Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire, South Wales

[leek]

I'm slowly catching up with my PP from the first few days of our UK holiday...

Here are a few impressions from what's left of Tintern Abbey.

Tintern Abbey was founded by the Cistercian monks in the 12th century and flourished as a community (despite the black death) until Henry VIII's troops came along in 1536 and ransacked the place as part of the dissolution of the monasteries...
Everything of any value was taken from the abbey and soon after the locals thought that they could make better use of the lead on the roof... The buildings then suffered from decay and so the locals thought that they could make better use of the building stone ...

It is now an eery place, set in the beautiful Wye valley...





And... lastly a B&W which looks as spooky as the place felt...

[Sheetshooter]

Part of the rich cavalcade of history, eh Leek. What Henry didn't wreck, Cromwell did.

My plans for Tintern have been dashed a couple of times now by climatic devilment. There is a Large Format photography group in the UK which sets up regular field trips to Tintern - not that I can imagine anything less productive than going to such a place in the company of others.

When I was about 6 or 7 years old I was given a plate with an image of Tintern Abbey nestled into its valley and have eaten every home cooked meal off it since. The place has a special appeal to me and perhaps that is down to the fact that my antecedents held office in Glamorgan and Monmouth in the 15th Century and might have been well acquainted with the Abbey and its environs when it was unharmed.

I am envious as all get out of your opportunity to visit to say the least.

Please let me know if you get to the far western tip - it will send me into a frenzy!!

Cheers, PS: On your way back to Heathrow might I suggest that you look at Sarum (outside Salisbury) if you haven't already. There you have the contrast of the foundation of the original Cathedral juxtaposed with a Roman and Norman modified hill fort.

W

[leek]

Tintern is a wonderful place Walter and I would have loved the chance to spend some more time there (preferably in better light)... I have some other shots that are going to require more PP than I have patience for at the moment...

Tintern is also home to one of the best pubs I've ever experienced - make sure that you look up the Cherry Tree if you ever go there... They serve the real ale straight out of a rack mounted cask and have a selection of local ciders too...

I don't think that we'll be able to visit Sarum as we're now in North Wales, so it would be a little bit out of our way on the return to Heathrow... Thanks for the tip though - maybe next time...

[mudder]

I love stuff like this of old decayed architectural history, that last one has such a magic, spooky feel to it... Good BW treatment... Dark and mysterious...

[Matt. K]

John
When I zoom into the rockwork on the second image I can just make out...chiselled into the stone...Leek was here. I'm guessing you put that in on Photoshop because surely you wouldn't......

[stubbsy]

John

The last shot is a standout - all moody and dark and ghostly.

[Alpha_7]

John... I think you can stop posting now.. That's just not fair, this place looks awesome and every shot in these series is great in its own way... when I signed up here, I was happy to deal with lens lust, it was just a given.. I didn't realise I'd get holiday lust too... On a serious note, these are gorgeous shots and I'd love the chance to see them up close. Thanks for posting!

[Steffen]

Great shots! One can picture the mad monks of Glastonbury Tor dancing among those ruins...

My fav is #1, with its bizarre contrast in colour and tonality. It looks very stylised, almost like a Terry Gilliam cut-out. The regular cloud pattern is great, too. I would almost like the last one as much, but I find the PP halo a bit hard on my eyes.

Cheers
Steffen.

[Glen]

That first shot is exceptionally beautiful