Fountains Abbey is the UK's largest monastic ruin and a World Heritage Site.

Founded in 1132, this majestic abbey attracts 300,000 visitors a year.

When the first monks arrived at Fountains, it was described as a place "more fit for wild beasts than men to inhabit".

A hundred years later the Abbey was one of the richest religious houses in England with 400 Cistercian monks, and 800 lay brothers.

The power of Fountains was felt far and wide with the Abbey's economic activities embracing farming, lead mining, quarrying and horse breeding.

But Henry VIII was to put a stop to the Abbey's power with the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th Century.

Later a fabulous Georgian water garden was added to the site.

Four hundred years of rebuilding has resulted in a mosaic of styles of architecture.

Today Fountains is the most complete example of Cistercian abbey remains in the country.

The towering walls of its ruins act as a cliff face for a resident colony of nesting Jackdaws.

Fountains is also one of the best spots in the North of England for some of our smallest birds.

Simply find yourself a quiet spot just beside the Abbey and watch out for Goldcrests, Coal Tits, and Great Tits.