Another stop we had on our list was Buckland Abbey Cider House and Gardens. The Abbey was founded in 1278 and was home to Cistercian Monks who worked the land and lived in seclusion. The Monks were moved on when Henry the 8th came into power and changed the ball game with the Catholics. After the dissolution of the Abbey it was converted into a home by Sir Richard Grenville and was then owned by the Drake family.
Sir Francis Drake played a part in the 1588 Spanish Armada where Spain failed in their attempt to overthrow protestant England, making Sir Francis Drake even more of a hero than he already was. Buckland Abbey is massive and like a maze. It would have been a lovely home to live in! When we were about to leave we got told by a volunteer that they had news reporters visiting last week as it turns out one of the paintings on the walls is a Rembrandt worth around 20 millions pounds! As you could imagine they quickly alarmed it and no doubt it will be sold on!!
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| The Great Barn |
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| Inside the great barn |
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| Another pic inside |
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| Paul outside Buckland Abbey |
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| Ashlea wandering around the gardens |
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| Buckland Abbey |
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| Sir Francis Drake's drum from 1800's |
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| Globe of the world back in the 19th century |
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| Model ship from the 19th century |
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| Kitchen - how it would have looked when Sir Francis Drake lived there |
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| The surrounding gardens |
No matter where you go there will be plenty of history. That is one of the things Irene loves about the uk the history and the Castles. They never seem to knock them down no matter what state they are in.
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