Dumfries and Galloway 3 Dundrennan Abbey/dreek all day/ getting lost following Silly Sat Nag

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Day 2 - following silly sat nag . We put in Dundrennan . She should have found it . She got one on her and we ended up down a narrow lane with no sign of an abbey of any kind . We switched her off and got out the map. She was not far wrong . Probably if we had continued along the narrow road we would have come out in the village of Dundrennan and found the abbey. Instead we turned round in an old abandoned farmyard , followed a wagon and ended up back on the main road where we dumped the sat nag and followed our noses. Eventually we found the village and the signs for the abbey . So easy when you don't use a sat nag.

The abbey was grey and dominated the landscape . The weather was typically Scottish . Dreek - the word perfectly fitted the grey old wet day . It drizzled . The sort of rain that wets you through to the skin and permeates your clothing leaving you feeling cold and miserable . I had booked tickets for the abbey at 10 and we had a time slot of one hour . I was not too bothered that we were half an hour late . The car park was empty with the exception of two cars . It was not going to be busy . We locked Gabby up and walked across the wet grass to the abbey gateway . By the time we got there my feet were wet . On entering the abbey we were impressed with its sheer size and the amount of stonework still standing . We walked first to the wooden hut to present our tickets . Hand sanitizers everywhere . Masks still obligatory in Scotland . We were greeted with cheery hellos from the two staff members who probably were glad to see some visitors on the dreek day. Do you have tickets ? We found them on the phone and presented them for scan and trace . I offered the Cadw cards and they were glanced at and put away . Feel free to wander which we did .

The abbey was a Cistercian house built in a Romanesque style in 1142 by Fergus of Galloway, King David I and the monks from Rievaulx in Yorkshire . What remained gave an idea of its beauty, the skill of the builders and the love that someone put into building such a lovely place . It is said to be noted for its purity . Mary Queen of Scots stayed here as she did in many places . In 1587 the land passed to the Crown after the Scottish reformation and fell into disuse and ruin . AT one point it held lifestock . Now it is a scheduled building and maintained by the equivalent of Cadw in Wales .

After establishing this abbey the monks moved in and built Glenluce Abbey - closed due to maintenance and Sweetheart Abbey - closed due to maintenance . There were may grave markers in and around the complex . Many were highly decorated and in good order . The ruins had a peaceful beauty . It was not hard to feel just how the monks must have felt . A very quiet place . A place of solitude . Food readily available , medical care , the ways of the world must have felt a long way away. There were cloisters to walk in and around . A peaceful chapel that once was full of singing and chanting . A place to be buried in . Even now the interior of the abbey close to where the high altar would have stood were gravestones. Some going back to 1700 . Others more recent dating from the 1900's The church was as always based on the Corss pattern but did have an unusual three story design . The window glass had long gone but the carving around the windows and doors was impressive . Many of the stones that had been found around the abbey were housed in later buildings . The skill of craftsmen was easy to see . Open arcades made the building light and spacious . In its time it must have been very impressive . What remained was still impressive .

We walked to the chapter house which dated from the early 1200's. From there was an east range of buildings . A warming house, a dining area for the monks , rooms for contemplation and silence and rooms to chat in . All in all the entrance facade was impressive. Internally we were reminded of Roche Abbey . There were finely moulded piers , niches for graves and for statues. The slabs of four abbots were set into the floor . All were in good order . A highly polished grave once depicted a knight and his lady but that long disappeared . We could only imagine what it might have looked like as little was left .

We finally climbed the damp and wet steps to an upper level where we stood for a while in the drizzle and admired the whole site which could be seen from this high vantage point . The stones were crumbling and growing in them were the tiny Harebells . They looked delicate with all this rain falling on them . Day 2 was half over . Ever onwards . we needed diesel and some milk . We failed on both . The Garage at the local supermarket was closed for refurbishment and in the rain I just couldnt be bothered to go and find one pint of milk . Sometimes you just feel like that .

There is a legend about the abbey . The Fairy foxglove a tiny pink flower grows . We never saw it . It seems it only ever grows were a roman soldier walked . We had to make do with the pretty pale blue Harebell . That was good enough for me .

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