One of the more famous places in the UK, one which people
from all over the world come to visit. There is a lot of history enveloping the
place and the surrounding area. I doubt that historians really know what it was
built for let alone the so called druids that flock to the place to welcome the
solstice’s in. If you can get BBC iPlayer then watch Stonehenge What Lies Beneath and make you own mind up.
My wife & I had been wanting to visit the place for a while and got the opportunity during our holidays. Both of us ad been to the place before I might mention.
A couple of weeks before it seems this guy made a visit and had a wander round the stones but just for the record both myself and my wife had been round them in the past when you could walk among the stones and even picnic on them
BTW the two photos came Courtesy of the BBC and were taken by Charles Dharapak
BTW the two photos came Courtesy of the BBC and were taken by Charles Dharapak
Fact is you could do this till around 1977 when it was roped off because of erosion & damage, probably not helped by the Stonehenge Free Festival that happened between 1972 & 1984 and culminating with the Battle of Beanfield in 1985. Since then any use has been strictly restricted
Lets get on with this post and it's a long one, bit like the henge from the entrance here which is a couple of miles away. Have to admit I'm not impressed with this new building but saying that the give shop is not bad nor is the cafe which sells a great pasty. There is also a museum you can walk around
This cross is a memorial to two pioneer flyer's who were killed in an accident in 1912 not far from this point
Did not get a photo of the shuttle but it takes about ten min to get here from the reception area
Only things that get near the stones (apart from Presidents) now are the crows round the area
In the distance you can see a line of barrows or burial mounds, they are common round here
Going further round the stones, you can see a ditch in the foreground
That's the nearby road you see here and it get chocked up with rubber necking drivers looking at the stones
People looking at the stones
A nearby barrow
The road again, check the line of cars behind the rubber neckers
This is called the heel stone
and this is a milestone which is not from the henge but was beside the old road that ran by here
this is a replica of a stone on a sled which is how the pulled it. Cop the numpty on the right trying his hardest
I recon this lady did better
This is a replica of the building that may have stood round here though I doubt very much if they were painted white, more a nice shade of mud
Well that's my little tour to Stonehenge, make of it what you will but if your in the area no doubt you will want to visit. You can check out more at English Heritage or read the link on Wicki.
Taking Part in Our World Tuesday
That is one place I've always wanted to visit, your superb captures are the next best thing!! Thank you for sharing, Bill!! I think you're right about a "nice shade of mud"!! Hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post and photos of Stonehedge.. I would love to visit there someday! Enjoy your week!
ReplyDeleteLovely images, thanks for the tour of Stonehenge.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and an interesting description of Stonehenge and what is around it. I visited there in 1975 when you could still walk around inside the stones. It looks very different now and so very many people!
ReplyDeleteIt takes some time, but you actually can clone out the visitor. We keep trying. :-) Beautiful photos otherwise. I have watched the BBC program you referred to. Stonehenge is always such a fascinating topic! I think it's interesting that this generation seems to think it's more intelligent than any that's gone before, yet the construction of Stonehenge seems to prove otherwise.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful photography of Stonehenge and your delightful journey !
ReplyDeleteartmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)
It is too bad that you can't get closer to look at the stones. We didn't go by there at all when I was in England because it was closed because of the foot and mouth epidemic.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos! Did you know we have a Stonehenge here in the Pacific Northwest? It's actually a war memorial to the Great War dead, but it's an exact replica of the original monument (so far as historians could say in 1918.) The effect, up there on a desert mountaintop overlooking the Columbia, is surrealistic, but very compelling in its unique way.
ReplyDeleteCheck it out here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryhill_Stonehenge
Thanks for the post!
Robin
Rusty Ring: Reflections of an Old-Timey Hermit
I checked out the link, very impressive
DeleteI find these stone quite fascinating simply because they are upright. Your photos are lovely. Thanks for all the other info, too.
ReplyDeleteso only the president is allowed up close? oh wish i was here.
ReplyDeleteGreat captures indeed..I too placed some pictures of the kind surrounding our place in my blog,please if possible..thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! New things are being discovered there now so our knowledge is growing about the site.
ReplyDeleteYep....planning a visit in 2016/2017!
ReplyDeleteHi there - we paid a visit on our last full day in the UK. I went there as a kid - and climbed all over the stones! I think that the new visitors centre will be good - once they clean up the building site that the old one was on!
ReplyDeleteDon't know if you have to pay to take pictures inside Wells Cathedral - but it would not surprise me.
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
I've never been to Stonehenge and I probably won't go. Since the site has been cordoned off, visiting seems much less appealing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great set of photos Bill. I visited Stonehenge about 12 years ago when I took my dad to London and I enjoyed the visit very much. I don't think that visitor's center you have posted was built then. I remember the bus stopping at a small brick building across the road from Stonehenge and then we walked through a tunnel to get there. I remember that it was very, very windy the day we were there. Walking around in shirtsleeves like Obama did would have been out of the question the day we were there. One other silly thing sticks in my mind. When the bus stopped here, the driver told us to visit the gift shop and that there were several ladies who sold scones there and that they were very good. As we were leaving, I bought one of those scones (a cheddar scone) and the memory is still with me. It was the most delicious scone I've ever eaten.
ReplyDeleteThey are called Cheese Scones, my wife make some superb ones. The cafe there now is a bit more commercialised but the food was not that bad, mind you the coffee could have been better. My first visit was before the original center you went to. We just drove in to a car park on the opposite side near the stones.
DeleteThey fascinate me, and I think always have. Stonehenge seems to be one of those places, like Everest, the pyramids of Giza, or Kilimanjaro, that you never know when you first heard of it, but it infiltrates your conciousness. Excellent pics!
ReplyDeleteI just love the guy in the strawberry colored outfit and Panama hat, that's a well-turned out tourist if ever I've seen one!
ReplyDeleteGreat story - and I immediately recognized the guy doing the off-limits walkabout before I read your comment! Lucky 'you-know-what' ---------- he doesn't deserve that privilege one iota - disgusting!
Thanks for visiting A Breath of Fresh Air today Bill - appreciated your comment.
Mary
I loved this tour. Somehow seeing Stonehenge through your eyes makes it more knowable. Thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteIt's an amazing spot. I heard they checked out things below the spot and found something with - not radar, sonar? whatever...
ReplyDeleteI find Stonehenge fascinating. We can all surmise about its beginnings and no-one can say we are wrong!
ReplyDeleteThank you for these images and for your narration throughout. I appreciate hitching a ride with you through cyberspace.
ReplyDelete