Stonehenge

Today I went on a lengthy but lovely day trip around the west of England. Leaving at 8:30am, we travelled to Stratford Upon Avon (birthplace of Shakespeare); Bath; through The Cotswolds and finally to Stonehenge.

At our first stop we were greeted with a scone and glass of bubbly to get the day started. We then took a stroll through the house where Shakespeare was born and learnt about his life. I was pretty amazed that he contributed over 3000 words and phrases to the English language, yet he was born in the time of the Plague so could have very easily never survived being an infant... I wonder where our language would be today if The Plague had caught up with him?

Next was on to Bath which was a beautiful old city, which was founded almost 2000 years ago when the Romans built temples there and began using the hot springs, thought to have healing properties. War and centuries passed, and the Bath we know today began to flourish in the Georgian (17-1800's) times as a popular holiday destination. Today Bath attracts about 4 million visitors per year! It seemed to be a town of shopping, eating and plenty of entertainment from buskers studying music at the local university.

Our last stop was Stonehenge! I wasn't aware of just how old Stonehenge was! It dates back to 3000bc, which means it was built at about the same time as the Pyramids in Egypt. There are two types of stone at Stonehenge - the larger sarsen stones and the smaller 'bluestones'. The sarsen stones are a type of sandstone, which is found scattered naturally across southern England, however the bluestones all came from the Preseli Hills in south-west Wales - which means they were transported a hell of a long way (250km!)

The purpose of Stonehenge is a bit of a mystery. Antiquaries argued that it was an ancient Roman temple, or that it was built by the Druids. Astronomers suggested that it was a primitive computer for calculating the dates of eclipses. More recently, archaeologists have suggested that it was a place for prehistoric people's ancestors, or perhaps a centre of healing.

Whatever it was for, it's pretty damn impressive.

All in all, a pretty great day out. Now time for bed!