I left London and headed to the town of Salisbury to meet up with some friends I met 4 years ago while travelling in Peru. Tom and Becca graciously invited me to stay in their spare room for the two nights I was in Salisbury.
Salisbury is best known for its cathedral. The English-Gothic style structure is topped by the tallest spire in England. The spire is visible from just about anywhere in the town, but when seen up close it is truly awe-inspiring. Salisbury also has one of four remaining originals copies of the Magna Carta.
The real highlight of the trip was meeting Tom and Becca's almost 2-year-old son, Dillon. He is a man of few words, and uses mostly pointing to communicate. One of his favorite words and all around things in the world is bubbles. He goes mad and can spend the entire afternoon chasing them.
We went on a walk to Old Sarum, a hill outside of town with a few remaining Roman ruins. It was the site of the original cathedral but, due to lack of resources, it was decided that it should be moved. The legend is that they would shoot an arrow from the hill. Wherever the arrow landed would be site of the new cathedral. According to the story the fired arrow hit a nearby deer. The deer took off with the arrow lodged in it, and eventually dropped dead 2 miles away at the site of the current cathedral.
It was nice to get a 360 degree view of the country side as well. Especially since I am currently reading "The Pillars of the Earth", which is set in this region in the 1100s. Thank you Julie Melbourne-Weaver for the suggestion and Mike Maben for lending me his copy.
The morning of the 15th I was dropped at Stonehenge while Becca did a small job for a neighbor. I had been told I would be thoroughly unimpressed with the site, and thus had very low expectations. I would say it neither blew me away nor let me down. It is exactly what I thought it would be. They have redone the visitor center and remarked the area around it so you can actually get quite close during the visit. I made my way around, snapped a few pictures, and was heading back as the tour buses began streaming in.
In the afternoon I was back on a train and headed to Bath. Originally not in my plans for Britain, Bath was suggested to me by a traveler I met in London, and since I had a free day I decided to check it out.
Bath is best known for two things: the natural hot springs and consequent Roman bathhouse set upon them, and the the grandest Georgian architecture in Britain.
I decided not to pay the twenty pound entrance fee to the baths, especially since I had already done the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. Instead, I went on my own tour of the city, starting at the abbey, winding my way around town, and concluding at the Royal Crescent, perhaps the epitome of Bath's Georgian glory.
I was only in Bath for the one night, as I had already reserved a place in Oxford the following day. So, after enjoying an ice cream cone at the foot of the abbey, I rented a room above a pub for the night before catching another train the next morning.
Bath Abbey
Stonehenge
Salisbury Cathedral
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