Fountains Abbey – West Range sits within the vast precincts of the 12th-century Fountains Abbey, one of England's best-preserved Cistercian ruins. The West Range forms a cloistered sequence of stone halls, arcades and tranquil courtyards that overlook the Studley Royal Water Garden, creating a sense of time suspended among mossed arches and whispering walls. Built from a tapestry of medieval devotion and later landscape design, the abbey complex shaped the region's cultural identity and is preserved as a testament to monastic life. Its Witcher connection adds a mythic resonance, as the ruins doubled for Aretuza’s courtyard and cloisters, infusing the atmosphere with cinematic hush and fantasy.

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.

Ruined yet imposing, Fountains Abbey's Great Cloister stands as one of Britain's most evocative monastic spaces. Founded by Cistercian monks in the 12th century, the abbey grew into a vast complex whose stone arches, columns, and quiet precincts spoke to centuries of devotion, ambition, and daily life. Today the ruins, paired with the nearby Studley Royal Water Garden, create a hushed, cathedral-like atmosphere where history seems to echo through every carved capital and flagstone. The site remains a poignant reminder of medieval monastic power and its enduring allure for visitors and filmmakers alike.