Just a quick flight to Washington followed by a relaxing overnight flight to London, and I’m in England. After picking up my rental car, I drove two hours south to Stonehenge. And I didn’t forget my left-side driving even once!
And much better than the little Vauxhall Corsa I originally booked (about the size of a Toyota Corolla).
In the middle of low rolling hills, with many grazing sheep and cattle, and small groups of trees, stands majestic (and underwhelming) Stonehenge. While it is a sight not to be missed if you are nearby, I wouldn’t fly across an ocean just for it.
The Druids would probably disagree with me — they have continued to misappropriate Stonehenge as their own creation for many ceremonies and events. However, it is unlikely that the Druids had any hand in the creation of Stonehenge as it is now known to have predated them by two or three thousand years! The Druids were around from about 750 BC to 43 AD, although the dates may be somewhat earlier. But we should give them a bit of a pass, since many archeologists had thought that it was originally from the Druid era of England, so “Druids” of today have been taught wrong.
From on site descriptions:
“Stonehenge is actually a prehistoric temple, its great stones raised about 4,500 years ago. It is a masterpiece of engineering, with the stones carefully arranged to line up with the movements of the sun. The ruin that we see today is the end result of many different stages of construction and rebuilding in prehistory. The first major event, 5,000 years ago, was the construction of a large circular enclosure. About 500 years later enormous sarsen stones were raised in a horseshoe and a circle, with smaller bluestones placed between them. Later the bluestones were rearranged. Since construction activities at Stonehenge ceased in the early Bronze Age, some of the stones have been removed from the site and many have fallen. Some were re-erected during restoration, which started in 1919, continued in episodes and was completed in 1964.”
And here are some photos of Stonehenge;
Following Stonehenge, I headed to Portsmouth, an hour east where I’ll be staying for a few days. The Royal Maritime Hotel is delightful and very close to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The historic hotel has comfortable rooms, several libraries, sitting rooms and lounges, a restaurant, a bar, and a pool! Who could ask for more.
Just a bit more…
Treat each day as your last; one day you will be right.
