July 15: Day trip to Stonehenge and Winchester

This was also an extra trip arranged outside of our library studies. Several British Studies students were taken on a wonderful bus trip to Stonehenge and Winchester Cathedral. (Again, a real bargain for £10). Thank you to Ms. Wright for the picture shown above.

Stonehenge:

Tourists are no longer able to go right up to the stones so we walked around the structure on paved paths. I didn't realize that there had originally been much more to the site and that there were other stone structures close by. (Avebury, which is 25 miles north of Stonehenge) http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/about.htm

Impressions: First, I was astounded to find that Stonehenge is right off the highway, clearly in view! That really takes you by surprise. The other thing that impressed me was what I perceived as a reverance for the site from those visiting, whether because of its age or its possible link to ancient (and still practiced)religions.

Fun stuff: people playing around with camera shots to appear to be holding the structure or leaning on it; the black birds (ravens?) that live among the rocks---adds to the eerie atmostphere; the beautiful rolling farm lands and grazing sheep that surround the site.

Winchester:

We started our tour of this quaint old town by passing through the West Gate, an ancient remnant of the original town structure. During Saxon times, Winchester was the capital of England under King Alfred (Alfred the Great). Some speculate that it is also the location of the legendary King Arthur's Camelot. The Cathedral at Winchester was begun in 1079.

In 1222, King Henry III built the Great Hall, which we toured and were delighted to find held what is fabled to be the Round Table of King Arthur's court.

The Cathedral was as beautiful as expected, and the evensong service was just beginning, filling the cathedral with glorious music. The cathedral is also the burial site of author Jane Austen.

All of this and much more is found on the website for Winchester: http://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/site/home

Unfortunately, my memories of Winchester Cathedral will probably always be about having my camera stolen there. (Thank you again to Ms. Wright and the Winchester web site for the above pictures) An upside to the whole thing, though, was the usher at the cathedral who very kindly helped me retrace my steps to try to locate the camera and was most earnest in looking in all possible places for it. My small revenge on the thief: the batteries were dead.;-)