Today was a really great day, as we had a nice short drive on the highway to Stonehenge! I couldn't believe the immensity of the stones as we drove up on the highway. We were going to try to go the ticket-free route, but you really don't get very close to the stones at all that way. It was well worth it to purchase the tickets, that's for sure. We walked there through rolling pasture and insane wind, and there were berms from prior to Stonehenge's existence that we were actually able to set foot on while we made our way towards it.
The stones were even more impressive close up. And although they have the circle roped off so that you can't touch or walk through any of the stones, it was still something else to be that close to them. Every angle offered a glimpse of something else inside the huge stones on the outside, and if not for the wind we probably would've brought lunch out there and enjoyed them even longer.
Here is a link to the English Heritage website for more detailed information on Stonehenge if you're curious!
Afterwards we drove to Newbury and explored their super quaint downtown and canal. We're already getting better at driving, even after two days! We're determined to not let the roundabouts get the best of us...
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| Approaching the stones! |
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| The tallest stones had to have been over 2.5 storeys high! |
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| You can see the one stone is wearing away where the the mortice hole is that fits over the protruding tenon (the nib on the top of the upright stone) |
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| The wind made for a great hair day! |
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| A brush isn't going to be allowed anywhere near this hair after today... |
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| You can see the tenon at the top of the lone standing stone on the right clearly in this picture. |
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| Here too! |
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| Believe it or not, we missed the rush and there weren't actually that many people there when we were walking around. |
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| *it may seem like a lot of repetitive pictures, but I wanted to make sure to get every angle for my dad to see! |
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| Standing at the heel stone |
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| It's too bad that our timing didn't line up better so that we could catch the autumn solstice day after tomorrow! |
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| The main entrance to the stones. Notice the fallen "sacrifice stone" in the upper left just beyond the berm. |
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| This captain and his crew were taking their barge through the canal and were just being relieved from one of the locks when we passed by in Newbury. Quite a photogenic fellow! |
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| Lovely swans swimming in the canal with the church in the background. |
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