Fountains Abbey’s Mill Ruins sit in a windswept valley where centuries of faith, power, and landscape design converge. Founded in 1132 by Cistercian monks, the abbey grew into one of England’s largest and most complete monastic complexes before its Dissolution in the 16th century. Today, the surviving nave arches, cloisters, and Studley Royal Water Garden render a haunting chorus of stone and water, with moss and lichen tracing the centuries across the ruins. The site—recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site—offers a quiet, cathedral-like atmosphere that shifts with the light, inviting reflection as well as awe. Notably, the ruins were used by filmmakers as Aretuza’s courtyard and cloisters in The Witcher, blending real medieval grandeur with fantasy ambience.

Fountains Abbey – Tower rises from a windswept valley in North Yorkshire, where the ruins tell a story stretching back to the 12th century. Founded in 1132 by Benedictine monks and later run by the Cistercians, the abbey became one of medieval England’s wealthiest monastic communities before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. Today, the skeletal arches, cloisters, and the towering remains sit among rolling pastures and the water-meadow of Studley Royal, creating a hauntingly serene atmosphere that invites quiet reflection. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrated for its architectural grandeur and expansive landscape. In The Witcher, the ruins were used to depict Aretuza’s courtyard and cloisters, lending a mythic, otherworldly mood to scenes of magic, power, and rivalries among mages.

Fountains Abbey – River View sits beside the tranquil River Ure on the edge of the ancient Cistercian complex that gave rise to one of England’s most evocative monastic landscapes. Founded in 1132, the abbey’s soaring arches, cloisters, and surrounding Studley Royal Water Garden evoke centuries of devotion, grand design, and rural aristocracy, now immortalized by their hauntingly beautiful ruins. The site unfolds with a quiet, contemplative atmosphere, where moss and stone meet reflections on the water and the surrounding countryside of North Yorkshire. In The Witcher series, these ruins were used as Aretuza’s courtyard and cloisters, blending fantasy with history in a location that feels both otherworldly and tangible.