Hailes Abbey
Our last adventure of the year was on the way home from seeing a friend in Cheltenham. We'd stayed up there for a weekend and wanted a little history to take back with us after the chill buzz from the Christmas markets left us feeling cold yet festive, but otherwise a little bored.
The Abbey is an English Heritage property, one of many which is dog friendly, and is actually but a mere ruin.
The original monastery was built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, following a vow made to God when survived a rough sea voyage. He decided that it should be run by the Cistercian order, and once built these monks were gifted with a portion of Christ's blood, taken from when he was on the cross. This is what made the Abbey one of the most important pilgrimage destinations of its time, unfortunately this did not stop the Abbey falling into ruin due to bad luck effectively.
The downfall began when it's last royal benefactor died without an heir, it was then broken into and had it's riches stolen, the plague hit and wiped out the monks, then their infamous relic was denounced as a fake and the Abbey lost its holy meaning. It was stripped, any worth sent to the Tower of London and became a residence to the Tracy family. They too left and what remained fell into disrepair after years of being mistreated and dismantled. Work to recover Hailes Abbey from the ruins began but was abandoned until the National Trust took over before responsibility became English Heritages.
What remains of this Abbey is stunning. You can quite literally feel the buzz from the history in front of you. Of course Yogi, the uncultured fluffball, dismissed this immediately and the highlight of his visit was the massive pile of leaves to jump in. 
What is left standing is mainly arches, but some outlines remain from the original structure. Despite this being the most far gone ruin (almost nothing left) we have explored so far, it is the most beautiful. Nature has reclaimed this Abbey and has given it a second life. The original building must have taken from the beautiful countryside housing it, but now it is at one again with the quiet greenery surrounding.
We spent over an hour here wandering amongst the phantom walls in near silence, wondering what the ghosts of it's previous inhabitants would think of us. An unmarried couple in outlandish clothes with a dog who's breed originated in China. How far we have come, we are as much strangers to them as their religious ways are to us now.
Let me set the scene. Rounding non-existent corners with the echos of white clad monks present was an eerie experience. We could hear the Steam Rain's whistle echoing across the rolling fields to us and the December dew was lapping at our shoes while the chilly air kissed our faces. All you could see was the morning mist lifting from the wet grass, as we had got there at 10am on a Sunday. It curled among the arches left standing and if you squinted hard enough you could use this as a window into the past to see a glimpse of white disappear into what would have been their garden. This was their safe space, their love.
