Daytrip

Today our group headed to Stonehenge and Salisbury. We had another Blue Badge Guide named Sean, though not the same Sean from before. He kept us awake with humor and interesting tidbits until we were out of London.

This was a completely different experience from our other tours. For one, we were never really in a rush. Sean gave some information on Stonehenge as we approached, then we were free to meander around the grounds. I grabbed a few shots from different angles, plus the obligatory "I'm-at-Stonehenge!" photo.

On the way to Salisbury, Sean described the three phases of Stonehenge. Stonehenge began as a set of holes that held wooden posts and ditches. At the next phase, there were fewer wooden posts and some of the holes had been used for cremation burial sites. Also, there is evidence of a wooden structure, though no ideas on what it looked like or what it was for are known. Finally, the last phase involves the stones that are still there today.  It's amazing that earlier generations had the ability to create such structures.

After climbing back aboard the coach, we made our way to Salisbury for a visit to Salisbury Cathedral. This tour was also different in that we were able to take pictures inside the cathedral. Other locations wouldn't allow photos at all (Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's), while some allowed photos without the flash (Museum of London and The Wallace Collection). They all have good reasons for their rules, but it was nice to be able to document parts of at least one of these beautiful churches.

When I visited Ireland, I felt that Londonderry was the quintessential Irish town. Salisbury is the English equivalent. Cassie, Angela, Aubrey and I found a nice pub, The Old Ale House, for lunch then found our way to the market (similar to a farmer's market) they hold on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It was a very nice place to pass the afternoon.

An interesting current event at Salisbury Cathedral was an installation of modern statues. It was an odd combination of old and new.  Below was the most interesting one I came across.