Jervaulx Abbey

Most abbey ruins in Yorkshire have been cleared, mown and labelled. Jervaulx has not. It has been in the hands of the Burdon family since 1971, and their stated approach is to preserve the peace and the wildlife and keep signage to a minimum, so what you get is a Cistercian abbey with wild flowers growing out of the masonry and very little telling you what to think about it.

There is a surprising amount still standing. Substantial parts of the church and the claustral buildings survive, along with a watermill, and the site was landscaped as a garden in the eighteenth century and left that way. The absence of interpretation boards is the point. Buy the guide book at the honesty box if you want the detail; leave it if you would rather just walk round.

It is also the closest of the big Yorkshire abbey ruins to Thirsk, at a little over half an hour, which makes it the easiest one to do on a half day.

West out of Thirsk on the A61, then the B6267 through Masham, then north on the A6108 towards Leyburn. The turning is signed off the A6108 between the two towns.

Put Park House, HG4 4PH into your sat nav. The owners ask this specifically, and they are right to: searching for the abbey by name misdirects people. Parking is across the road from the ruins in the old tearoom car park, with a suggested pound in the honesty box.

This one needs a car. There is no useful bus, and the lanes are not a walking route from anywhere you would sensibly park otherwise.

Walk in from the car park, put something in the box, and take the ruins at whatever pace suits you. The church, the claustral buildings and the watermill are the main survivals, and because the site was landscaped rather than excavated bare, you are walking through planting as much as stonework.

Give the walls a proper look in late spring and early summer, when the wild flowers rooted in the masonry are at their best. If you want the history, the guide book at the entrance is the only interpretation you will get, and it is worth the 5.

Groups and school parties have to book ahead on 01677 460391 rather than turning up.

The wildness is the whole proposition, and it is uncommon. Very few sites of this importance are left this lightly managed, and standing in a roofless Cistercian church with nobody telling you where to look is a different experience from the same building under state care.

The story of the last abbot is worth carrying with you. Adam Sedbergh, elected in 1533, joined the Pilgrimage of Grace, fled to Bolton Castle for protection that was not given, hid on Witton Fell, was captured in May 1537 and hanged at Tyburn that June. The abbey was dissolved and its property forfeited to the Crown as a direct consequence. Easby, up towards Richmond, was caught up in the same rising in the same winter.

Eat and use the loo before you come. There are no toilets on site and the tearooms have closed for good, so this is a flask-and-sandwiches visit rather than a cafe one. Breakfast at ours and you will be there for mid-morning with the light still coming in low across the walls.

Wear something with a bit of grip. The paths are loose gravel and smooth grass with a few steps, and after rain the grass gets slippery. Go in late spring for the flowers in the walls, and take a pound coin for the car park, since a card is no use in an honesty box. If you are making a special trip, ring first: the abbey shuts occasionally for weddings and the dates on the website carry no year against them.