Today was fabulous. I finally made my long-anticipated journey to Stonehenge. Stonehenge is about 20 minutes from the city of Salisbury which is 1 1/2 hours by train from London. I decided to join an guided tour group that included visits to both places.

I have been wanting to go to Stonehenge for so long but was prepared to be underwhelmed. I kinda thought the whole thing was probably hyped up. I mean, really, staring at a bunch of big stones? Big deal. We've all seen pictures of it before... But, at the same time, I thought if I didn't go at some point during my year in England I would regret it.


I'm so glad I went because IT WAS AWESOME!

TA DA!

The first set of stones were set up on this location over 5000 years ago!

Some of the stones originated in Wales, 240 miles away.
The 'henge' is the ditch that goes all around the stones.

This is called the Heel Stone.
It sits on its own outside of the circle to the north.

Sheep, of course, but you can also see a mound at the center left as well as some more mounds in the distance. There is some historical significance to these, but I forgot what it is.
It's strange to see these scattered around the plain.

On the bus ride between Stonehenge and Salisbury, I took some pictures of
some beautiful country cottages.

LOVE thatched roofs.

[We passed the country home of Sting, the singer. I only caught a quick glimpse of it as we passed. There was a tall hedge surrounding it, so no photo op there.]

Cows.

A medieval city, Salisbury is.

A tributary of the River Avon.

The main attraction in Salisbury is its beautiful cathedral.
Its spire is the tallest in England-404 feet.

Building the cathedral took only 38 years, from 1220-1258.
The spire was added later.

The church's exterior is undergoing major restoration. These men are inspecting the stonework.
(How does one become an expert in inspecting the facade of a church?)

The inside is impressive too.

This is the bishop's seat also called a cathedra.
If a church has one of these, it's a cathedral.
And, if a village has a cathedral, it is considered a city.
(I learned this from Richard, our tour guide.)

These steps are worn down from centuries of use.

Cloisters.

The cathedral is surrounded by a grassy area called The Close, and old houses are around the perimeter of that. All of this is enclosed by a wall.

Some of the old period houses.

One of the 3 gates into/out of The Close.

Richard tells us about this house from the 1400s.

This building was a stagecoach stop.
Now it's a mall.

River Avon.

And finally, no medieval English city is complete without a touch of the American Midwest.