Stonehenge

On Friday morning we loaded up the coach and headed southwest out of London to see Stonehenge.  To get to Stonehenge expect to see lush, rolling hills with sheep...and the occasional group of white pigs. This past summer we watched a video about Stonehenge and it really is out in the middle of nowhere.   Some things to know - you don't get to walk in between the stones or climb on them or...even touch them, but you can take great photos and there is a path all the way around them.  If you are unable to make it at the summer or winter solstice or sunrise or sunset, don't worry-- there is a gift shop with charming photos you can purchase.  

(This stop had everything you might need -a snack shop, gift shop and clean restrooms.)

        One of my favorite things to do on the bus is sit right up front so I can listen to the conversations our bus driver takes part in. He is a charming Irishman who will set you straight on all things English.  His optimism makes light work of a three hour drive. 

 

It is believed that Stonehenge was built around 2500 BC.  To give some perspective, that's about 500 years before Abraham and roughly the same time as the Great Pyramid of Giza.  The amazing thing about the site is that these huge stones (about 4 tons) are from an area about 150 miles away.  We still don't know exactly how they were moved or how the builders erected the site with very early bronze age (or even late stone age) tools.  We also don't really know why other than that it was almost certainly some form of religious site and that it does serve as a kind of primitive calendar.

Stonehenge in February