ROMANTIC RUINS

One mile from Barnard Castle, the melancholy ruins of Egglestone Abbey overlook the river in a quiet spot among fields, where Premonstratensian White Canons observed a simple and austere way of life. Founded in 1196, the abbey survived until the Dissolution of the 1530s, but was not well off and probably never housed more than 15 canons. Several simple tombs remain, once resting in the great nave, but now exposed to wind and sun; the impressive remains of the great East Window beyond. The grander chest tomb of Sir Ralph Bowes stands at the old crossing point; once taken with other artefacts to nearby Rokeby Park, but returned in the early 20th century. After its suppression, parts of the abbey were converted into a house, and 16th century fireplaces and doorways can be spotted among the older ruins of the east range dormitory. Sir Ralph’s ancestral home, Bowes Castle, guards one end of the strategically important Stainmore Pass that snakes across the Pennines. It was built in the footprint of the Roman fort of Lavatris, whose soldiers built shrines to Vinotonus, the god of woods and wild lands, on bleak Scargill Moor. Like Barnard, Bowes replaced an earlier wooden castle, rebuilt in stone on the orders of Henry II. His worries of Scottish invasion proved correct: Bowes was besieged in 1173, but withstood the attack and was further reinforced. Little remains today, other than the unusual square hall-keep, but this bulwark of stone is very impressive; its walls 11½ft (3.5m) thick, with massive buttresses and windows, defended by a moat that can be seen on two sides. The church of St Giles, among trees on the other side of the lane, marks the opposite edge of the Roman fort.