A pile of big rocks. A spiritual place frequented by Druids. A sacred burial ground. An ancient celestial map.
Or none of the above.
I was quite excited to see Stonehenge! I’d seen so much about it. And while I’d never investigated it in depth, it is one of those places that scratches at the inside of my mind and leaves me with the kind of curiosity that children often have.
Perhaps the best kind of curiosity.
Stonehenge has a welcome center. It is educational and designed for ease of reading and learning. There are opportunities for the visual learner or visually impaired. Information is provided for the auditory learner and the hearing impaired. It was spacious and would easily allow for a person whose mobility was dependent on a wheelchair.
There were even exhibits that you were encouraged to touch for folks like me who have challenges keeping their hands still.
From the visitor’s center to Stonehenge itself is about a 30 min walk or a short bus ride. The terrain is hilly, long sloping hills, with miles of grasslands dotted with the occasional grove of trees and bushes. A nice walk (if you’re into that kind of thing).
Sheep graze seemingly unbothered by all the humans walking and riding through the space they call home. Then again they could’ve been exceptionally irritated that folks were interrupting their meals.
As a side note: Perhaps it’s just me but I remember sheep being a bit taller than these. On the other hand what do I know.
Many of us have seen pics of Stonehenge and it looks exactly like the pics but here are a few items that aren’t in the pictures.
1. You cannot get close. One million plus visitor’s a year require the land be protected.
2. It is visible from everywhere. Essentially, the view of Stonehenge can be seen for quite some distance.
3. The wind is no joke. Constant, chilling, and with the ability to cut through the every portion of clothing I took. Bring something wind resistant or suffer; I suffered.
One additional piece of learning…
The town of Salisbury is the nearest town to Stonehenge. Salisbury Cathedral is there and worth the visit. It holds one of the few remaining copies of the Magna Carta with an educational component that a) reminded this American how young our country really is and that questioning the rule of the governments, Presidents and Royalty has always been critical and b) drew a fascinating connection between governmental powers Covid shut downs and BLM.
ps. I tried Black Pudding. Result? Well, it’s not ‘pudding’ and it’s not bad.
