LESNES ABBEY RUINS

ABBEY WOODS

JULY 19 2008

A chill runs down my spine,  tingling deliciously with the ghosts of the past as I walk amongst the Abbey ruins,  alone and blissfully content.

Walking the steps to the lodgings rooms,  part of the outline of the original structure left today,  I ponder the historic relevance of this site of Special Scientific Interest.  The spirit of Richard De Luci,  cheif Justiciar of old England, the man responsible for founding the Abbey back in 1178,    possibly as pennance for his part in the murder of Thomas a Becket,  is all around me as I examine the stonework and walk through the two archways still standing.

I tread the path of countless feet before me,  from numerous generations,  breathing in the atmosphere and tranquility of this beautiful place.  Around me,  the woods lead onwards joyously to rendezvous with Oxleas Woods and Thamesmead riverside,  and the grounds are dutifully tended to by a team of uniformed gardeners who lovingly nurture a variety of well stocked beds and borders amidst the aural delight of frantic circular sprinklers,  breathing life into the freshly mowed lawns.

I am at peace here, with only two young ladies in the distance, animated of conversation whilst seated on a picnic bench.  I sit and stare at the ruins and let my imagination roam back to the days of it's former glory.  How hard that life must surely have been,  and yet how pure and beautiful in essence.

There are elements of that lifestyle that I'd gladly trade for today's frenetic and frantic pace,  and elements I would not.   As I sit and ponder the possibilities,  my eyes are filled with the beauty of this area,  as, within my mind,  I slowly rebuild the Abbey to it's former glory and walk amongst it's inhabitants,  breathing in the history and tranquility of the moment.