|
Today we woke up early.
We had made reservations to take a bus tour to famous Stonehenge. We
choose the Stones and Bones tour offered by Astral Travels. They use
Mini-Coaches to allow for more intimate tours. Our driver, David,
picked us up at our hotel promptly at 7:55 am. We were the last 4
passengers on this bus. All 16 seats were now full. He gave us a quick
talk as we headed out of London to the south west. Once outside of
London, he let people sleep for about an hour until we were near
Salisbury our first stop.
 |
| Salisbury
Cathedral |
Salisbury is home to
Salisbury Cathedral. It has the largest spire in all of the UK at over
400 feet tall. The Cathedral was built in a little more than 80 years.
Quite a feat considering most cathedrals take centuries to build. The
Chapter room, off of the Cloister area, is home to 1 of 4 remaining
copies of the Magna Carta written in the early 1200's. This document
set the stage for many modern governments including the UK as well as
the USA. The Cathedral is surround by a Close, a gated area around the
cathedral complete with homes. This was to keep the Church safe from
the common folk. To this day the gates into the Close are closed and
locked every night.
 |
| Salisbury Town |
We spent a little time
walking around sleepy Salisbury on this foggy Sunday morning. There
were some neat examples of Tudor architecture. We stopped by a small
coffee shop to warm ourselves up. Then we had to get back to catch our
bus.
 |
| Old Sarum Castle |
David took us up the
hill to Sarum. This was where people lived prior to Salisbury. It had
a tactical advantage of being up on the hill. The Normans built a
castle which the remains are still visible. The problem was water.
Eventually Sarum was moved down the hill along the river. The
Pope was petitioned to move the Cathedral as well. When it was
granted, the rest of the town moved down as well and Salisbury was
born.
 |
| Roadside Inn |
It was then off to
lunch. We drove down these country back roads until we came upon
the Wheatsheaf Inn. It was a rather large pub, and very busy. It was
so busy that they kept turning away patrons. We all had a great lunch
there. When we left the restaurant there were several old British
Austins in the parking lot. The car club was having lunch. Most were
in great condition.
 |
| Old Austins |
Now the trip to
Stonehenge. Along the way we passed Sting's (the singer) mansion. This
was also where Madonna had spent her honeymoon only a few weeks
before. then we came upon the massive stones.
 |
| Stonehenge |
Stonehenge was crowded,
but manageable. They keep you back from the stones, so you can't
really get a close look at them. However, they are impressive. The
workmanship and the fact that some of the stones were brought here
from 200 miles away, most from 25 miles away keeps you in awe.
They were then shaped and lifted into position. The Mathematical
precision on their alignments is also a wonder.
 |
| Stonehenge |
They we were off to
Avebury. This town is in the middle of a huge stone circle. They may
not be shaped like Stonehenge, but you can walk among them and touch
them. David gave us diving rods to demonstrate the magnetic properties
of the stones. Very impressive! The crowning glory was a
demonstration between north and south hemispheres. A gentleman
on the tour was born and still lives in Australia. David was born and
raised in England. They both had the diving rods and walked between
two of the stones. David's rods crossed across his chest. The Aussie
rod swung around the other way pointing backwards. This follows that
water goes down the drain the other way in the south. It seems that
maybe we are born with a polarity??
 |
| Avebury Circle |
Then is was time to
head back. David was gracious to drop us off just a few steps from out
hotel. We then took a quick nap...
The night ended with a
trip to the Original Hard Rock Cafe at Hyde Park. This HRC opened in
1971. It had nearly failed before becoming the world wide success.
This was Mark's 17th HRC to go to... This ended a wonderful day!
Continue to
Day 5
|
Day 1 |
Day 2 | Day 3
|
Day 4 |Day 5 |
Day 6 |
| Back to Top
| European Trips |
|
