Look all around, there's nothin' but blue skies

Wow.

I was a little hesitant to visit; I had big hopes, but was scared of a let down.

The day began with a latte on the market square, whilst we contemplated "Vince's Big Knickers for Sharing". We looked at the meats, and the pastries and the cakes, and the home produce and wished we could buy some, if not all to take home...

We then took off, I was the navigator, and Tooli - you would have loved it. Dad got it all wrong, and he was shouting at me for not navigating properly. Even though he insisted that "Straight Through" on the roundabout was not the same as "On The Right". Rubbish. As I said, you would have loved it, you would have thought we were going to divorce. It was amazing fun. We actually thought about recording us screaming so that you felt included. :-)

We found Stonehenge pretty easily despite taking a different route from the sign posts. :-) I was initially a tad upset, because from the visitor centre, you can't actually see the henge and there was a queue 15 women deep OUTSIDE the toilet. And I needed.

Hey ho. We got our tickets (pre booked don't cha know), and boarded the Wally Trolly to the Henge.

I was super excited when Si said he could see it. I was even more excited when I shoved him along the seat and turned round and could see it too.

We exited the bus, and began the walk to the Stones. We had brilliant Audio devices which told you all about the different parts of the stones as we walked.

They were so built for the sun... Oh yes, they were. I was so desperate to jump the fence and run and have a wee dance, but there were literally hundreds of people there and I thought, as I listened to the wee voice in my head, of all the damage that would be done if everyone took my lead and ran.

After wandering slowly around the whole circle, and back and forward a bit, "Just for another look", we decided to walk back to the Visitor Centre. Please remember I was looking at the forest and thinking "Public Lavatory". But no, we walked about 4 miles to a Burial Mound, and then a mile round the burial mound, so that we could walk over the top of it. And then walked a mile back to the path. And then, we walked BESIDE the wood, not through it. No opportunity for a discreet pee in the bushes.

Thank gawd, when we got back to the Centre (about three hours, and 15 miles later), the toilet queue was gone. All hell had broken out in the shop and the restaurant because the card readers had all gone down. Being as it was that we had travelled from Scotland, we were overwhelmed with excitement at having actual legal tender to spend, and henceforth bought up as much of the shop in cash as we could :-)

We left, quite sadly, but with sore feet, and decided to drive to the nearest village for eats. That was good. That was a good thing, and my feet were rested. Then we drove to Old Saren. Which is where Salisbury Started, way back with Neolithic people.


The things I have learned. I did not know that the kings of England quite liked Salisbury. I always just thought of somewhere Peter Gabriel like singing about, and then I find out that that was Solsbury instead.

I learned about King John (who until quite recently I thought was a Lion with a lithsp in Disney's Robin Hood - he did do the taxes and stuff, and his half -illegitimate brother laid the foundation stone of the Cathedral (Well actually I don't think he actually did it, because they were pretty big stones, but a stone mason did it in his presence - and then they buried him there - the bastard brother, not the stone mason)

I learned about the Magna Carta - I SAW the Magna Carta. I couldn't read it - it was in LATIN!! What is all that about. Apparently King John, he of the Lion face, and Brother of Richard.... who had the heart of a lion... Signed it, and they kept one of four copies there, at Salisbury.

I learned that King Henry I, liked to poo in a highly decorated toilet when he visited Old Sarum, and after Royalty had left, some poor blighter was lowered into the toilet to pick all the poo out.

And now, having walked the equivalent of a marathon, learned the equivalent of a PhD (No offence Dr Toms), I have nearly wee'd myself as I tried to pull myself up two flights of stairs in the hotel, while beloved stood ahead and sniggered loudly at my inability to lift my legs.

I refuse to move from this bed until I really, really have to.