Salisbury, Stonehenge, and Bath

Where do I begin for our adventurous day?  Before we came to Paris we booked a tour to go visit Salisbury, Stonehenge and Bath through a group called Golden Tours.  We had to be at the pick up place at 8:30, first come first served.  We happened to be 4th in line.  :)  We hopped on a tour bus and grabbed some good seats up front.  The London day that met us was not raining, but gray and gloomy across the entire sky.  After our amazing guide for the tour in Scotland, this one was good, but sorry, did NOT compare to Keith.

We traveled the London and then English
countryside for a couple of hours before arriving at our first stop which was Salisbury.  In Salisbury Cathedral is held one of the best preserved copies of the Magna Carta.  The
Magna Carta was a document  that was signed in 1223 that set the world on end...  a document that had the insight to NOT allow all of the power to be with the king, but to share said power with the Barons as well.  This document was a definite prelude to our future Constitution of the United States.  The Salisbury cathedral was built in 1220 and finished in 1258 and was absolutely breath taking.

The tombs and burial stones we saw dated back to the 1300's.  The architecture and attention to detail, especially with the stonework was intricate and incredible.  The base of the cathedral was made up of chalk, like the Cliffs of Dover.  A spire was added later, and the weight of the spire was so massive, that it eventually bowed the main beams of the building, which later ha
d to be reinforced.  The cathedral offered a tour, full of great information and details that you would never have known unless you had taken the time to go through.

Back on the bus again.  Our next stop was Stonehenge.  Just to say the name Stonehenge is awe inspiring to me.  I have long seen pictures and imagined what it would be like to go there, but to finally have opportunity was like a total gift.  We had to park our bus out almost 3 miles from the site, and then take a shuttle up to the actual place where the stones were laid.  We were struck with an incredible force of a freezing gale wind.  The actual temperature was around 45 degrees, but with the windchill factor it was more like 30 degrees.  Unprotected from the wind and the elements, after we were dropped off by a shuttle bus we walked around the entire area and were literally frozen.

My hair was whipping around my head, I had no clothing on that could compete with the wind and cold. We were given a self guided tour headset, where we could push the button as we approached each marker, and a plethora of information would be given to us about the stones.  The theories, assumptions, predictions, and local lore were presented and an open mind was asked for as your thought through what might have occurred there at Stonehenge.

The theory that most believe is that Stonehenge was created to be a calendar, as the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice, the sun aligns exactly with the way the stones are laid out.  The stones have been carbon dated to be over 5000 years old.  Some of the stones weigh up to 40 tons! After we made it through the stones, whose arrangement defied explanation, we were Popsicles. We took a shuttle back to the visitor center and immediately went to get a hot drink.  A few minutes later we were armed with hot coffee, cocoa, and a steak pastie.  YUM... we almost missed the bus as we were finishing up our looking around the place, purchasing a few things, and using the loo.

Off to Bath next!  We were a couple of hours away, and the bus ride continued to be pretty tame.  There were no amazing castles to be seen, just country side and the occasional view of a town.  We dozed much of the time as we drove, catching up on short nights' sleep for many previous nights.  This night life is really taking its told on us old people!  lol.  Anyway, when we finally arrived at Bath, we were in for an incredible sight!  I was very excited to be visiting this place, because I teach a unit of Ancient Greece and Rome to my 3rd graders, and this is SOOOOO exactly what we learned about!  To be able


to actually be IN and SEE an actual bath that was made by the Romans was beyond all of my wildest dreams.  Bath is the only hots springs in England, and averages about 96 degrees on a consistent basis.  The Romans dedicated this place to the Goddess Minerva and called it Aquae Sulis.  We spent about 90 minutes walking through the buildings, both original structures, and many that had been reinforced and secured.  The majority of what we observed were all from the Roman period, including tools they used, coins and monies that had been hidden and found, full stone carved statues of some of the most important people of that time, including Julius Caesar.  There were many different rooms and bath areas.  The water had steam rising from it, attesting to the warmth that lay below these geyser hot springs.  There are 43 different minerals in the water, which caused the water to bubble.  I had the opportunity to try some of the water at the end of the tour.  The water I tasted was over 6000 years old!!!  That's how long it takes for the water to go through the entire process and come back to the surface.  The water tasted very different from what we normally drink, because there were so many minerals in it.  Such an amazing chance that I could NOT pass up!   Definitely a day filled with adventure, history, and great companionship!