I've been to Glastonbury several times, but I believe this is the first time we've paid to enter the Abbey grounds. It was so worth it! We explored for a while, and then met up with a tour guide for a narrated look around.
A Christian community has been here since the 700s, and the abbey was first built in the 1200s after an 1184 fire destroyed the earlier structure. Henry VIII tore them down after breaking from the Catholic church, and actually murdered the abbot. So disgusting!
The Abbott's kitchen still stands intact on the left.
The tour guide was very informative and entertaining.
This is the supposed grave of legendary King Arthur and Guinevere, who make up a huge part of the Glastonbury aura. The finding of the graves in the 1200s brought tourists, and funds, for the rebuilding after the fire.
It was a chilly day, but not too cold for cider and apple juice, from apples grown in the abbey's orchard!
We also enjoyed the abbey's museum, pond and gardens
We then rested for a bit, and then left the abbey and walked to the foot of the Glastonbury Tor. We finished the long walk up, to the tower at the top, and admired the views.
St. Michael's Tower dates from the 15th Century.
On our walk back to the car, Stace and I peeked in at the Glastonbury Tribunal, a 15th Century merchant's house. History is everywhere!
We stopped on our way back home at Wells. Here is the moat, with swans and cygnets, at Bishop's Palace, next to the cathedral.
We showed the girls 14th Century Vicars Close, the oldest purely residential street in Europe.
This wasn't Violet's first time here - JT and I had a day out in Wells in 2010, with a tiny Violet.
It was getting dark, but we walked around the beautiful cathedral.
It was a great day out together.
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