustinian canons in a sheltered River Derwent valley, feeling separate from the farmland.
The gatehouse at Kirkham is the most decorated monastic gateway in Yorkshire. The heraldry carved across its facade includes the arms of the de Ros family and the figures of St George and the Dragon, and David and Goliath, all compressed into a single composition of early-medieval stonework.
In 1944, the priory was a secret training ground for D-Day. The 11th Armoured Division practised amphibious operations on the river below. Churchill and King George VI visited discreetly. The priory’s wartime role stayed secret for decades.
Walk a 4-mile circuit from Kirkham Priory, following well-marked riverside trails along the Derwent before looping back to the priory gatehouse.
Where to Stay: Feversham Arms Hotel in Helmsley, 15 miles west across the Ryedale plain, is the most characterful option for the area.
Worth Knowing: Kirkham Priory is managed by English Heritage. A small parking area is available on-site.
8. Mount Grace Priory, near Osmotherley
Mount Grace is England’s best-preserved Carthusian priory and the only one with intact monks’ cells. Carthusians lived as hermits in private two-storey cells, meeting only for services. Food was passed through an L-shaped hatch for privacy.
Founded in 1398 by Thomas Holland, nephew of Richard II, Mount Grace was the last Yorkshire monastery before the Dissolution. One cell is reconstructed to illustrate its arrangement and connection to the cloister.
Walk 3 miles from Osmotherley across Hambleton Hills, following signed moorland paths with panoramic Vale of Mowbray views before reaching the priory.
Where to Stay: Feversham Arms Hotel in Helmsley, 12 miles east, is the best hotel for the western edge of the North York Moors.
Worth Knowing: Mount Grace Priory is jointly managed by English Heritage and the National Trust. The Arts and Crafts house attached to the priory was built in 1901 and contains rooms reflecting the William Morris-influenced interior design of that period.
9. Gisborough Priory, Guisborough
Gisborough Priory was founded in 1119 by Robert de Brus, the Norman lord of Guisborough and an ancestor of the Scottish king Robert the Bruce. It was authorised simultaneously by Pope Calixtus II and Archbishop Thurstan of York, indicating the political weight the foundation carried. Robert’s younger brother William was appointed first prior. At the time of its suppression in 1539, Gisborough was the fourth wealthiest monastery in Yorkshire.
A catastrophic fire in 1289 destroyed the original buildings, and the monastery was rebuilt over the following decades. The great east gable of the rebuilt choir, standing nearly 30 metres high with its ornate window tracery, is one of the most striking single elements of any ruined abbey in England. It stands alone on a small-town centre site, visible across the rooftops of Guisborough.
The priory sits at the edge of the North York Moors, and the walk south from the ruins across Guisborough Moor to Highcliffe Nab provides views from the Cleveland Hills to the coast.
Where to Stay: Captain Cook Inn in Staithes, 14 miles north-east along the Cleveland Way, is the nearest coastal accommodation for walkers, combining the priory with a coastal route.
Worth Knowing: Gisborough Priory is free to enter and managed by English Heritage. The site is within the town of Guisborough and accessible without a car.
10. Bolton Priory, Wharfedale
Bolton Priory was established in 1154 when a group of Augustinian canons moved from their original house at Embsay, 5 miles west, to a new site on the River Wharfe given to them by Lady Alice de Romille. The building process continued for almost a century. The nave was still incomplete when the dissolution order arrived in 1539.
The nave survived because the local parish needed it. The western section was roofed and adapted as a parish church and remains in use today. The remainder of the priory, the choir, the transepts, the chapter house, stands open to the sky beside the active nave, the two states of the same building separated by a single line where the Dissolution was stopped.
JMW Turner painted the priory twice. The 1809 watercolour now held at the British Museum captures the ruined east end reflected in the Wharfe. The view from the riverbank is essentially unchanged.
The Strid, a narrow gorge a mile upriver where the Wharfe compresses through a rocky channel, has killed every person who has fallen in. The Strid Wood walk from the priory to Barden Tower and back is 6.5 miles through ancient oak woodland, one of six Sites of Special Scientific Interest on the 33,000-acre Bolton Abbey estate.
Where to Stay: Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel is the estate’s own hotel, 300 metres from the priory ruins, with 40 rooms in a 17th-century coaching inn and garden wing.
Worth Knowing: Bolton Abbey estate is open year-round and includes the priory ruins, Strid Wood, and Barden Tower. The estate car park charges a daily fee; a season pass is available for regular visitors.
Practical Tips
- English Heritage membership gives free entry to Whitby Abbey, Rievaulx Abbey, Byland Abbey, Kirkham Priory, Easby Abbey, Mount Grace Priory, and Gisborough Priory. For anyone visiting more than three sites in a year, membership pays for itself quickly.
- Jervaulx operates on an honesty box with no set hours. It is open and unattended year-round.
- Fountains Abbey requires a National Trust entry fee, separate from English Heritage membership.
- Bolton Priory charges for car parking on the estate, but entry to the ruins themselves is free.
- Download offline maps via the AllTrails app before setting out. The Ryedale valleys between Helmsley, Rievaulx, and Byland have limited mobile signal.
- The Shining Lights of the North Way is a new 34-mile walking route connecting Rievaulx, Byland, and Fountains Abbey. Day sections can be walked independently.
Responsible Visiting
The standing ruins at all these sites are fragile. Do not climb on walls or detached stone. At Jervaulx, the privately managed site asks visitors to stay on the worn paths to protect the wildflower communities that have colonised the fallen masonry. At Bolton Priory, the Strid is not a crossing point at any water level. The signs are there because people have died there.
Reader Q&A
Which abbey ruin is the most impressive architecturally? Rievaulx is the most complete and the most dramatic in terms of standing height. The combination of the valley setting, the scale of the nave, and the Cistercian austereness of the design makes it unlike anywhere else. Fountains has the grandest ensemble of buildings. Whitby has the most striking position.
Are any of the abbeys free to enter? Yes. Easby Abbey is free and unstaffed. Jervaulx operates on an honesty box. Gisborough Priory is free and managed by English Heritage. Bolton Priory ruins are accessible without an entry fee, though the car park charges apply.
Can I do more than one abbey in a day? Rievaulx and Byland are 10 miles apart and can be combined in a day by car. Rievaulx and Helmsley make a good morning. Byland and Coxwold make a good afternoon. Jervaulx and Fountains are 12 miles apart and also work as a day pair.
What is the quietest abbey on this list? Kirkham Priory. It sits in a valley accessible only by a specific journey, and most visitors to the Ryedale area stop at Helmsley or Rievaulx and go no further. The riverside setting and the D-Day history make it worth the additional 15 miles.
When is Jervaulx at its best? May and June, when the 200-plus species of wildflowers colonising the fallen stone are at their peak. The ruins are in colour in a way that no other abbey site in the country replicates.
Is the Devonshire Arms at Bolton Abbey worth the price? For one night before or after the Strid Wood walk, yes. The building is part of the estate’s history, and the location, directly between the priory and the woodland, justifies the cost if you are making a serious visit rather than a quick stop.
Where to Stay
- White Horse & Griffin, Whitby: 1681 coaching inn, best base for Whitby Abbey.
- Feversham Arms Hotel, Helmsley: 4-star hotel and spa, central base for Rievaulx, Byland, Kirkham, and Mount Grace Priory.
- Sawley Arms, Sawley near Ripon: country inn on the edge of the Fountains Abbey estate.
- Swinton Park, Masham: 42-room castle hotel, ideal for Jervaulx Abbey and the lower Ure valley.
- Frenchgate Hotel, Richmond: boutique Georgian hotel, best base for Easby Abbey.
- Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel, Bolton Abbey: estate hotel directly beside the priory ruins.
The monks chose these valleys, these riversides, these promontories for reasons that still hold. The light falls well. The water is close. The land shields you from the prevailing wind. Whatever you think of the institution, the people who built these places understood the landscape they were building in.
