You might have picked up on Twitter or Facebook that the day before we embarked on our first road trip, I came down with the flu. I didn't sleep at all on Saturday night as I had a high fever and I was physically sore. Okay, I am an absolute drama queen and I hate being ill and at about 4am on Sunday morning I was holding my head in my hands and chanting "oh my gosh" over and over again. Sunday morning started off with a bit of friction between Ste and I as he assumed that I would not be making it on the road trip. I explained that were that the truth, I would have been extremely upset as I had been planning the trip for months and it would not be a decision I would have made easily. We decided to delay our departure by 90 minutes and I have to be more of a drama queen honest and say that I have never struggled that much to get out of bed before. But we eventually made it!
The first stop on our trip was Stonehenge. My first impression was that I could not believe how small it is. Yes, you read right. It is small. As in, it is a really neat little circle of stones and is only about 30 metres in diameter. Bizarrely enough though, they seem much bigger in my mind's eye now as I remember them. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to touch the stones which Robyn (Ste's mum) and I both agreed was disappointing as we're both interested in fantasy novels and the magical side of life.
We took a counter-clockwise walk around the stones, starting from their northern-most point. (By the way, I barely know my left and right so correct me if I get the compass points wrong!).
So yes. That was Stonehenge. You'd be forgiven for thinking it is just a bunch on plain stones, especially as you aren't able to touch the stones themselves. Maybe I'll go back one day during the Summer Solstice.
Happy Christmas, Emm! Hope you are feeling a lot better.
ReplyDeleteLovely pics of Stonehenge. This was one of our first road trips in England (Stonnehenge + Avebury on the same day). We loved both. Stonehenge seemed more like art, being roped off. It was fun walking amongst the sheep in Avebury.
For a while I used to drive past Stonehenge, if not daily, at least frequently. I was always surprised that people rated it so highly as somewhere to visit. Now of course I wish I'd paid more attention.
ReplyDeleteI love stone henge, in your opinion Emm, how did they get there?
ReplyDeleteOr is it like the book "The Power of Five", is it a gate of EVIL! lol kidding.
@ JAPRA: Happy (belated) Xmas! I hope you're having a fab time in Texas! Yes - Stonehenge is a bit like art isn't it? I really wish we could have touched the stones though, even though that is a bit silly!
ReplyDelete@ Sheila: Isn't it amazing how we don't realise how important things are until we no longer have them? I do try to identify things like that in my daily life - for example, the route I take to work or the buildings I pass. That's why I sometimes post seemingly mundane posts about my daily life!
@ Pizza: We drove there from London - it took about 2 - 3 hours and then we went to Bristol afterwards. Before we went, we were kind of expecting the site to be magical - you know - a bit like Power of Five or a bit historical. But it's not. It's just normal I guess and I think that feeling is exacerbated by them roping off the stones.
Now when I was a youngster, I climbed all over them stones, picking at them, bashing them with small stones and....ummm...I think kids like me are one of the reasons you weren't allowed near them!
ReplyDelete@ Gary: Are you kidding!!?? Horrible thing!
ReplyDeleteYou might be gigantic, Emm, if Stonehenge seemed small to you ;)))))
ReplyDeleteHave you been to Salisbury while visiting the megaliths? There are loads of things to see and write about. And unlike Dartford it is a real historical town ;))))))) Good luck and don't loose your inspiration, mate.
@ Anna: Heh. I just thought it would be bigger and kind of stretched across the landscape. We haven't been to Salisbury yet but you are right - we must do so one day.
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