Visiting Stonehenge

You might have picked up on Twitter or Facebook that the day before we embarked on our first road trip, I came down with the flu.  I didn't sleep at all on Saturday night as I had a high fever and I was physically sore.  Okay, I am an absolute drama queen and I hate being ill and at about 4am on Sunday morning I was holding my head in my hands and chanting "oh my gosh" over and over again.  Sunday morning started off with a bit of friction between Ste and I as he assumed that I would not be making it on the road trip.  I explained that were that the truth, I would have been extremely upset as I had been planning the trip for months and it would not be a decision I would have made easily.  We decided to delay our departure by 90 minutes and I have to be more of a drama queen honest and say that I have never struggled that much to get out of bed before.  But we eventually made it!

The first stop on our trip was Stonehenge.  My first impression was that I could not believe how small it is.  Yes, you read right.  It is small.  As in, it is a really neat little circle of stones and is only about 30 metres in diameter.  Bizarrely enough though, they seem much bigger in my mind's eye now as I remember them.  Unfortunately, you're not allowed to touch the stones which Robyn (Ste's mum) and I both agreed was disappointing as we're both interested in fantasy novels and the magical side of life.

We took a counter-clockwise walk around the stones, starting from their northern-most point.  (By the way, I barely know my left and right so correct me if I get the compass points wrong!).

Stonehenge - the northern pointThe Northern Face

Stonehenge - main circleThe closest we came to the main circle

Stonehenge - the western faceThe Western Face

Stonehenge - the south western faceThe South-Western Face

The southeastern faceThe South-Eastern Face

Stonehenge - the north eastern faceThe North-Eastern Face

 

Stonehenge - the heal stoneThe Heal Stone

 

So yes.  That was Stonehenge.  You'd be forgiven for thinking it is just a bunch on plain stones, especially as you aren't able to touch the stones themselves.  Maybe I'll go back one day during the Summer Solstice. 

8 comments on "Visiting Stonehenge"
  1. Happy Christmas, Emm! Hope you are feeling a lot better.

    Lovely pics of Stonehenge. This was one of our first road trips in England (Stonnehenge + Avebury on the same day). We loved both. Stonehenge seemed more like art, being roped off. It was fun walking amongst the sheep in Avebury.

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  2. For a while I used to drive past Stonehenge, if not daily, at least frequently. I was always surprised that people rated it so highly as somewhere to visit. Now of course I wish I'd paid more attention.

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  3. I love stone henge, in your opinion Emm, how did they get there?

    Or is it like the book "The Power of Five", is it a gate of EVIL! lol kidding.

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  4. @ JAPRA: Happy (belated) Xmas! I hope you're having a fab time in Texas! Yes - Stonehenge is a bit like art isn't it? I really wish we could have touched the stones though, even though that is a bit silly!

    @ Sheila: Isn't it amazing how we don't realise how important things are until we no longer have them? I do try to identify things like that in my daily life - for example, the route I take to work or the buildings I pass. That's why I sometimes post seemingly mundane posts about my daily life!

    @ Pizza: We drove there from London - it took about 2 - 3 hours and then we went to Bristol afterwards. Before we went, we were kind of expecting the site to be magical - you know - a bit like Power of Five or a bit historical. But it's not. It's just normal I guess and I think that feeling is exacerbated by them roping off the stones.

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  5. Now when I was a youngster, I climbed all over them stones, picking at them, bashing them with small stones and....ummm...I think kids like me are one of the reasons you weren't allowed near them!

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  6. @ Gary: Are you kidding!!?? Horrible thing!

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  7. You might be gigantic, Emm, if Stonehenge seemed small to you ;)))))
    Have you been to Salisbury while visiting the megaliths? There are loads of things to see and write about. And unlike Dartford it is a real historical town ;))))))) Good luck and don't loose your inspiration, mate.

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  8. @ Anna: Heh. I just thought it would be bigger and kind of stretched across the landscape. We haven't been to Salisbury yet but you are right - we must do so one day.

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