We arrived in England to be welcomed by typical English weather for the spring; kind of chilly, 13 degrees and drizzling, but only off and on. In fact, by the weekend it was beautiful – sunny and 15. Salisbury is a lovely place with a stunning cathedral. We stayed right across the street from the cathedral, with a view of the spire from our window; gorgeous. Our visit was rather low key as we overcame our 8-hour jet lag. We did a city walking tour with a very knowledgeable lady, had a cathedral tour (and saw the oldest working clock in the world!), and visited the local museum. A notable resident of that museum was the Amesbury Archer, who came all the way from the Alps to end up in a ceremonial burial just a few miles from Stonehenge. Nobody knows how or why he got there, but an interesting teaser for our tour of the ancient sites.
On the Saturday after our arrival, we had a private driving tour of the area surrounding Salisbury with Oldbury Tours. Because the city and environs sit on a huge chalk plain, the fields aren’t very fertile and so there has been comparatively little human activity for the past 4,500 years. So, the Salisbury Plain is littered with barrows, stone circles, and burial sites that predate the Druids, Romans, and early Christians by almost 2,000 years. Saw Stonehenge and Avebury, as well as several other henges and burial sites. Turns out that the first weekend in May is a major pagan Celtic festival called Beltane. Lots of oddly dressed folks around the towns, the stone circles, and the barrows chanting and drumming. Most peculiar considering that those sites predate the Celts and Druids by 1,500 years!
After our full day tour, we were dropped off at our next (and only other) stop in England – Winchester. Much older than Salisbury, with a settlement at a river ford predating even the Romans who arrived in England 43 A.D.. Did a bit of a walk around the city before a late pub dinner. Quite pretty but not as charming as Salisbury. We had a very full day in Winchester, with a walking tour, a cathedral tour, a visit to the Great Hall of a castle, another museum, and walks along the the banks of the River Itchen, now flowing in canals built by the Romans.
After just one very full day in Winchester, we were off to Ireland!
Check out our rather large image collection covering all five of our days in England covering Salisbury, Stonehenge and the Salisbury Plain, and Winchester: www.flickr.com/photos/100countries/albums/72177720316833029/
