Leslie S.
Yelp
We visited Hailes Abbey whilst walking Hadrian's Wall last August. Though little remains of the abbey, the English Heritage organization has created a wonderful, complimentary audio tour that truly brings the abbey to life, helping one visualize what it once looked like and how those who called it home spent their days. We easily spent an hour and a half perusing the grounds whilst listening to the tour, but it can be done in much less time.
Hailes Abbey also offers a small museum filled with interesting artifacts and sculptures found at the site. The museum can be tackled in very little time, but is worth a quick look.
There is also a very pleasant cafe located on-site, where we had a lovely cup of tea and, later, some ice cream whilst overlooking the remains of the abbey.
Though owned by the National Trust, Hailes Abbey is maintained by English Heritage, and therefore free to both members, but National Trust members must pay £1 extra for the audio tour. The abbey closes for the winter and reopens around the start of April.