Tag Archives: England

Stonehenge

IMG_2549Stonehenge had also been on my bucket list and I was so pleased to hear this world heritage site was part of this year’s tour. It was a little more of a production than I expected with the parking area being some distance from the site. But the folks that run it do provide transportation.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument that originated between 2000 and 3000 BC and because of the age of the monument, there is a great deal of mystery. I did learn that:

  • It is a burial site
  • The Druids would hold ceremonies here
  • For the most part, the public is no longer aloud to walk up to the stones
  • That over the years the stones have been straightened when in danger of falling over
  • The visitor’s center opened in December 2013 and I could have happily spent more time there
  • According to some myths, the stone were healing rocks

Here is a short BBC video on this history of Stonehenge and here is the official visitors webpage.

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Cheddar Gorge Caves

Our local guide described the Cheddar Gorge is England’s Grand Canyon, only smaller. It was a very pretty area and village, but the caves were the highlight! Back in the day Cheddar Cheese was stored in the caves as can be seen in the photo. The caves were discovered in 1837. More about the area can be found here http://www.cheddargorge.co.uk/

Off to the United Kingdom, the London Eye

The London Eye, on the banks of the River Thames in London, is 443′ tall and has 32 sealed compartments. What surprised me is that the Ferris wheel doesn’t stop for loading and unloading, it moves so gradually that visitors just step on or off. The exception being those that actually need more time.  The black and white photo was taken with Hipstamatic from the Hungerford Bridge (which can be seen in the color photo).

I was delighted to accept an educational trip to the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Though I had good intentions of continuing my “New Place of the Day” Blog, it simply got away from me. So, I’m catching up now, with brief entries for each day 😀