Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds and Stratford upon Avon

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Mum and I set off from Angel to connect with our tour bus which would take us to Stonehenge, Bath, through the Cotswolds and into Stratford upon Avon to see the birthplace of William Shakespeare. It was a lovely trip through some beautiful parts of Southwest England.

Stonehenge is one of Englands most popular tourist sites and always crowded! The 5000 year old stone circle remains a mystery as to what it originally was - a huge astronomical calander or a place of sun worship and sacrifice? Construction began in 3000BC and consisted of four distinct stages of construction. The first stage - the Earthworks or Henge began when the outer circle comprising a ditch, bank, and the Aubrey holes was erected. 1000 years later the second stage - the Arrival of the Bluestones began when an inner circle of bluestone granite was added, now known to have been hauled 250 miles from South Wales! The third stage - the Arrival of the Sarsen Stones in 2000BC saw the construction of an outer circle with a continuous run of lintels. Inside the circle, five trilithons were placed in a horseshoe arrangement which is still evident today. The final stage took place soon after 1500 BC when the bluestones were rearranged in the horseshoe and circle that we see today. The original number of stones in the bluestone circle was probably around 60, these have long since been removed or broken up. Some remain only as stumps below ground level.

Our second stop on the tour was at Bath famed for its Roman baths built over the original hot springs. The baths themselves are some of the best preserved monuments to Roman architecture in Britain and extremely picturesque. Adjacent to the Roman baths is the Bath Abbey which was built between 1499 and 1616, making it the last great medieval church raised in England. We waundered around the narrow streets of Bath for a while before getting back on the tour bus for a quick spin through The Circus - a magnificant circle of 30 houses, apparently one of which is now owned by a Mr Johnny Depp and family.

We didnt stop in at the Cotwolds due to time constraints, however we managed to get a good look at all the old English thatched houses in the villages. Very quaint.

Our last stop of the day was at Stratford upon Avon and a visit to Shakespeares birthplace and house as a young man. It was bizarre being in such an old, dilapitated house and to think one of the greatest ever writers was born there! After waundering around the house and the gardens we hopped back on the bus for our journey back to London.

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