STONHENGE & BATH

As we walk down the steps of our London hotel for the last time (we're leaving this morning), our skies are a beautiful blue full of puffy, bright white clouds.  We feel a bit of breeze, but it's only enough to keep those little puff balls in motion.  We're right on time (7:00 a.m.) which, in some circles, is an ungodly hour, but we're packing in a lot today and can't miss our slot at Stonehenge. We're learning that tour groups in summertime England are held to a high standard of promptness.  

I was fortunate enough to have visited Stonehenge about 35 or so years ago, and was mightily impressed.  I can't wait to see it again.  The drive, like almost any drive in England, is lovely.  I'm always a bit starved for green and lush and trees and streams...and this is the perfect place for it.  I've found I can't read in the coach for fear of missing something outside.

Actually, it's just as I'd left it.  Oh, sure, there are some changes.  You're not going to wander through those massive bluestones anymore, or even get very close.  You will walk on a hard-surfaced (sometimes) path that circles the henge.  But dreams and wonder are still allowed, along with speculation and mystery. Stonehenge was probably constructed about 3000 to 2000 BCE...give or take.  Archeologists (of which Kevin, our guide, is one) continue to find postholes scattered throughout the area, but no clear answers as to why.  And, face it, we all want to know why.  Burial grounds, we understand, but what else?

The story I heard all those years ago regarding how the stones got here has also changed.  Whereas, we used to think they were brought by humans from many miles away, today you will be told they might have been carried here by the Irish Sea Glacier.  I love the way the English pronounce it as glass-ier.  No matter what the final answer, it's mind-boggling.

I did remember correctly that the henge is aligned with the sunrise of the summer solstice and the sunset of the winter solstice, but that still doesn't answer our "why" question.  Legends abound and many have spent entire careers studying the site.  I've decided to relax and enjoy the experience.

Stonehenge has up-scaled itself over the past few decades.  A Visitors Center has been built--the women's bathroom is very large, clean and well-stocked.  The adjoining café and gift shop are also new and fresh, although  on this particular morning, the gift shop was wall to wall visitors.  Despite crawling through hordes of people from all parts of the world, I could tell that the merchandise was excellent and it receives one of my Five Star Gift Shop Awards.

I'm afraid I've sounded a bit negative about the crowds we've encountered during our first days here, and I'm sorry for that.  We visited during the prime season for tourists and we knew that when we booked.  Actually, Rick Steves writes that he prefers crowds when he travels, because they add such life to the surroundings.  And that is true.  It's fun to hear the different languages spoken and note that kids of all nationalities would much rather be left alone with their phones than forced to view yet another boring historical site.

Just outside the Visitors Center, Stonehenge has constructed a number of small huts that might represent housing for those who built this site over the years.  You can stop here and explore both before or after you visit the henge itself.  This is another wonderful place to let imagination run wild.

 

Visiting Bath  on the heels of Stonehenge was a remarkable juxtaposition for me.  The two are about 30 miles apart, so the trip is short in distance, much longer in centuries.  The Romans appeared in Britain early in the Common Era, and the famed baths were built not long after.  Of course, we're here to visit the baths and museum, but we're also soaking up the social life of the 18th and 19th centuries.  Anytime I'm walking on cobblestones that Jane Austen frequented, I'm a happy girl.

The museum here is excellent and one could spend hours..In fact, we did, and thus missed the walk to the Royal Crescent.  We caught up a little later when the coach left to meet the walkers, and we got our obligatory  photos.  Roman life is absolutely fascinating for me.  They were so civilized, although (if Rome and I Claudius were any indication) the homicide rate might have been slightly higher than ours today, but they designed comfort into much of their daily life and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Good for them

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As near as I can remember, the bathing pool still looks very much like it did on my first visit.  The water continues to pour out of the ground amid clouds of steam.  The pool is quite warm and full of minerals or whatever, so bathing here is forbidden.  Close by, however, is a posh Spa Bath if you feel the need and have the cash.

I'm still a sucker for casement windows complete with flowerboxes, and they are plentiful in Bath.  Bath is bright and beautiful and history goes back forever.  3.8 million day-trippers arrive here each year, and I would come back for a longer stay.  Our Kevin leads a Road Scholar program that stays in Bath for a number of days.  That strikes me as being ideal.

I nearly missed telling you that this building is home to Sally Lunn's Buns, and considering the line every time we passed by, Sally Lunn's Buns are very popular.  The restaurant is open all day, reservations might be smart, and buns are sweet or savoury.  There is a certain protocol to eating a Sally Lunn Bun, but they seem willing to overlook the occasional lapse.