Europe 2014 - Day trip to Salisbury, Stonehenge and Bath

4 March 2015

24th October..
Today we were heading off on a full day bus tour ... we were all very excited about this.... it was a chance to get out of the hustle and bustle and into the countryside. 

We climbed aboard the coach ...popped in our earphones and headed off.

First stop was the spectacular  Salisbury Cathedral.. in Sailsbury... its an Anglican cathedral built over 38 years 1220 - 1258. 
It instantly reminded me of Ken Follets "Pillars of the Earth" and on a little reading I discovered it was his inspiration in the book and has been used in movie.


 This Cathedral has the tallest spire (123m) in the UK ... and is home to the worlds oldest working clock (AD 1386) and has the best surviving of the four original copies of the Magna Carta. 



Next stop... Stonehenge

We all know about and have have seen the pictures...but it was surreal to actually visit here.
Its a world famous prehistoric monument. 
"Stonehenge is the remains of a ring of standing stones. Archaeologists believe it was built anywhere from 3000BC to 2000BC. Archaeological evidence indicates that Stonehenge was used as a burial ground from as early as 3000BC." 
My mind just could not comprehend the age of this significant site...and the sheer size of these rocks. The rocks are not local to the area which means they were carted quite some distance before being erected here.


Our trip ended in beautiful historic Bath .. 

Home of the famous "Sally Lunns buns"
 The highlight in Bath was a visit to the historic Roman Baths these 'baths' are in the heart of the city and were constructed around 70AD as a grand bathing and socialising complex. 
It is now one of the most preserved roman remains in the world.1,170,000 litres of steaming spring water reaching 46 °C still fill the bathing site every single day. (source)
 It was a wonderful day trip... it was long.. but the scenery was lovely and we felt we had seen just a little taste of what the English countryside was like. 
The bus driver pointed out the chimney pots on the roof....check out the amount of them...crazy.

We could have spent so much more time in Bath ..and Salisbury.. 
but it was time to go back to London..
we had a lot of packing to do tonight...because it was off to Paris in the morning.
  

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