We woke to fine weather, and then set course for Durnford, and Little Durnford, the villages named the same as my maternal ancestors. Beautiful countryside, rolling green hills with trees, babbling brooks, any wonder people like this countryside.
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Not sure if any ancestors are buried here, it is impossible to read the old headstones |
Up the road a little, was Amesbury, the oldest continual settlement in England, and the area is in the Stonehenge zone. It has a bit of an old pub that was home to The Beatles when they were making the movie "Help" back in the 60's. Don't think any of them would choose it today!
Stonehenge. We had pre-conceived ideas of what it was all about. Huge rock formations that could be seen for miles. Well that illusion vanished quickly. There are stones, lots of them, out in the elements, and a visitor centre built about 1.5klm away. You have to pre-book your tour time, to help them manage the crowds, and we were there around 10.30. We parked in the ample parking zones, walked down to the entrance, where the poor staff were facing a bitterly cold wind, showed our cards and then went to the shuttle train to go to the site.
As this is one of the wonders of the olden world, (we have managed to visit a couple this trip), it has to be appreciated for its historical wonder. Why was it built, how and when. Nobody can answer any of that. But the stones appear to have been dragged from Wales, which would be an easy feat. Hauled on wooden logs, this blue stone has been identified as coming from one particular region in Wales. Why? Who knows.
When you get off the train, you walk to the top of the hill, and then the path takes you right around the stones, and if you are lucky to be there at the solstice, the sun shines between certain stones, same as was built in Glen Innes. So to prove we have been, here are our photos.
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Visitor centre |
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The fields surround the stones |
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Did I tell you it was cold and windy? |
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It was! I needed the parka hood on |
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5000 year old man in the museum |
We were pretty cold by then, and had hot chocolate, then it rained, and because the visitor centre is so open the rain just blew through. A group of grade one littlies came back soaked. People were trying to dry off in the toilets. There is absolutely no protection if you are caught in bad weather.
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A replica of the housing of the time
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Next stop Salisbury Cathedral, probably the last cathedral that we will visit for a while, (thank goodness you say), but this one is rather special. It has the highest spire in UK, and it contains the tomb of one of my ancestors, William Longspee (the illegitimate son of King William's son). His tomb is made of wood, and dates 1297.
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Too big to fit into a photograph |
There are some treasures inside, including this amazing clock which dates to 1386. The flags are the colours of the Wiltshire Regiment from the American War
But for me, I got to meet another ancestor
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The Quire |
We also saw one of the four original copies of the Magna Carta, and a collection of church valuables, including the jewelled ring and chalice belonging to William. He was part of the pre-amble of the Magna Carta. William could have been poisoned causing his death.
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Another past ancestor
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Salisbury is an old market town, with the streets laid out as they were way back then!
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Church gates are shut each night at 5pm, don't want the riff raff inside the Church precinct, don't know how the residents get in or out! |
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High street
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We then planned to visit Wilton House, our neighbour. Well the wall of the estate is across the road. Turns out it is the home of the Pembrokes, and the current Lord is 30, married with 2 children, and owns almost everywhere you can see!
I don't think there are words to describe the contents of the house. There are paintings on all the walls, the rooms are so ornate, there are Rembrandt's somewhere on the walls, there is one of the largest collections of European sculptures you will see in the UK, and it is just opulence. The site used to be an Abbey, but King James took a liking for visiting it, and the Lord then built a home that the King would appreciate. Photos not permitted. But google it, it is amazing. I did try to take some photos from a video, but they haven't downloaded, our wifi booster is not working. And did I mention the cars in the garage? Don't know where those photos got to, some more to load when we get better reception.
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Not a bad dolls house in the gift shop
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We stayed in the village of Wilton for our meal. We met some locals at the bar, and one told us about the wastage that the council had with the improvements to Stonehenge. Spent 18.5 million pounds on a feasibility study for improvements, and then tossed it out the window. Residents not happy, they wanted the stones to be protected with a glass dome or some sort, and the comments back are that nobody is happy with the layout of the new centre.
I had a lemon, lime and bitters, or as an Irishman told me it is called St Clements. Anyway, the young girl mixed the lemon and lime, and I added the bitters and it was perfect. Prawns took our eye, and the presentation was splendid. The prawns are sweet but very small.
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The view from our pub window |
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