We were instructed by email to meet our driver at the statue behind the Abbey in Bath at 8:45 AM. We were there with bells on...and long underwear, stocking caps, coats, gloves, and jackets.
We drove through Box, where Peter Gabriel (singer/songwriter) has his studio and on through part of Wiltshire to Stongehenge. This world famous monument is a masterpiece of engineering and a remainder to all of us of the prehistoric people who built it. Standing on the rolling uplands of the chalk downs, it's construction and development spanned a period of over 1,500 years. However, it is what it is....a grouping of stones standing in a pasture. We don't know what they were placed there for, and placed they w
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We drove through Box, where Peter Gabriel (singer/songwriter) has his studio and on through part of Wiltshire to Stongehenge. This world famous monument is a masterpiece of engineering and a remainder to all of us of the prehistoric people who built it. Standing on the rolling uplands of the chalk downs, it's construction and development spanned a period of over 1,500 years. However, it is what it is....a grouping of stones standing in a pasture. We don't know what they were placed there for, and placed they were...as the stones had to be hauled about 30 miles from Marlbrough Downs, possibly on wooden rollers. It is traditionally thought that these stones were placed for astronomical alignment, with the sun shining along the avenue at dawn and centered on the Altar stone. The sunset of the Winter Solstice also falls on this axis, with the sun setting behind the Altar stone. Perhaps this winter festival marked the beginning of the season of rebirth.
On to Avebury, after a stop to view the Cherhill Horse, carved into the side of the hill in 1780 by Dr. Christopher Alsop. Avebury was my favorite stone circle. It is 16 times larger than Stonehenge, with a village located in the midst of the stone circle. There doesn't appear to be any astrological alignment with the Avebury stones. With other evidence found at Avebury, it is generally thought that this site was used for fertility rites. When I asked John if the villagers were more fertile that the rest of Great Britain, we all had a big laugh...they aren't.
Next stop was at Lacock Village. The village and it's Abbey are almost entirely owned by National Trust. Most of the properties date from between the 13th and 18th centuries when this village was a thriving woollen market. There are many fascinating buildings in the village including the 14th century tithe barn and the blind house where the drunks were locked up. George Inn, built in 1361 is still a thriving public house and has an original dog wheel.
In 1962, Castle Combe was voted the prettiest village in England, and was used as the setting for the original "Dr. Doolittle" movie a few years later. The name originates from the 11th century when a castle was built over the combe (Saxon for "valley"). The castle became derelict and was replaced in the 14th century with the manor house, which is now the Manor House Hotel. Prices there are quite dear, starting around $250 USD per night. As with much of the Cotswold region, Castle Combe owes its new found prosperity to gentrification and tourism.
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