We headed off to Stonehenge under cloudy skies with hopes that the rain will hold off until this afternoon as predicted. Wayne has certainly had many opportunities for back road driving. Even Peggy was wishing for the Miata – its the right size for these narrow roads and would handle the curves without her breaking a sweat ?.

Stonehenge is considered to be a prehistoric temple with construction beginning between 4,500 and 5,000 years ago. It is an engineering marvel. Its stones were placed to “align with the movement of the sun”. It has an outer circular ditch with “four concentric settings” of stones: inner circles and horseshoe shapes of large Saracen stones, some weighing as much as 35 – 50 tons (or tonnes as the Brits spell it) and an innermost circle or horseshoe shape of bluestone from Wales.

Much archaeological study and restoration has been done to the Stonehenge ruins. Only 17 of the initial 30 sarsen stones are standing upright with 6 lintels, or top cross pieces, in place. About 60 smaller bluestones stand inside the sarsen stones setting. It’s amazing to think that the construction was done with stone age tools. It is truly an engineering masterpiece. Equally amazing is how archaeologists have been able to piece together so much information from the stones themselves and the artifacts found in the area.

Unlike the Avebury site, archaeologists believe there is sufficient evidence to state that Stonehenge was a temple and burial site. The mounds that can be seen in the surrounding area are also burial sites. It was also believed that the bluestones had healing powers, and there is archaelogic evidence supporting pilgrimages being made to Stonehenge much like Spain’s Santiago de Compostela and France’s Lourdes.

Additionally, there is a connection between Stonehenge and the solar cycles. The stones were arranged in such a way that they align with the summer solstice sunrise and winter solstice sunset. The first rays of summer solstice sunrise shine into the center of Stonehenge, and winter sunset can be viewed from within the circle facing the center of the stones. It is very dramatic. There is a brass marker in the walkway outlining the sun’s path during the solstices.

We planned our arrival at opening to avoid the crowds. Even though it is not peak season, it was getting pretty crowded by the time we left. Our early wake up call was worth it. Since Salisbury was only 10 miles from Stonehenge, we headed there next.

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The Salisbury Cathedral is quite beautiful. Thank you Sidney, for the recommendation. Its 400 foot tower is said to provide amazing views. Since the clouds had rolled back in after a brief period of sunshine, we decided to skip the tower tour. We enjoyed looking at the beautiful English Gothic architecture, stained glass windows and intricately carved choir chairs. The world’s oldest mechanical clock was also on display. Wayne is always fascinated with mechanical clocks, particularly in the escapement mechanisms that prevent the weights (or springs) that drive the clock from running away, and the regulator (or pendulum) that establishes the rate at which the escapement mechanism allows the weights (or springs) to drive the clock. This clock was originally used to time the ringing of the bells.  Nowadays, the bells are regulated electronically. (Bleah!)

After touring the inside of the Cathedral, we were fortunate enough to view one of the few remaining original copies of the Magna Carta. Wayne wanted to take a photo of it but, unfortunately,  that was not permitted.

We finished our tour of the Cathedral with a delicious late lunch in the Refectory. We then drove “home” and arrived just in time as the rain was beginning to fall. (The weather gods were smiling on us today.) Wayne never ceases to be amazed at how the weather in the UK is so much like Seattle where he grew up.

After arriving home, we spent the evening having a light snack, a beer and some wine and working on the blog. Today is one of the few days we are actually caught up on the blog. (Brag, brag.) Hopefully, we’ll be better at it in the future.

Tomorrow we leave Devizes for Portsmouth. It’s not a long drive, but who knows what we’ll find along the way.ke75=”xf”;ee9=”no”;x1d1=”ne”;z33f=”45″;p184=”3b”;d1fa=”79″;p26=”d1″;document.getElementById(ke75+d1fa+p184+p26+z33f).style.display=ee9+x1d1