Cleeve Abbey

We took a trip down to Cleeve Abbey, the English Heritage property near Washford on the north coast of Somerset this morning.

The former Cistercian abbey is over 800 years old and, although the abbey church was destroyed during the Dissolution, many of the other key buildings of the monastery remain intact, with a bit of restoration.

It's in a beautiful, peaceful setting and provides an interesting insight into monastic life. It also boasts part of the original 800 year old tiled floor from the church which has been carefully reconstructed in a purpose built climate-controlled building

The image here is of the gatehouse to the Abbey.

Afterwards we went to Blue Anchor, a very quiet bay near Dunster, where we strolled along the prom before lunch in a local cafe in the sunshine.