Accessible Britain

Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
hydraulic hoists aid transfer to and from boats. The on-site sailing school offers boats
suitable for disabled visitors.
FOOD & DRINK aa The first-floor café serves a good range of soups and hot snacks, with
great views of the harbour.
THE SOUTHWEST
055 Buckfast Abbey, Devon
Address: Buckfastleigh TQ11 0EE Web: www.buckfast.org.uk Tel: 01364 645500 Hours: Mon–Thu
9am–6pm, Fri 10am–6pm, Sun noon–6pm; intermittent closures for prayers and services; hours vary at
shops and restaurants Dates: shops and restaurants closed Good Friday & 25–26 Dec Entry: free
This magnificent abbey, with its tranquil gardens by the river Dart, is a living monastery
with a thousand-year history. A peaceful sanctuary, the abbey is home to a community
of Benedictine monks who have always welcomed guests, and it attracts visitors from
around the globe.
Buckfast Abbey was founded nearly a thousand years ago and stood for five hundred
years until Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. A community of Benedictine
monks returned in 1882 to rebuild it on its medieval foundations. It was completed
in 1938. The monks were gifted stone masons, as is evident throughout the abbey.
Don’t miss the bronzes and stained-glass windows, the largest of which, at the rear of
the abbey, seems to radiate light even on a dull day. The brothers lead a life of study,
prayer and work. Outside, the Physic Garden, Sensory Garden and Lavender Garden
all boast interesting designs and unusual plants and herbs – and are as much for the
benefit of the monks’ work and leisure as for the pleasure of visitors. In the Monastic
Produce Shop you can buy the famous Buckfast tonic wine, as well as a variety of
goods and consumables from monasteries and convents around the world. Other retail
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