The first big outing of our holiday was down to Buckfast Abbey to meet family. I have family living in Cornwall so Buckfast Abbey worked out to be a reasonable half way meeting point. I haven’t seen these family members for a few years so I was looking forward to the meeting.
We arranged to meet on the Monday of my holiday with coincided with a reduction in COVID restrictions. It was the first day which we were allowed to eat inside. This turned out to be useful because it was raining. So could start with a much needed coffee after the drive. Then we went for a walk round the Abbey. I was amused by the sign encouraging visitors to walk on the grass. There are some lovely gardens to walk around.
I really enjoyed walking round the gardens and for us Buckfast Abbey to meet family was a really good option. The Abbey dates back to 1018 but of course in the time of Henry VIII the abbey was dissolved and the land became the property of the crown. It was returned to religious use in 1882 at which point extensive building work was required to allow for a functioning Abbey. So most of the building is relatively new. If you look closely at the church you can see clean straight lines. I also like that there is a very modern section. It was great to be able to get really close to the glass and see the different textures and understand how that bends the light.
After walking around for a while we retuned to the Grange restaurant for lunch. While indoor seating was allowed the food offering was somewhat limited. I assume this was due to current regulations around COVID precautions. This time we decided to sit outside. It is a good job they have good umbrellas because it rained while we were eating. Fortunately we came prepared with warm clothes.
I really like the option of Buckfast Abbey to meet family. I was very peaceful and the gardens were really nice. I was also interesting to see the church building although we did not explore all of the shops on site.
