Bloghopper: Lines Written Many Miles From Tintern Abby

The hills surrounding the Abby are still forest

“No Dad, PLEASE, no more ruins!”

For our last available weekend we decided to go site-seeing to a nearby site; Tintern Abby. It was immortalized in poem 200 years ago by William Wordsworth not because he wrote about it, but because he mentioned it in the title - “Lines Written A Few Miles Above Tintern Abby”. I hadn’t read the poem since high school and in re-reading it, I don’t think I got much more out of it now than I did then.

“C’mon, son, it’ll be fine. You can bring your soccer ball AND they have a souvenir shop”

But the mention in the title has turned this 12th century abby into a tourist destination ever since he wrote the poem. It functioned as a Cistercian abby for 400 years before it was abandoned in 1536 and went into steady decay until 1800. A good job has been done maintaining the structures since then and although scaffolding ruins pictures, without the constant restoration there’d be nothing but piles of ivy covered stones to visit.

“Ah, Dad.” “Get in the car son. And I’m going to pay you one pound for every smiling foto”

The weather was grudgingly co-operative and while it wasn’t warm and sunny the sun peeked out from behind the clouds often enough to make our jackets unecessary. It didn’t take long to see the site, it was, after all, just a roofless cathedral and remnants of the outbuildings. But as witth all the ancient sites we’ve visited in the last year, if you listen closely you can hear the sounds of its previous occupants. The thrum of the big bell, the murmur of monk’s chants could be heard if you breathe deep, close your eyes and let your imagination go. There’s been little development in the area so it’s still surrounded by forest which supplies the necessary quiet for listening.

“Dad!”
“Huh?”
“Kick it over here”
“Ok, ok”

So much for listening. Still, a wonderful connection to the distant past unavailable in North America. This is our history too but the tangible evidence of where we’ve been is across that big pond so while North Americans are unencumbered with the weight of the past they’re also disconnected from their roots. This trip has given me an opportunity to glimpse our history and make me feel I really am part of something, that there is a continuity to our lives.

“Can we go now?”