The Abbey Gardens

Happy Tuesday to everyone from the village of Bury St. Edmunds! I'm not sure if it's a miracle or the Lord is smiling on us but the weather since we arrived in England has been pretty spectacular - highs in the upper 50's and sunshine in abundance! I mean - just take a look at the perfect blue skies in the pictures below! 

 

The village my younger sister lives in is home to the St. Edmundsbury Cathedral which originated in the 11th century. There has actually been a church on the land where the cathedral is since 1056 - in some form of fashion. The Cathedral was built in the 12th century and rebuilt again in the 16th century and definitely has plenty of history surrounding it. 

The Cathedral is also known as the St. Edmunds Abbey and the Abbey has expansive gardens that are open to the public daily - which has been really nice since the only thing we are really meant to be doing right now (the only excuse to leave the house) is get our exercise. The gardens have been a wonderful spot to wander in, especially when the weather has been so beautiful! 

The gardens also contain expansive ruins from the buildings that made up the original Abbey - some sections of the ruins have even been incorporated into very expensive (around 1 million pounds) apartments. The ruins are pretty interesting to wander around and I saw more than one family playing a rousing game of hide & seek around the old pillars, walls and walkways! One of the towers has a plaque that notes in the 12th century King John - near that spot - received the Magna Carta! England = always so filled with lovely history!

The gardens also contain an Aviary and since the weather has been so nice lately all the birds are still out for viewing. I didn't share pictures here but there were tiny finches, a Golden Pheasant that was all crimson and gold (duh) and wee canaries... along with several other birds! The picture below was a view of the Cathedral/Abbey from near the Aviary as the sun was starting to set and it may be one of my favorite pictures so far!

Another fun fact? The signpost below is believed to be one of the first (if not the first) lit signposts in the U.K. - and it stands right across the street from the entrance to the Abbey Gardens! I originally thought that Bury St. Edmunds was a tiny little town but it's actually pretty large and the city center is starting to prepare for Christmas with lights strung across the main cobbled streets and shop windows filling with decorations and lights! 

I'm so thankful for all the green space that's around - it's nice to at least be able to wander the streets of town and amble through the Abbey Gardens. I'm certain this will be the only vacation I get in 2020 and if that means just exploring the English countryside bit by bit - well I'm just fine with that.