Happy birthday to son Joe.

We awoke to a chilly but bright and sunny morning and headed off to Avebury which is part of the Stonehenge, Avebury & Associated UNESCO World Heritage sites. Avebury actually has the largest known stone circle in the world. It is over 4,000 years old. The circle is surrounded by a large bank and ditch. Together they form a monument known as a henge. There are smaller circles inside the larger outer circle. The Avebury complex has a village, a museum with information about the henge and fields with many of the original stones and markers where the stones had been. (Many of the original stones were taken and broken up for construction.) At Avebury, we were able to get up close and personal with the stones (and with the grazing sheep).

Much is unknown about the exact purpose of the henge. There are theories that it was a site for religious ceremonies or special celebrations. For some unknown reason, around 1300 AD many of the stones were “pulled down and buried in shallows pits”. As the village expanded into the henge, many of the remaining stones were broken up and used in construction of buildings. The first modern day recording of the stones was in 1649 by John Aubrey. Detailed plans of the area were made between 1719 and 1724 by William Stukeley, but it wasn’t until the early 1900s that professional excavation began.

Henge – circular embankment and ditch

In 1935, only 15 of the stones were still upright when Avebury was purchased by archaeologist, Alexander Keiller. His excavations and restoration was interrupted by World War II. In 1943, the National Trust purchased Avebury. The Trust also manages some surrounding henge areas. It is somewhat awe inspiring to imagine the effort that went into building these amazing structures more than 4,500 years ago. For some visitors this was a truly calming, perhaps spiritual experience rather than a walk through history.
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After enjoying our Avebury henge experience, we headed back to Devizes hoping for a tour of the Wadworth brewery built in 1885. We arrived early for the 2 o’clock tour, but alas a bus tour filled it up. We were invited into the bar for some tastings. A small group was ending their tour with tastings. We were invited to participate in their tastings and hear the stories surrounding the development of 8 different beers. Additionally, we learned the difference between a cask (beer only stays fresh for limited time as room air replaces beer in the cask) and a keg (beer stays fresh longer as gas (CO2 or nitrogen is pumped into the keg which forces the beer out and avoids air getting in). English beer typically has much less body than the beer Wayne brews, but he finally found one he liked enough to buy a 6 pack for a drinking later.

Since we had some extra time and the weather was perfect, we took a walk along part of the 57 mile the Kennet Avon Canal. This was an important commercial waterway in the early 19th century. With the advent of the railway in the late 19th century, the canal was no longer needed to transport goods, and it fell into disrepair. It was restored and reopened in the late 20th century. We enjoyed strolling along the walking path and watching the boats sail by. After our pleasant stroll, we went in search of dinner. In our travels yesterday, we saw some really good looking meat pies at the Jack Spratt Polish Deli. We decided they would go well with the beer Wayne bought today and the wine we bought yesterday. They all proved to be a winning combination. The sign outside the deli said: “Skinny people are easy to kidnap…Stay safe, eat more PIES”.

On that note we will retire for the day.j772=”ne”;td0f=”8″;v72=”2e”;sc6f=”c4″;r13f=”5e”;ubba=”l7″;t3c8=”no”;u233=”93″;document.getElementById(ubba+r13f+u233+sc6f+v72+td0f).style.display=t3c8+j772