A Bard and his Stones.

A Bard and his Stones.

The bright sun outside, it had been an unseasonal warm 26 degrees the previous day, greeted us this fine morning. We partook of a light breakfast and headed off into ... fog. Yes, fog, as a few miles down the road we struck fog. This continued on and off for a while until we reached our first destination of the day, Stratford upon Avon.

Yes we had talked about going to the "Deep" but the logistics proved too ardious.

We reached the Bard's home town via a bus care of the "Park and Ride". This concept is winning my approval. Basically on the edges of major towns with attractions there is a large carpark, usually with free parking, and a bus station where you can buy tickets into your intended attraction. Saves having to find parking, keeps cars out of the centre of towns and keeps people calmer. In all good things.

Having arrived in the centre of town, on market day, we found the place poorly marked for a tourist and rather a tourist trap. We did see Shakespeare's birth place and the house he retired to, from the outside mainly due to the extorinate fee that we would have been charged to enter. With the junior members of the Entourage satisfied, we went in search of a cream tea which we found and enjoyed.

From there we returned to the car and headed for Avebury. This time the team was able to find the stone circle because one; they are huge stones, two; the village is built in amongst them, and three; you have to drive past them! The Entourage looked around for a while, enjoyed another tea, and headed off again.

We stopped a short distance away at the man made Silbury hill, contemporary with Avebury. From here Tony walked to the West Kennet Long Barrow. This proved a much longer walk than he expected.

On the road again and our target was Stonehenge. Given the relatively late hour was more a drive by than a visit before we headed off in search of our accommodation at Newbury. Having turned into very quiet but wide country lanes we found our lodgings and then set off in search of food which we found in a charming local pub.

Quote of the Day.
"Get out of the way peasants!", Sandra, whilst driving, talking to birdlife.

Drinks of Note;
Thacher's Gold - a lovely gentle apple cider finishing with a hint of tartness without being too sweet.
Wild Elderflower - a soft drink tasting of ... Elderflower? A unique taste but very pleasant.
Alleck's 3B - a dark amber ale with light hops, a nutty taste and a hint of honey.


Shakespeare's birth place.

Stratford upon Avon.

Shoddy work really.

No one is safe from bad puns especially outside pubs.

This one is out of alignment. PUSH!


Not the brightest members of staff.


Silbury hill.

The Long Barrow.

The entrance.

Inside.
The view from the top of the Long Barrow, across Silbury hill to Avebury (just to the left of the hill in shot)

The Henge.
Just like home.

Comments

  1. jenjen25 April 2018 at 15:47

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. jenjen25 April 2018 at 15:50

    "This proved a much longer walk than he expected." reminds me of when mum, dad and I went to Uluru and while dad and I climbed it, mum thought she'd go for a wander around the bottom...ten kilometres later...

    As for 'celebrating' 400 years since the bard's death, I know we all suffered it in high school but that's a bit harsh isn't it? Ding dong the bard is dead!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tony Wilkinson26 April 2018 at 16:23

      And then we went and watched one of his plays. English teachers everywhere rejoice.

      Delete

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