


Explore the atmospheric ruins of a medieval priory nestled in the River Wear valley, offering families a free outdoor heritage experience with dog-friendly grounds and pushchair access.
Venue Type
Outdoor
Typical visit duration
1-3 hours
Booking
Walk-in
Lovely peaceful place to visit. No entry charge! Just pay for parking. Cafe on site for drinks, ice cream and lunches. Across the bridge and enjoy woodland walks. Toilets on site. Nice place for a picnic as well.
Arriving late morning, expected this to be very busy due to a beautifully warm day and being next to the river, it was so quiet that we were able to enjoy it almost to ourselves! Great information plaques dotted around and very interesting to read! Small shop on site with refreshments as well as a caravan site too!
A lovely little stop to break up our long car journey. Beautiful priory to explore and lovely woodland walks by the river. £4 parking and toilets available. There is a mini cafe with simple offerings right beside the priory, which was very welcome. You order at the window and there is indoor and outdoor seating. The woman who served us was very friendly. We had a lovely couple of hours here with our toddler.
Ancient priory located on bend of river in a valley. Gorgeous location. Entry is free to priory but £4 parking charge for site. This is clearly displayed before you drive in, so I am surprised how other visitors don't or cannot read the notice. Priory is spread over a medium sized site. Could do with more notice boards on the history. Nice cafe next to site. And also a pleasant walk along river just over small bridge.
Wonderful Priory, with great audio through Bloomberg connects app. Very interesting and well narrated. Small car park in the private grounds, costs £4 to get out. Little cafe, toilets, lots of the priory left to see even in it's tuinous state. Small picnic area, plenty of litter bins. Short up hill 200m to the sword in the tree, up well made path/steps. Wonderful fins. Abbey is free to go in. Just pay £4 to leave car park. Not wheelchair accessible as there's steps etc round the priory, but I've got dodgy knees and managed it all OK.
Reviews last updated: 7 October 2026
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This venue was last updated on 7 October 2026
