Saints, Ruins and Royal Tombs: The Abbey Gardens of Bury St Edmunds

Once the greatest medieval monastery in England, the abbey at Bury St Edmunds now stands in ruins, with its vast monastic complex forming a beautiful public garden. On this walking tour, you'll explore the remains of the abbey church and its surrounding buildings, piecing together the history of this much-overlooked heritage site.

The tour starts on Chequer Square, and you'll walk through the remains of the monastic complex. Starting with the Norman Tower, one of the best-preserved 12th-century buildings in England, and the former monastery's west front, we'll uncover the shape, style, and scale of this now long-lost structure. Passing through into the abbey gardens, which now cover most of the monastic precinct, you'll trace the footprint of a church once larger than any Romanesque building north of the Alps.

The tour continues through the medieval Abbey Gate, with its richly decorated Gothic façade, before visiting St Edmundsbury Cathedral, a masterpiece of 21st-century Gothic architecture. Finally, the tour ends at St Mary's church, which contains the tomb of Mary Tudor, Queen of France and sister of Henry VIII.

On this 60-minute tour, you'll have a chance to:

• Explore the remains of one of England's great medieval monasteries
• Hear the legend of St Edmund, the martyred Anglo-Saxon king whose shrine drew pilgrims from across medieval England
• Stand in the undercroft beneath the High Altar where England's barons swore the oath that led to Magna Carta in 121
• Reflect at The Teardrop memorial, commemorating the 57 Jewish residents massacred in Bury on Palm Sunday 1190
• Learn the story behind the creation of one of Britain's most beautiful 21st-century structures
• Admire the 15th-century angel hammer beam roof of St Mary's and the cadaver tomb of cloth merchant John Baret

This tour brings to life this much-overlooked historic site, where medieval legend and extraordinary architecture come together in the most unexpected manner.