Sunday March 6th, 2011: Stonehenge, Avebury, and Salisbury

Got up at 7:30 to get on the road to Stonehenge. It was a good drive. We went right through the center of Bath. They were having a race that morning so it was a good thing we got up early or we would have been diverted onto roads not on our directions. We didn’t get to see any of the racers but we did see the did see the people preparing for them. We made it to Stonehenge without too much difficultly. It was a beautiful day. While the weather was cooler then the previous day and it was just as windy, THE SUN WAS OUT!!!! We got our audio tour and went around. It was a completely different day from the first time that I went. That time was about 20 years ago, I was about 14/15. It was a very dreary day: rainy, muddy and cold- there was no tour and mom just had to tell us what we read from the tour book, This time the weather was glorious, they had an audio tour that told us about the stones. Alexandra learned a lot and liked it too. She even told me something that I had missed: the tall Sraeson stones were suppose to be cold to the touch while the Blue Stones were suppose to warm to the touch. Alexandra seemed to really like Stonehenge.

Then we go into the car and went to Salisbury Cathedral. The cathedral was very beautiful. We learned that it was originally was built on another site within the castle walls. But the clergy and the soldiers would argue. One day the clergy went out to work in the fields, and returned home to find the gates locked for the night. The soldiers said tough. So the bishop wrote to the Pope and said they had land down by the river could they move the cathedral? The Pope said yes, good of you to stick it out so long as conditions are appalling within the castle walls, don’t know what took you so long to make the request. So they decided to develop the land. There are several stories on how they choose this specific location: 1. That the best archer fired his arrow into the air, it traveled 4 miles to the spot where the foundation stone was placed. 2. That the archer’s arrow struck a deer’s antlers and the deer took the arrow to the spot of where the foundation stone was placed. 3. The clergy and people who made the decision, knew where the best spot would be. That the property is Salisbury is where 5 rivers converge. Therefore schale/slate that was upriver will come down river, slow down where they all converge and create a good strong spot. The cathedral was built between 1221 and 1253 with just one architect, one type of stone and in one style only because they never ran out of money. Also because of the ground being made of schale/slate, it needs water to stay in place and not settle. So if they have a drought the fire dept. comes and waters the ground so that the schale will not move and the building not move. Within the cathedral walls is one of the 4 remaining original copies of the Magna Carta. Adam was extremely happy to see this document. I’m pretty sure that he took a few pictures even though no photography is allowed.

Back in the car. This time to Avebury. Alexandra and Brian fell asleep in the car so they missed it. Mom sat in the car with the kids while Adam and I walked around the stones. It was amazing even though it was a quick stop. Then back in the car toward home.

We stopped in Birddip @ a pub for dinner and then back on the road. It was dark by the time we made it to M5. We thought it would be an easy transition from the M5 to the M6. But of course it was not. We ended up going the wrong direction, toward London which cost us about an hour. We ended up not getting home until 10 PM. Even with the misdirection, it was a perfect day. Truly enjoyable.