A wander back through time at Dale Abbey

Last weekend we went for a quiet evening walk around the village of Dale Abbey. It's a small place, surrounded by open countryside but for its size it has a lot of history. First there was a hermitage, then an abbey (whose stones have found their way into local house walls), then a village church attached to a farm (which was once a tavern). As if that wasn't enough, there's a village green with a proper seat around a tree, an old thatched-roof barn, and a distant view of a windmill. (Only the tiniest speck in the photo above, but clearer when zoomed in - right)

On previous visits I've parked in the village but this time used a large lay-by which is conveniently marked on Google maps as Hermit's Cave car park. From there it's a pleasant, easy walk across fields, with the windmill visible on the sky-line, to the woods in which the hermitage is hidden. Last time I got a little lost but from this direction the cave is much easier to find, with good signposting and information boards about its history.

The cave is dug out of the hillside, with doors and window space, and a row of holes above them which presumably held roof joists for a small wooden 'extension'. Despite hermits giving up all their worldly chattels, this was probably a warm, dry place to live, and it's easy to imagine the hermit living there in relative comfort.

Imagining anything about the abbey takes a lot more effort. The only remaining section is a huge window, or at least it's frame. Access is through a field to the east of the window so at this point I'm presumably standing outside the building, looking in.

I could only look from the outside of the church too, but this was due to building work taking place inside. The right-hand side of the building is Verger's Farm - once no doubt a 'perk' of the verger's job, but now a private house. 

I didn't take photos of the houses in the village as it seems intrusive to do so without asking permission, but here's the tiny village green and - the white rectangle to its left - a notice board telling more of the history of the place and directing us to other footpaths in the vicinity.

Heading along one path before circling back to the green, we passed an ancient-looking thatched barn. It still seems fairly sturdy but I think the tree needs weeding out of the thatch.

Heading back up the hill past Verger's Farm towards the hermitage, I turned for one last look and caught the evening sun shining on the abbey's window before the sun set.