UK Trip: Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath
We left London in the morning on June 4, and drove to Windsor Castle which is almost directly west of London according to Google Earth. The Queen was in residence at our time there, but we only knew it by the flag flying at the top of the tower, not because of any high security. We arrived early enough that our wait to get in wasn't overly long. Though we did have to have our bags scanned, there wasn't a lot of visible security like the White House has. In fact, there seemed to be no "no fly" zone like there is around certain buildings in DC. There was even a nuclear plant visible from the walls. That suprised me a bit, how lax it felt considering that the anniversary of the London bombings was right around the corner at this time. The grounds also overlooked the famous Eton school that the Princes attended I think (or still attend?).
Windsor was as castle-ish as you could get, though perhaps not as much of a fortification as Edingburgh's was. It's obviously a "peace-time" castle with no need for buckets of boiling oil and moats and that sort of thing. One of my travel buddies stole a small rose from the Queen's garden that was overhanging the wall, but that's a secret so don't tell anyone! Inside was lush and opulent, though I think not as decadent as Versailles. Definately smelled better at Windsor anyway, and, though crowded, wasn't uncomfortably close. After taking a picture of the famous Royal Guard in his red uniform and stoic face, and grabbing a bite to eat, we left Windsor for Stonehenge, a larger distance just slightly southwest. On the way there, the land changed subtly, though I don't know if I would have noticed it if Angela hadn't pointed out. The land between London and Stonehenge turns into the type of land I associate with Jane Austen -- rolling hills dotted with trees, fileds lined by hedges under a gorgeous blue sky; we couldn't ask for a better day to visit an outside attraction. And it was Jane Austen's country because Steventon, her childhood home, was in that part of the country, though we didn't get to see it.
Ironically enough, I almost missed our first glimpse of Stonehenge because I was looking for it far away to the right when it was remarkably close to the road on the left, as you see here in a screencap from Google Earth. An actual picture I took that day is here and you must forgive the abyssmal quality of the scan. Stonehenge was beautiful in a sort of wild way and the flock of ravens that called Stonehenge home added a nice creepy touch. Very Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell-esque. There are actually some other Bronze Age barrows near by, within walking distance, but we didn't go to those. Stonehenge is fenced off by a rope, though I'm told that there are a few times during the year that people can actually go among the stones. I think the summer solstice is one. Oddly enough, though, because of minor changes through time, the sun no longer exactly lines up in the place that experts say it did when it was in use. I think someone built a life-size replica of Stonehenge with fiberglass stones or something and placed it so the position was correct, but I'm not sure about that.
From Stonehenge we went to Bath and it looked much as I had imagined it; tall flat fronted buildings in the severe, but elegant Georgian style. I even got a picture of the famous Pump Room, but did not get a chance to sample the waters. Jane Austen said it's gross so I guess I'm not missing much LOL. I had not imagined it would be so hilly though and definately got a work-out walking up and down the mountainous sidewalks. We wandered through the Roman bath musuem and then out for some shopping. I bought the UK version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone there and then we went to the costume museum, which turned out to be more interesting and fun than I had expected. We tried on some corsets (over our clothes), and got a chance to experience just what women our age had to go through back then. No bending for one thing, and no excercise since you couldn't breathe deep and would probably faint from lack of air should you do anything more strenuous than sewing. Needless to say, you won't be seeing that picture here. LOL. After that, though, we realized we only had a little time left and got out in a hurry. We were the last ones on the bus and drove on to our hotel in Bristol. Nothing remarkable there, though at dinner I had the opportunity to eat lamb, but chickened out. Literally (I chose chicken breast instead).
Windsor was as castle-ish as you could get, though perhaps not as much of a fortification as Edingburgh's was. It's obviously a "peace-time" castle with no need for buckets of boiling oil and moats and that sort of thing. One of my travel buddies stole a small rose from the Queen's garden that was overhanging the wall, but that's a secret so don't tell anyone! Inside was lush and opulent, though I think not as decadent as Versailles. Definately smelled better at Windsor anyway, and, though crowded, wasn't uncomfortably close. After taking a picture of the famous Royal Guard in his red uniform and stoic face, and grabbing a bite to eat, we left Windsor for Stonehenge, a larger distance just slightly southwest. On the way there, the land changed subtly, though I don't know if I would have noticed it if Angela hadn't pointed out. The land between London and Stonehenge turns into the type of land I associate with Jane Austen -- rolling hills dotted with trees, fileds lined by hedges under a gorgeous blue sky; we couldn't ask for a better day to visit an outside attraction. And it was Jane Austen's country because Steventon, her childhood home, was in that part of the country, though we didn't get to see it.
Ironically enough, I almost missed our first glimpse of Stonehenge because I was looking for it far away to the right when it was remarkably close to the road on the left, as you see here in a screencap from Google Earth. An actual picture I took that day is here and you must forgive the abyssmal quality of the scan. Stonehenge was beautiful in a sort of wild way and the flock of ravens that called Stonehenge home added a nice creepy touch. Very Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell-esque. There are actually some other Bronze Age barrows near by, within walking distance, but we didn't go to those. Stonehenge is fenced off by a rope, though I'm told that there are a few times during the year that people can actually go among the stones. I think the summer solstice is one. Oddly enough, though, because of minor changes through time, the sun no longer exactly lines up in the place that experts say it did when it was in use. I think someone built a life-size replica of Stonehenge with fiberglass stones or something and placed it so the position was correct, but I'm not sure about that.
From Stonehenge we went to Bath and it looked much as I had imagined it; tall flat fronted buildings in the severe, but elegant Georgian style. I even got a picture of the famous Pump Room, but did not get a chance to sample the waters. Jane Austen said it's gross so I guess I'm not missing much LOL. I had not imagined it would be so hilly though and definately got a work-out walking up and down the mountainous sidewalks. We wandered through the Roman bath musuem and then out for some shopping. I bought the UK version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone there and then we went to the costume museum, which turned out to be more interesting and fun than I had expected. We tried on some corsets (over our clothes), and got a chance to experience just what women our age had to go through back then. No bending for one thing, and no excercise since you couldn't breathe deep and would probably faint from lack of air should you do anything more strenuous than sewing. Needless to say, you won't be seeing that picture here. LOL. After that, though, we realized we only had a little time left and got out in a hurry. We were the last ones on the bus and drove on to our hotel in Bristol. Nothing remarkable there, though at dinner I had the opportunity to eat lamb, but chickened out. Literally (I chose chicken breast instead).
