Stonehenge, Avebury, Salsbury and Old Sarum
Written: May 12 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice day trip, van and educational.
Cons: Take an umbrella if raining.
The Bottom Line: A fascinating trip full of mystery.
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| rlesino's Full Review: Stonehenge |
I recently made a return trip to England...my fourth trip (April 15-20, 2005).
On this trip I wanted to see several sights in London, but my main objective was to see Greenwich (Prime Meridian and the Naval Observatory) and to go out to the countryside to see Stonehenge.
I book a day long tour with The Stonehenge Travel Company (see their web site) and took their 5,000 years back in history tour.
I was staying in the Bayswater area near Hyde park. The touring company picked me up at my hotel and returned me to my hotel...door to door service that was wonderful in their modern 15 passenger Mercedes van.
Our tour guide was very informative and was with us the whole time. He had lunch with us and locked the van at each stop, which was planned near plenty of bathrooms.
The tour:
The drive West out of London was on a Saturday and took about 1 1/2 hours. If done on a weekday, traffic can be fierce and it can take 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Our first stop was the Salsbury cathedral. A beautiful church with one of only four remaining copies of the Magna Carta. We also walked around the medevil town of Salsbury.
Next, a visit to Old Sarum, a medevial castle (the ruins of it), with a moat. Amazing place on a hill that shows what life was like in the 1060's.
Then on the Stonehenge. Stonehenge was amazing, two highways run near it, which detracts from the mystery...our tour guide explained that in 2006 and 2007 a new visitor center is being planned and the highways may be relocated. Also, tourists will be shuttled via a tram in the future, versus the close parking lot and walk.
Each visitor is given a headphone that is indexed to the numbered stops around the henge circle. The audio is in various languages and explains current thinking and history of stonehenge. NO ONE REALLY KNOW WHO BUILT IT OR WHY...IT IS STILL ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST MYSTERIES.
A special night tour does allow you to go up and touch the henge rocks, but the normal day time tour requires you to stay on the path about 25 feet away from the rocks, since much damage has been done to the henge rocks over the years.
Avebury is about 20 miles from Stonehenge and is even more interesting and mysterious than Stonehenge. Along the way you cross the area of England where crop circles are mysteriously appearing and great stone carvings were done in the hills by the ancients...we saw the famous horse etched into the hill.
Avebury has hundreds of hugs rocks arranged in two circles with a large processional path. Our guide took out metal rods and we each got to walk with they near the rocks....amazingly the metal rods moved all by themselves from a strange electro-magnetic field or energy field. Our guide explained that scientists still do not know why the rocks do this.
Also, several ladies in our tour sat on the fertility rock...supposedly it makes you (if female) pregnant within six months. We all exchanged email addresses, and the ladies promoised to email us if their wish comes true!!!!!
I highly recommend a trip to these ancient sites...fun, enjoyable and educational.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Mar - May
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Epinions.com ID:
rlesino
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Location: Mount Laurel, NJ, USA
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Retired from Federal Government. Served a Senior Executive.
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