Stonehenge - July 11

Got a pretty late start this morning. Mel had an appointment at 10 so we didn't get started until around 11:30. That's pretty late to have to drive almost 100 miles each way to our destination and back. Neil is a member of car sharing outfit here in the UK so he reserved a car until 18:00. It turned out that we had to extend the use time twice and finally got it back into London at 21:30. That's the latest we have been out with Mel and Neil but we had a good trip and saw many new and interesting sites. We were going to go to three different prehistoric sites but we only made it to two but still enjoyed the day.

The first stop of the day was Stonehenge. You can actually see the site about a mile and a half before you get too it. It's pretty impressive even from that far away so you know it must be huge. The site is quite close to the road so you can see it as you drive by to get into the car park. We had brought a "picnic" lunch with us and we have been looking for a place to eat it for some time. And low and behold there was a picnic table at the car park people graciously shared with us. We had bread, sausage, cheese, mushroom pate, carrot sticks, and some berries. It was a tasty lunch and we enjoyed it in the sunshine. Speaking of sunshine, not even a drop of rain fell on us today. First time since our arrival in England.

Stonehenge was awe inspiring. I find it hard to believe that 5000 years ago people were able to transport the heavy stones many miles from the quarry to the place where they now rest. And it's not only here but miles away in Avebury and in northern Scotland as well. The ingenuity of man is really staggering when you stop to think about it. Pictures of the stones do not really do them justice though it's all I have to share right now other than my meager words. The henge must be experienced up close to really appreciate the magnificence of the site.

The Avebury stone circle, henge, is even more astounding. This circle is more than 500 meters across. There is also something that looks like an avenue delineated by vertical stones leading to this circle. Stonehenge is amazing because there are so many stones in a small area. The Avebury circle incredible because of it's vastness. The two henges are relatively close together and their purposes could have been related. The only thing we can do is speculate on their meaning and use unless someday someone does indeed invent a machine to go back in time.

We had dinner at the Red Lion Pub. The pub is said to be haunted by at lest 5 different ghosts. Giving it the status of the most haunted pub in all of the UK. The staff was quite friendly, the atmosphere was very much that of a rural pub, the food was very good, and the prices were especially pleasing. Once you get away from London things are no quite as expensive as you would think.

All were quite tired when we arrived home. Took a few minutes to reflect on the day and soon we were all off to bed.