In the county of Monmouthshire, in the south east of Wales

 "Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey" is a poem written by the British Romantic poet William Wordsworth. The full title is "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798." (The poem reflects Wordsworth's memories and emotions during a walking tour with his sister in the Welsh Borders.)

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(in Monmouthshire, Wales, on the west bank of the River Wye). Founded for Cistercian monks in 1131, Tintern Abbey, an ecclesiastical ruin, was almost rebuilt and enlarged between 1220 and 1287. The building was completed, except for minor additions, in the early 14th century. The abbey was dissolved in 1537, and its property was granted to the lord of Chepstow crown in 1900. Although the cruciform church is without a roof and the nave is damaged, many details of a style transitional from Early English to Decorated Gothic are preserved. Cloisters and other monastic buildings are placed to the north of the church. The ruins of the abbey were made famous by William Wordsworth in the last poem of Lyrical Ballads (1798).

+ “Tintern Abbey” is a poem that explores the theme of the memory of pure communion with nature in childhood and how it works upon the mind even in adulthood. The poem argues that the maturity of mind present in adulthood offers compensation for the loss of that communion, specifically, the ability to “look on nature” and hear “human music”.

+ The ruins of this monastic complex have inspired poets and artists for centuries, most notably Wordsworth, who penned 'Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey' during a visit in 1798, and JMW Turner, who made many paintings and drawings of the site. It was founded in 1131 by the Cistercian order and left to fall into ruin after the monks were booted out by Henry VIII in 1536.

+ The huge abbey church was built between 1269 and 1301, its Gothic arches testament to the pre-Reformation monastic wealth and power the king so coveted. The finest feature is the tracery that once contained the magnificent west windows. Spreading to the north are the remains of the cloisters, the infirmary, the chapter house, the refectory, the latrines, and a complex system of drains and sewers. The site is visible from the road, but if you want to explore it properly, you will need a good hour to do it justice. It's best visited either early or towards the end of the day, after the coach-tour crowds have dispersed.

+ There are plenty of options for riverside walks around Tintern. One of the best begins at the old railway bridge just upstream from the abbey and leads up to the Devil's Pulpit, a limestone crag on the eastern side of the river with a spectacular view over the abbey (2.5 miles round trip).