Ancient ruins always have a remarkable way of filling you with awe, capturing your fascination, and leaving you a little spooked all at the same time.

Leiston Abbey in Suffolk is no different, and really, we don’t think you’d want it any other way.

A story of the past and present

The abbey’s watched the world go by for quite some time, since 1182 in fact, but the ruins you see today are what remains after it received one mighty upgrade a few hundred years later.

For seeing its 800th birthday come and go, the place looks fantastic for its age. Especially when you consider it’s been open to the elements all that time; where cold rains and long summer days have come and gone year after year.

But walking around the site, there’s a sense the abbey will always be tied into the Suffolk countryside.

Its physical foundations, and something indescribable that flows through the air, feel as though they’ve grown to become part of the earth itself, and will be forever.

Sunset shadows

Any time you head to Leiston Abbey, you’re in for a wonderful adventure, but there are also times when the abbey’s beauty in the natural landscape is completely breathtaking.

A summer sunset brings low, slanting light – cutting through the whole area and piercing through the abbey’s archways; silhouetting the ruins against the darkening sky behind.

Long shadows stretch across the whole area, adding a completely unique atmosphere to the whole place.

Got your swimsuit ready?

Leiston sits on the doorstep of Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), so once your explorations around the abbey are over, why not head out on an adventure into nature?

Both Sizewell and Thorpeness Beach are only a short distance from Leiston, and really what better way is there to end the day than sat with the sea washing over your feet and sand between your toes?

A morning spent wandering the ancient remains of Leiston Abbey sounds like all the fun you’d need, but when you tie it into a day that ends on the beach, it somehow gets even better.

So pack up that bathing suit, and don’t forget those walking boots, because you’re in for one memorable day out.