Today we took a double-decker bus to Stonehenge. We sat on top and enjoyed the view and narrative. At Stonehenge, we used audio guides to listen to explanations and details about the circle of stone. My first impression was that it seemed smaller than I imagined. No one seems to know why these giant pillars are placed there, positioned to act as a calendar, or how the bluestone slabs were brought from Wales to the Salisbury Plain. The audio guide talked about the various theories and myths and gave a lot of interesting (and boring) facts.
Twenty-five years ago, Dennis visited this site that dates back to the Neolithic period, some 5,000 years past. When he came, he and his friend were the only ones looking at the stones. Now there is a booming tourist business involving buses, souvenirs shops, and a tourist center that is slated to open this December.
From here, the bus took us along a two-car garage wide road that snaked around hills and steep grades to the Old Sarum Castle. Branch limbs were bouncing off the windows and top as it hugged the banks at a rapid speed to let other vehicles by. At one point, a tractor had to back up and climb the shoulder to let the bus pass. Riding upstairs on this part of the trip takes courage–or blinders.
Old Sarum Castle are ruins of a royal palace, cathedral, and town dating back to the 12th century. It was fun to lay on the grass and try to imagine what life was like for the inhabitants. There were the privileged few and the workers: bakers, archers, police, cooks, and those that dug out the royal privy. I imagine that they had hopes and disappointments, celebrated births and weddings and cried at funerals, and had feelings similar to people of this era. I wonder if they had time and inclination to ponder their existence and the ability to change their plot. I left grateful to be living now rather than then.
I was hungry and wanted to take the bus back to the city. Since we only walked a few miles today (and since he had a Full English Breakfast), Dennis wanted to walk back to town; not on the dangerous roads, but on a “short cut” he spied from the top of the hill where the castle ruins were. The path quickly became a single track and then a walk though grasses that at times reached my head. I was not pleased. I had no idea where I was and my instincts said I was going away from where I wanted to be (and food). Dennis kept saying he knew where he was and why could I not have faith in his guiding ability. By the time we crossed the river and got back onto paved roads, I was very lost. Also, it was late and all the eateries had stopped serving at 2:oo P.M. I ended up buying a sandwich in the Shell petro quick market. Not very satisfying.