Whalley Abbey
Whalley Abbey
4.5
Points of Interest & Landmarks
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Duration: < 1 hour
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

See what travelers are saying
  • Chris
    4 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful, peaceful place.
    Beautiful, peaceful place. It’s a retreat in all sense of the word. The grounds, staff and overall experience were wonderful. Very reasonable price too, 5 minutes walk to the village where there are restaurants, pubs and shops. Loved it. Highly recommend. We were here for 2 nights bed and breakfast. Would definitely go again. Thank you to all the staff who I didn’t get to thank personally.
    Visited May 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written May 21, 2023
  • R383ccaCgb
    England, United Kingdom405 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    History at its finest
    Steeped in history, these ruins are set within beautiful gardens. Sign posts give away enough information about the lives of people who used the area many years ago. Its the perfect spot to walk around and is very peaceful and ideal for those wanting a quiet walk/sit down. There is also free parking. Highly recommend to those visiting the area for the first time
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 9, 2023
  • Andrew L
    Leigh, United Kingdom3,589 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Henry VIIIs fault
    Imagine what all these buildings would have looked like if Henry VIII had not got a roving eye ! You get a good impression here from the substantial ruins and helpful signage around the abbey site. Some lovely gardens to relax in as well. Cafe looked good especially the bacon butties people were eating on the outside tables. Peaceful place to visit and take in the history
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 20, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles200 reviews
Excellent
102
Very good
79
Average
11
Poor
3
Terrible
5

Martina
11 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
Paid for an event and wanted everything to be perfect. the food was very tasty, plenty of it and well worth the money. However, the man in charge of the day was miserable and very unhelpful. There is no bar it was tea and coffee. After mixing with my guests and ensuring they were served and relaxed, I asked for a cup of tea. This was met with a long face, no manners, no smile from a very disgruntled impolite man who made me feel very awkward and embarrassed. He spoilt the event as everyone commented on him saying 'does he know you're paying the bill'
Written November 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anita
Stratford-upon-Avon, UK801 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
Beautiful tranquil area and quite a large site for abbey ruins . Lovely gardens and gatehouse. A cafe is available on site. There is a small entrance fee on site and if a volunteer isn't around then you can scan the QR code and pay although this may take a few minutes to do. Only £3 each but well worth it. You can also stay at the abbey too. Worth walking down the road to visit the other gatehouse which is looked after by English Heritage. Very peaceful.
Written August 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

bdon257
Morpeth, UK4,987 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022 • Couples
Two of us visited this Magnificent gatehouse and gardens of the Abbey house with the extensive remains of this medieval abbey. The grounds are well maintained and a number of borders with flowering plants and shrubs can be enjoyed. A courtyard coffee shop with outdoor seating is available for refreshments.
Written June 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Andrew L
Leigh, UK3,589 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
Imagine what all these buildings would have looked like if Henry VIII had not got a roving eye ! You get a good impression here from the substantial ruins and helpful signage around the abbey site. Some lovely gardens to relax in as well. Cafe looked good especially the bacon butties people were eating on the outside tables. Peaceful place to visit and take in the history
Written September 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chris
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Couples
Beautiful, peaceful place. It’s a retreat in all sense of the word. The grounds, staff and overall experience were wonderful. Very reasonable price too, 5 minutes walk to the village where there are restaurants, pubs and shops. Loved it. Highly recommend. We were here for 2 nights bed and breakfast. Would definitely go again. Thank you to all the staff who I didn’t get to thank personally.
Written May 21, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

bunnySouthport
Southport, UK945 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2020
We went here during the Corona Virus whilst obeying social distancing. It was a beautiful place to visit to see the history from different periods. Although the main grounds were closed you could walk quite a bit around it with nice gardens , great plants and a wonderful walk down the river
Written May 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

R383ccaCgb
England, UK405 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
Steeped in history, these ruins are set within beautiful gardens. Sign posts give away enough information about the lives of people who used the area many years ago. Its the perfect spot to walk around and is very peaceful and ideal for those wanting a quiet walk/sit down. There is also free parking. Highly recommend to those visiting the area for the first time
Written September 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ruth H
2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Friends
Very disappointed it wasn’t dog friendly!
So as a result we were not allowed to go in. We had driven a long way with friends especially to visit the Abbey! I had checked to see if it was dog friendly but hadn’t found any information.
Written September 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Charlotte W
13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019
We are incredibly fortunate to live within a three minute walk from Whalley Abbey and despite having lived here for over twenty years, the appeal of visiting the grounds never gets old.

Noted two “terrible” reviews and read out of interest – both disgruntled dog owners who had assumed it was dog friendly and not taken time to check in advance. Granted it must be annoying particularly if you have travelled but given the majority of public places such as this only allow guide dogs admission, it's hardly anyone else's fault if people don't use common sense, enquire in advance and just rock up assuming they can bring dogs with them.

The grounds are stunning and admission so cheap at £2 per person and just £4.50 for a family ticket of 2 adults and 2 children with an honesty box in place for visitors out of hours. There is no time restriction so once inside the grounds you're free to roam, sit and sunbathe / picnic and spend the whole day as you like. The main entrance gates remain open and during the summer months it's surprising how long you can spend relaxing, playing games or letting the kids play and if you bring a picnic and comfy blanket, you have a full day out for less than a fiver.

One of the biggest appeal is walking through the grounds particularly with young children who can follow the woodland trails alongside the river, enjoy the open grounds with ruins that make for excellent spots when playing hide and seek / army or whatever other game you come up with and invent on the spot and there are an abundance of places you can sit down with a blanket and unwrap a picnic either on the tables and benches, inside the woodland, up overlooking the main walls or sat on the beautiful gardens.

We used to take our children regularly when they were small toddlers and enjoy wellie walks, mini-beast hunts and finding / collecting all sorts and when we've had nieces, nephews and friend's with young children come to stay, we always make a wander down to the Abbey one of the first on our list.

At this time of year it's a great place to take your kids collecting conkers, pine cones and leaves and when it snows, the grounds are absolutely stunning with a fresh untouched blanket of snow that's almost guaranteed to be free from litter, dog poo or other nasties and means kids can enjoy building snowmen or making snow angels.

The venue does have toilets, a cafe and over the years has become a popular conference centre and wedding venue. During the summer there are live open air shows / plays which we haven't seen personally but look good and I imagine really offer a great family day out (have seen advertisements previously for “The Gruffalo” and “We're going on a Bear Hunt”)

The woodland trail and gardens with fish pond are child friendly but obviously require adult supervision as the river that runs directly behind is easily accessible and a steep drop. Same with the gardens – there's a small wooden bridge and seating area that does as much as it can to keep guests safe but that doesn't mean small kids can be allowed to go off and explore alone. Goes without saying really but given that a couple of people have given “terrible” reviews for not being allowed access with dogs – there will be some that assume they can just let their kids go off and do what they like because it's deemed a “family friendly” area. It's a great place for young families to visit but given that it's also an ancient ruin largely untouched or altered, it's not safe in the sense a purpose built children's play centre will be.

Just outside the abbey within a minute's walk is St Mary's Church which is a gorgeous Grade 1 listened building with a beautiful graveyard, three Anglo-saxon crosses dating from 10th or 11th century and should (I think) form more a part of the Abbey itself as it's relevant and was originally part and parcel.

Not sure exactly of the days and times they practise in the church, the bell-ringers are heard frequently particularly during the summer evenings and always very friendly, welcoming and more than happy to let visitors watch them inside the main church.

Years ago we were treated to a little trip all the way up to the very top and balanced on wooden beams to actually stand within a few feet of the bells themselves. Pretty sure that's not something they can or will do nowadays mind but they will certainly welcome you inside and upstairs to watch them in the tower.

Just a few feet from the main Churchyard is a great pub “The Dog” that serves great home-cooked food, has a brilliant selection of ales and is family friendly and dog friendly. Probably one of the friendliest pubs in the Ribble Valley to be honest it's as laid back and welcoming as it gets so when you're done wandering the Abbey and have had your fill of graves and bell ringers, I can't recommend finishing off with a pint and some pub grub in there.
Written October 21, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

raziel62152
Manchester, UK3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2017 • Couples
Went to Whalley all the way from Manchester especially to visit the Abbey but could not go in because Dogs are not allowed,we have been to lots of ruins and always been able to take our dog in
Written April 9, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 197
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Whalley Abbey - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Whalley Abbey

Whalley Abbey is open:
  • Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM


Restaurants near Whalley Abbey: View all restaurants near Whalley Abbey on Tripadvisor