As this year we haven’t been able to go away for our weekend camping trips because of Coronavirus, we have visited some outdoor attractions that are local to us. As I had to finish a job off by repairing a pond pump in Featherstone. I looked at the map through English Heritage app, as which we are members and decided to go to White Ladies priory & Lilleshall Abbey which are both close by. Both sites are maintained by English Heritage and both are free entry. Though if you enjoy any of the English Heritage sites it is worth joining as the membership money goes to maintain these sites and especially at the moment with places needing as much funding as possible due to being closed due to the pandemic and for an adult is only £63 per year.
White Ladies Priory
The priory is not that far away from RAF Cosford in Shropshire, if you use the postcode on the website for your satnav it brings you about a mile away on the same road. There is a small pull in for about 3 or 4 cars by the entrance, though there are other pull ins along the road. It is a short walk down to White ladies priory.
The ruins of the late 12th century church aren’t that large. There are just the outside walls and a short wall on the inside. Though it is a very peaceful place to visit. We had brought sandwiches and stuff on the way, and on the back wall is a nice place to sit and have a picnic and look out at the remains. While we was there another couple and a family had the same idea to have a picnic there aswell.
There is a public bridal path the other side, so we had a nice little walk among the trees with great views over fields and over a small stream. It the opens up into a field, but that’s as far as we got.
Its not a place that you can spend that long there, but a very beautiful place to visit and just enjoy the quiet.
Lilleshall Abbey
Lilleshall Abbey is just outside of Newport, There is a long pull in on the main road for parking though a lot larger than White Ladies Priory. Again a short walk down to the Abbey.
The Abbey dates back to the 12th and 13th century that houses a church and cloister for Augustinian canons. the first thing you notice is how big this place is looking through a large archway. The day we visited was a lovely day with blue sky’s which really did set off the building.
As you walk through the main arch to the left is a spiral staircase which you can go up to get a better view of the site, but don’t worry not that high. There are still a few of the rooms that do have ceiling though these are small. Due to safety to do with the virus you will have to wear masks or face covering in these parts. Around the site are a few information boards that tell you the history of the abbey.
There are some nice parts to explore and admire the architecture , or just sit and relax all the lawn are well kept. When we went to the one side there was a little strip that was a bit boggy, I Stepped over as I use a walking stick due to medical condition. Was just about to say to the missus step here and will help her, though she stepped in it, wasn’t that deep , but the mud went all up the back of her jeans.
Other than that little incident we had a really nice time looking around, there was a few other families around, but because of the large space was able to keep distance from others. We spent around an hour looking around.
We also went into Newport town centre to have a look around after visiting both White Ladies Priory & Lilleshall Abbey, so we had a nice lovely afternoon especially enjoying the peacefulness of these beautiful places.
[…] lillieshall abbey, I wont talk about them here as did a blog post when visited few years ago see HERE for full article or watch the video as talk a bit about the […]