Baltinglass Abbey has fascinating links with the local geology and surrounding landscape. It is likely that monks chose this site because it is a privileged vantage point in the landscape. The abbey is located just before a major change in the bedrock, where schists and slate, metamorphic rocks, in the north change to granite, igneous rocks, to the south where the town sits. A picturesque widening of the valley floor occurs where the weaker schists and slates have been broken down over thousands of years.
Most Cistercian abbeys are located close to streams or rivers and are generally found on their right banks. However, unusually Baltinglass is located on the left bank of the River Slaney. Local memory tells us that the River Slaney at Baltinglass once had a different course flowing behind the abbey at the edge of the mountain, until the monks changed its course. This would place the abbey originally on the right bank of the river, like the other Cistercian abbeys. This idea is supported by local tradition which suggests the river surrounded both sides of the abbey during major floods.
Baltinglass Abbey features interesting designs that show the level of craftsmanship it took to build. The walls reveal that rocks of many different shapes and colours were used to build the abbey. Despite granite being a hard rock that is difficult to shape and cut, there are unique stone carvings that can still be seen on some of the abbey’s structures today.