Stonehenge - And A Visit With Friends From Canada

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Friends of ours have been house-sitting in the U.K. this winter.  While we were in Poole and looking for an ice chest, I received a message from Jane and Henry.  They wanted to know if we could meet them at the bus station.  They were picking up a friend.  We agreed, and I sent her the location we were at, a Range store where they sell everything.  I guess we'd call it a British version of a Maxi China.  Turns out they were 10 minutes away looking at new motorhomes.  Jane and Henry are from Ontario, and we met about three years ago.  They found us on Boondockers Welcome while we were hosts, and the Boondockers were still serving Mexico.  It was incredible to see them, and we chatted for a couple of hours over coffee.

Our Airbnb location in Christchurch (Poole)

What a great day.  After our not-so-hot stay in Poole (Christchurch), we spent the morning and afternoon in Stonehenge.  I first learned of Stonehenge when I was a young kid in primary school.  We had an old set of encyclopedias at home, and we had to look up things we were learning in school.  I remember it well.

We left Poole early in the morning.  Our next destination is on the eastern coast of Wales, which happens to be the capital.  An hour from Christchurch and two hours from Cardiff.  We headed out mostly on country roads.  It was a beautiful morning with blue skies and some white clouds.  I've got the hang of driving now.  I still feel a bit skiddish as many drivers are very impatient and drive fast.  I got two horn honks in the last two days.  

On our way, we passed Salisbury.  From a distance, we saw an ominous church tower in the distance. 

The beauty of having a rental car is that you can just pull over wherever you want.  Although we were close to Stonehenge, we took the dive.  This is the Salisbury Cathedral.   Construction started in 1220 and was completed over 100 years later.

There are over 70 statues on the outside of the cathedral, saints, royalty, and religious figures.

Across the street is St. Osmond's Church.  St. Osmond was a bishop in the 11th century and was canonized in 1457.  The church is known for its stained glass windows.  

We also saw this beauty sitting on the side of the road in front of Bishop Woodsworth School, which is next to the cathedral.  

The school appears to be a very exclusive school for the rich, taking into account its location and its enormous size and medieval structure. Kids were coming out for lunch in their uniforms, having a good time.  I asked Google about the tuition cost, and it turns out it is free and paid for by the state.  How cool to go to school there!

Off to Stonehenge.  We arrived about 15 minutes later.  The structure sits in the middle of very large fields and can't be seen from the highway.  Everything these days has become a tourist attraction in the sense of the word.  Paid parking, $37 USD for the self-guided tour and walk around the structure.  Well worth it, but the adventure part is lost.  We decided we couldn't come all this way and not see it.  So we did.  These days, you can't do anything without an app.  Even the parking.  A worker came by and said, "Forget it, nobody checks, and the app is a PIA".   So we did.  Shame on us.  

Buses come and go to take you on the five-minute ride to the structure.  Before that, there is a very well-done exhibition with wonderful artifacts.  The exhibition tells the story from what they believe is the beginning, around 4000 B.C.  A burial and memorial site for the dead.   56 burial sites containing cremated remains were discovered along with tools, pottery, and the foundations of homes.  Homes were in clusters, and the people at the time were cattle herders.  This was about the time that cattle made their way to the British Isles from mainland Europe.  

I think this is a jackdaw.  The winds were so high that the birds couldn't fly; they were thrown back to the ground.  One of the guards feeds the birds.  The bird flew up on her shoulder, and she gives them corn flakes.  Kids were more amazed by that than the megalithic monument behind them.

This piece was standing about 30 meters and one of the guides in the exhibition says there is no proof it is part of the structure, but was left by aliens.  He wasn't B.S.ing, but I think he may have been.  

Most of the tourists didn't stay long because of the wind and the cold.  A lot of school groups of all ages.

After, we headed to our next destination, Cardiff.  We found the place right off, but traffic was pretty heavy.  I'll do a post later about the Airbnbs, their conditions, and the pricing.  Very high.  This is an expensive trip for us.

As for our desperate hunt for a "cool box," we found one at the Range store but it was £26.  In Poole, we found what they call "cool bags".   They are £3.95, so it works great for us.  We still need a name for it.  Remember the two ice chests we had, one in Spain, Neverita, and one in Italy, Maury?  The issue with finding the chest is that it is considered seasonal.  Finding the cool bag was the language barrier.  I said insulated grocery bag, and everyone said no.  On a much deeper explanation, one smart clerk said, oh, it's a cool bag!  Done.