Stonehenge

It was a terrible day for a trip – I had to change cabins so had to be out of the deck 11 stateroom by 08:30 but the new room card was not ready.  No, I don’t know why.  One of the 3 intelligent and caring pursers told me to ask for her when I got back.  Thank God, another of the 3 was at the terminal so I was able to get back aboard after a wonderful trip.

 

We drove directly to Stonehenge, from Hampshire to Wiltshire, past seemingly thousands of pigs.  The live outside all year but have metal, Quonset-hut-like structures which are appropriately called, “pigloos”.

 

Stonehenge is located on Salisbury plain, surrounded by nothing except the guide stones and burial mounds of important prehistoric people.  The road rises just enough to make the first sight of Stonehenge especially dramatic.  The car park and visitors’ center are across the highway, and there is a tunnel under the highway so that Stonehenge is not interrupted.

 It’s both larger and smaller than I remembered from a visit about 20 years ago.  The circles seem smaller but the stones larger.  The tour guide – an excellent one – Thanks, Gloria – explained the ages and origins of the stones, how and when they were erected.  She gave us just enough information so that we could enjoy Stonehenge on our own.  As I was leaving, a Druid was entering and stopped me.

 

The wooden staff he was carrying was topped with a ram’s head, complete with horns.  Before I knew it, I was asked to close my eyes and grasp the staff.  Imagination or not, the staff, when pointing north, began to warm as did my hands, and cool when pointing south.  The Druid solemnly announced that I was “enchanted” (“ed” not “ing”) and in harmony with nature; always pleasant to hear from an expert!

One curious note:  it was foggy as we arrived but the fog cleared while we were there and re-formed as the bus climbed the hill when we left.  My enchanted powers?  Probably not. 

 

Salisbury, pronounced “sahlz – bry” by the natives¸is a charming market town with the river Avon running through it.  Actually due to very heavy rains, the river had overflowed its banks onto the already flooded fields.

 

The cathedral, famous for (1) its crooked tower and spire and (2)  an original of the Magna Carta, is well worth a visit.  There is also a working medieval clock full of gears and weights and some elaborate tombs.

 

Salisbury Cathedral:

As many windows in this church we see,

As days within one year there be.

As many marble pillars here appear,

As hours through the fleeting year

As many gates as moons, one year doth view

Strange to tell yet not more strange than true.