Day 2 - Stonehenge and the Salisbury Plain

Another wonderful weather day for us today. We woke to brisk temps and fog, but by 11:00 the sun was out warming us nicely. Started with an excellent breakfast at our B&B and a quick taxi ride to pick up our rental car. We have an Audi Q3 which is quite comfortable for the three of us. She has an onboard GPS unit which we've named Phoebe.

Phoebe

Yes, I drove on the opposite side of the road today. The seat belt buckles on the wrong side; the rear view mirror is on the left; the gear shift is on the left; but I did NOT run into anyone or anything and by the end of the day, I think I'd built some new neural pathways as I'm pretty comfortable behind the wheel.

Our first stop was Stonehenge. Three years ago, we drove to it, parked, took some pictures through the fence, and moved on. I actually went to the site today and wow have things changed. The old road which went very near the heel stone has been closed and grassed over. The visitor center is now more than a mile away and you take a bus to the henge and back. I was thrilled to get to see this site up close, even though you can't going off the designated path. Surrounding the henge in nearly every direction are early Bronze Age burial mounds. Folks back then thought it was of utmost importance to buried around the henge. Many of the remains that have been excavated show bodies that were wrought with disease, ailments, and other physical impairments lending credence to the belief that Stonehenge served as a place folks came to be healed.

We found lunch at a pub off the main road that came recommend from English Heritage staff. Was excellent and had our first sticky toffee pudding for dessert! Next up was Old Sarum. This site started as an Iron Age fort built in about 400 BC. William the Conqueror built a royal medieval castle here in 1070. In 1092, Salisbury's first cathedral was built on the grounds, only to be destroyed by lightning 5 days after completion. A second cathedral was built but was later dismantled to aid in the building of a newer cathedral in Salisbury proper.

After finding a car park (parking garage) in Salisbury, we walked to the Cathedral. As we approached, there was music seeping out from inside and by the time we paid our way in and entered the back of the sanctuary, we were met with a 50 piece orchestra practicing for a concert being given later at night. At one point, they played a variation of God Save the Queen (Great Britain's national anthem) and all the Brits stood up. Quite a sight and sound! Salisbury Cathedral is big. It has huge vaulted ceilings and a new, substantial baptismal font dedicated in 2008. The church was filled with visitors and we were all treated to the orchestra practicing the whole time. On our way out, the Cathedral Choir started practice their pieces for tonight which included Zadock the Priest.

After a quick tea, we jumped in the car trying to make Avebury before sunset. We arrived just in time to park at the Red Lion pub, walk across the street, see and feel the stones, then pop in the pub for dinner. Avebury is a stone circle that has remained un-commercialized. The remaining stones are in pastures with the town built around them. Avebury is also older that Stonehenge. It has no astrological order/lining up like Stonehenge, but you approach the site though an avenue of stones on either side of a wide lawn. Obviously its creators were very keen to things lining up. We even met a pilgrim of sorts going around to each stone to kiss it, hum a chant, and move on.

Drove back to Bath via the M (interstate) and are now prepping to leave the area for more adventures tomorrow! Our accents cause people to do double takes and stare for a bit. It's quite fun really as they look like they want to ask us questions, but are holding back. Maybe the country folk will work up the courage to say hi...ha! Hope you'll stay tuned and follow along.