After not such a good sleep, we both woke up early ready for an adventure: a tour of Stonehenge. We ate breakfast and then walked about ten minutes to the site where our minibus picked us up. The driver, Dan, was pleased that everyone was early and we took off before 9:00 for the one hour drive through the lovely English countryside. There were 14 of us, all from the US looking forward to seeing this iconic site.
We drove through area where the Celtic people lived 3000 years ago. Stonehenge itself was built 5000 years ago. Everything is so old here.
When we arrived at the Stone site, driver got us settled with our tickets and we quickly caught the shuttle bus about a mile down the road to the stone circle. We were pleased to have arrived not too long after the site opened and so were able to spend about an hour with the stones , with many fewer people then would be gathering as the day went on.
Dick had ben here once before about 50 years ago, but it was the first time for Patti. The experience of seeing something that you’ve seen photos of forever and suddenly, there you were, it is just breathtaking. The stones were large, with a roped off area that the people have to stay outside of. We walked and took photos , but mostly soaked in it.
After about one hour, we took the bus back to the visitor center where we had the chance to go to the exhibition hall and learn more about the stones, and their mysteries. It was very well done and wasn’t there when Dick was there previously. We had the change to talk to a couple of docents who obviously love their job and love sharing what they know about this famous place.
The ride back was quiet, as everyone had had a powerful experience and were quite tired. When we got back to town, we grabbed some lunch at a pub that was founded in the 1500’s. We were able to hang out there and slow down a bit.
We then walked across the bridge to a museum and gardens. The museum house was used in the TV show Bridgerton, which neither of us watch, but just in case you care. The museum had so many different wonderful things from Renaissance portraits to sculptures by Henry Moore, to a whole bunch of work done by an artist called Mr. Doodle.
The garden was lovely and it was a beautiful blue sky day with some small clouds. We wanted to soak in as much of the city of Bath as we could and we felt that in our time here we had really had a great experience. We walked back to our apartment following a Towpath Road on a canal. As it turns out, there are dozens of these canals throughout the city and many, many long, narrow boats that people either live on or can rent for short term time. A whole different way to see a place is by living on a boat. To travel the canals of southern England. This is similar to what they do in France.
We walked about 5 miles and then came back and took a long nap. Dinner was easy, just down the stairs and three buildings down to an Indian restaurant. We ate some food and enjoyed our last night here in Bath.
We’re already a little in struggle with having taken hundreds of photos so far and knowing that we can only share a few on this blog. Just know we are enjoying our time here. Wish we could bring all of our loved ones along.
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