Bolton Priory Reviews Summary

Historical Significance and Beauty

Pros:

• "Extensive and very impressive remains of Twelfth century priory."
• "Beautiful Abbey on the banks of the River Wharfe."
• "Such a beautiful place. A hidden away gem in the Dales."
• "As well as the impressiveness of the Prior itself you also have the magnificence of the Abbey itself."
• "The area has a rich and fascinating history."
• "THE BLACK CANONS OF THE ORDER OF ST. AUGUSTINE SHELTERED HERE AT BOLTON, WHERE THEY PURSUED A LIFE OF SERVICE AND WORSHIP."
• "Bolton Priory located within the grounds of Bolton Abbey is a fine example of preserved ruins."

Cons:

• "The walls are literally crumbling."
• "Although the priory is in ruins, one can still imagine the magnificent building it once was."
• "The grounds were very nice, but the abbey is very run down which is a shame."
• "The ruins are spectacular but the management is poor."
• "Nothing special besides the abbey ruins which are interesting."
• "The priory itself is an exquisite church in the ruins of the old Abbey."
• "The ruins of the Priory are interesting for those interested in history of the Reformation under Henry VIII's reign."

Facilities and Amenities

Pros:

• "There's very well kept easy paths both sides of the stream, which is spectacular."
• "A lovely place for families with plenty to do and see, will be going again soon."
• "Also a fantastic tea shop near the entrance which overlooks the Abbey, grounds and river which provided us with, a hard to beat, large homemade hot scone with their own Berry compote and tea for two £10 special."
• "A very beautiful area when lots of space and good riverside walks."
• "BBQs area allowed in the parking area, and there are public washrooms and a gift shop by the tea house."
• "The grounds have gravel paths to help you get around, a muddy walk that has play equipment around it for youngsters; and the extensive fields and open areas."
• "Lots of clean toilets and wash basins."

Cons:

• "One way systems are in place due to Covid which not all people followed."
• "Some of the steeper paths were quite slippery, not because they were wet, but because of the material they are made from."
• "Not enough toilets scattered around the area so if you’re in need to go to the lavatory you could be in trouble."
• "The cafe at the Riverside area was a bit disappointing, the sandwiches weren't very nice and the bread was hard."
• "Has become far more commercial over the years with very large car parks and visitor centre and gift shops."
• "The only thing that let the place down was the dirty toilets in what i think was the cavendish pavilion."
• "None existent play areas for children."

Parking and Accessibility

Pros:

• "The £10 parking fee is well worth the trip."
• "Parking costs £8 per car which is not bad. This money goes towards upkeep in improvements."
• "The parking fee allows you to park in 2-3 different lots which helped us explore more."
• "£10 for all day parking across all the car parks is very reasonable too!"
• "Entry fee is a simple, and very reasonable, £10 charge to park your car."
• "The £10 parking charge seems very fair as the whole area is well maintained."
• "The parking was reasonable at £10 per car."

Cons:

• "Thought the idea of paying £15 just to park was a little steep but everywhere seems to be putting prices up some people may disagree but all you got was a ruin and to walk around a park could have gone to a park."
• "Disgusting parking charges."
• "£15 car park, why on earth has this gone up over 50%?"
• "Beautiful walk.. but parking fees DISGRACEFUL !!!!!!!!!!."
• "Seriously £10 for every car smacks of money grabbing."
• "They charge £15 for parking which I personally think is horrific."
• "£15 to park is daylight robbery."

Customer Service and Staff

Pros:

• "Staff is very friendly."
• "The staff are very polite, tolerant, supportive and very helpful in any way."
• "The staff were all friendly and willing to answer any questions."
• "The extremely helpful gentleman who gave me the information was a volunteer guide and he was delighted to help."
• "An extremely well kept place and a credit to the grounds staff."

Cons:

• "The problem I have is with the rude and patronising kiosk attendant."
• "Do they not teach there staff manners or any sort of decent customer service."
• "Private employees of the landowner lied to us that the public right of way to Bolton Abbey ruins is inaccessible to walkers and we must prebook and pay £10 to walk through the priory ruins."
• "The very rude manager asked if I had split my ticket with her online as she could not find the barcode number."

Nature and Scenery

Pros:

• "A excellent day out highly recommended for a healthy walk and sight seeing."
• "Brilliant day out for all ages, you can picnic by the river or take a long walk out along it and back the other side."
• "The stepping stones across the river are fun for the young at heart."
• "Just beautiful, stunningly scenic beyond words."
• "Outstandingly beautiful! Amazing views and a lovely walk."
• "Gorgeous estate with a river and a stepping stone challenge across it."
• "An absolutely stunning place. A lot to offer for everyone."

Cons:

• "Lovely place to visit but ruined by selfish people."
• "The amount of rubbish left by people is disgusting."
• "There's literally thousands of people everywhere, long queues for ice creams, stepping stones, bridges etc."
• "Dogs off leads all over the place barking at each other."
• "The littering by them (!) lot was astounding, I also witnessed grown adults discard their waste from their cars near the BBQ zone even though the bins are metres away."
• "Was disappointed mainly because it was so busy, messy and noisy that it spoilt the visit."
• "Had a good day spoiled a few times by groups of people... some just had no respect for others."