Shall we pop out for a coffee?

Indiana, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Buckfast Abby, it is a beautiful place and the story of how the monks rebuilt it was inspiring. The glass panel at the back was breathtaking like you said. We visited the coffee shop and their coffee cake was delicious! The gift shop was unusual too, filled with things you would like to buy and not at rip-off prices either. I bought a bag too, much nicer than the bog-standard S'bury one I have been using. DH bought a bottle of their tonic wine, as yet untasted and we also bought a couple of their Homity pies which we had for dinner last night. It was well worth the visit.

So pleased you enjoyed your visit Alima. I always think Buckfast Abbey is just a little bit different from so many 'visitor centres'. The whole setting is so beautiful and is worth seeing in all seasons. There is a fabulous lavender garden - one of the gardeners once told me that they used to house the national collection of lavenders, about 170 varieties if I remember rightly, but the upkeep became too much, so although they still have the garden, they no longer have the responsibility to maintain all the varieties.

What a lovely visit Indinana - my favourite kind of spontaneous day. An expensive coffee, but so worth it!