The weather forecasters said "sunny". We were greeted with icy cold wind and overcast skies.
However, it added to the mood of the visit to
Stonehenge this morning. We took the shuttle bus half way, then got off to walk the remainder of the way, watching as the stones rose up over the hill of green to meet us. The visitor centre set the scene for us prior to departure and was a far better way to set off, as opposed to 16 years ago when there was very little to offer visitors in the way of background and other information. A recent National Geographic devoted an issue to Stonehenge and the additional underlying stone circles that have been uncovered using new technology, and having read that, it too added to the wonder of being here.
Benedict: "I like how it survived so long, and that the people managed to put those 20 tonne stones upright and keep them there. I think Stonehenge was a place to track the seasons, because the sun rises through the stones on the Summer and Winter solstices."
Oliver: "I enjoyed the walk around Avebury today, because we saw lots of things. We saw snails, cattle, old bridges, the circles of stone, and the barrow. People used the barrows to bury bodies, putting them in the little rooms off a big main room. It seemed like they were just dumped there. I liked the end too because we got to relax."
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| Trying to move the massive stones! |
After our visit, and a quick trip back to Sherrington to grab warmer clothes and a cup of tea, we drove to
Avebury. This built on our morning of Neolithic sites. Avebury has stone circles much larger than that of Stonehenge, but these stones did not have lintels. In fact, the village of Avebury is build in the middle of the stones. Ken had copied a map of a 2hr walk that can be done along and through the surrounding fields that took us to mounds and barrows - particularly
West Kennet Long Barrow and
Silbury Hill. These burial and sacred sites were built by hand using scapular bones as shovels and antlers as picks, and took an estimated 80 million man hours to build - this raises the question of just how many people were living and working in this area 4500 years ago.
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| Silbury Hill |
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| The boys found snails on our long walk! |
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| Today's heavy traffic |
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| Heading into the Long Barrow |
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| A nest of baby birds inside the Long Barrow |
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| A mound with trees grown up and around it |
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| Back in Avebury after our 2hr walk, enjoying a Pimms (apple cider for the boys) and awaiting our late lunch |
