Beautiful Britain - Quarr Abbey, Isle of Wight

Hi there everyone

This is the first of a series of posts sharing our thoughts on some of the places we visited and the things we saw and loved on our recent holiday to the Isle of Wight.

Having arrived on a Saturday after travelling for pretty much the full day we opted for a nice easy day on our first Sunday and started out by having a relaxing Sunday lunch in the very cosy Fishbourne Inn, which we stumbled across whilst out for a drive.

Whilst lingering over lunch and deciding what to do next we saw that Quarr Abbey was literally a stone's throw away and decided that this would fit the bill nicely for the rest of the afternoon.

In all our research, before coming away, into what we wanted to do whilst on the island, neither of us had come across the Abbey so we had no idea what to expect at all.

We were both most pleasantly surprised, it was a real treat and even more so for us having no pre-conceptions about what to expect.

The new church and monastery was built in 1907 and the buildings are like no other abbey or monastery we have come across before. Our first view had us very intrigued and we couldn't wait to explore.
It is a fully working monastery and, as such, the site has a very peaceful and tranquil feel about it, lovely for a short wander on a sunny afternoon.

You can find out lots more about the history of the place from their website but there is a whole range of activities for visitors including a visitor centre and shop, an art gallery, tea-room, farm shop and gardens, as well as the new and original monastery buildings.

As ever, the first place we explored was the walled garden. Within the garden we found the tea-room, with plenty of both in and outdoor seating, and the farm shop, where lots of produce grown within the garden and orchards are available for sale ...

Also, within the walled garden, we found the chicken runs, where rescue hens provide eggs for use in the abbey kitchen and for sale in the farm shop.

We wandered past the chicken runs and the allotments ...

... to a spot where we spent a good while, just taking in the view ...

... and trying to catch good shots of the butterflies, which were just loving the buddleia ...

This little chap was a treat to watch too ,,,

There was time for a quick regulation selfie before carrying on to see what else there was to see. We took a walk through the woodland to the old abbey ruins, which were of a much more traditional style and in an absolutely beautiful spot ...

By now, we were starting to flag, but still had time to have a quick look round inside the new abbey and the rest of the grounds ...

Where we found plenty more butterflies ...

... statues ...
and even an abbey inspired bike rack ...

That was about it for our visit, though you can buy pig food in the farm shop and use this to feed the abbey pigs, which we didn't actually get to see.

We really enjoyed spending a couple of hours here, though it is definitely one of the lesser known attractions of the island we are so glad that we stumbled upon it and would definitely recommend calling in if you are passing.