Tintern Abbey — Attraction in Great Britain

We visited in November, a very cold day. I had been here before, many years ago on a school trip. Brought my in-laws as my father in law likes a good historical site. Well, a little disappointed. The truth is, the abbey is a short visit, period. On a summer's day, unless your planning some deep contemplation or artistic endeavour, an hour? Maybe half an hour on top of at a very slow pace whilst reading all signage. The 2 stars is due to Cadws nerve here, there is restoration work going on, I saw little activity apart from a few Christmas lights, but clearly some archeological work is being done on the 'interior'. Now, it's a small site, there's nothing but the ruins and a shop. With most of the interior space fenced off (6ft fences btw) there really should be a discount on tickets. I usually don't go overboard complaining at trust/cadw/English heritage sites. I presume that some of the excess in coffee shop etc is going towards preserving these places. That's fair. But, even the most devout amateur historian would find much to do here except, admire the ruins and take some pictures? Well, if you erect giant fences (god only knows why, presumably to prevent the hordes of Henry VIII admirers razing the site) then that's the photos gone! Wait I hear you cry, I love history and I enjoy just soaking up the atmosphere. Yeah. You try that, when your restricted to less than a third of the interior. Overpriced, and after years of sitting on the fence regarding sites like Tintern, I am now with the rebuild camp. Rebuild it, or let it fall down. This is a pointless but admittedly, on occasion, pretty ruin. With the work being done, it's not even that at the moment. Plenty of history in Wales, plenty of cadw sites of better quality, if not deterred, at least delay your visit until their finished 'restoring'. Trust me that word is doing some heavy...

We really enjoyed our visit to Tintern Abbey. It's such a majestic building and even in its ruined state gives you a very good idea of what the abbey was like back in its day.

There are many detailed information signs dotted around the site, providing further information about the abbey and its former residents in English and Welsh.

There is a small gift shop at the entrance to the abbey which sells a wide variety of items, including guidebooks, general history books and a selection of Welsh produce. The staff member we spoke to was very friendly and happy to help.

The gift shop building also houses the visitors toilets.

There is a pay and display car park outside the abbey. The price for parking is reasonable and is also deducted from your admission tickets/gift shop spend. Parking is free for blue badge holders. As this is a Cadw site, disabled visitors and a carer/companion also enjoy free admission to the site.

There are also a number of walks alongside the river and through the woods, along with other attractions in the local area which you might wish to visit while...

What a beautiful place in the lovely village of Tintern in the gorgeous and picturesque Wye valley . This is a beautiful ruin towering upwards in the valley , it is quite a large site and well worth a visit . It is undergoing vital restoration and preservation work at the moment but that does not detract from it's beauty. It is in a lovely location surrounded by hills and trees . It has many information boards dotted around the grounds and a children's quest book for them to solve all the clues hidden around the site ,which the children I spotted seeming to enjoy their quest . This must have been a truly awe inspiring abbey when it was in its prime . It also has a lovely on site shop staffed by very helpful and knowledgeable staff , who were genuinely proud of where they worked . There is a lovely pub and several cafes near by. To enjoy after your visit to the abbey . This is looked after by Cadw the Welsh version of English heritage and I must say they are doing a great job . History and beautiful architecture should be saved for future...