Day 15 - Bath, Lacock and Stonehenge, England


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September 1st 2006
Published: September 14th 2010
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Friday September 1st, 2006
Day 15
Bath, Lacock and Stonehenge, England

I was up at 6:00am this morning. I had to catch the tube to Victoria Station for my 'History and Mystery day tour' that I'd booked just the night before. There was only five of us on tour so it was really good. I got picked up at 7:40am in a little minibus and we were on our way. First stop: The Cherhill White Horse.
This is the second oldest of the Whiltshire horses. It is very well placed on a steep slope, the horse is easily visible from below, and from a far distance.
Originally the eye of the horse was made of upturned glass bottles but after going missing on several occasions they were replaced with stone and concrete. The horse itself is made of 160 tonnes of Chalk, held in place by shuttering. It has been there since 1970 and was the work of Dr. Christopher Alsop of Calne who is said to have directed the making of it from a distance, calling instructions through a megaphone.
After this, we made our way to the charming little village of Lacock. This town has been the setting for many movies including Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' and various Harry Potter movies.
It was such a pretty little town and the towns people were so friendly, even providing me with a map of the village. After spending a bit of time walking around, taking photos and having tea and scones we got back on the minibus and continued on our way to Bath.
bath is a city in South West England most famous for its baths fed by three hot springs. It is situated 159kms west of central London. The city is founded around the only natural-occurring hot springs in the United Kingdom. It was first documented as a Roman Spa, although tradition suggests the it was founded earlier. The waters from its spring were believed to be a cure for many infections. From Elizabethan to Georgian times it was resort city for the wealthy. As a result of its popularity during the latter period the city contains many fine examples of Georgian architecture, most notably the Royal Crescent. The city has a population of over 80,000 and is a world heritage site. Perhaps the best known resident of Bath was actually Jane Austen, who lived in the city from 1801 until 1806. Bath is beautiful city with many parks and gardens. Parade gardens, along the river front near the Abbey in the centre of the city is a prefect example of how stunning this city really is. After our tour of the Roman baths we spent 3hours walking around the city itself. I spent my time with a lady and her son who were on my tour, they were from Australia too. We found somewhere to have some lunch then met back at the bus where we continued on our journey to Stonehenge.
Stonehenge is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world. It is dated back as far as 3100BC but archaeologists think that the standing stones were erected between 2500BC and 2000BC. It was really cool to see in person and we got an hour to walk around it with and audio tour.
After this we jumped back on the minibus for our 2hour drive back into London. I spent most of the time asleep, waking up with a mighty sore neck when the driver advised me we were at my drop-off point. As it was already 7:30pm by this stage I jumped on the tube, to transfer to the DRL to go back to Nick's. As I had cancelled my Paris part of my trip I'd made a decision to go with a friend of mine and his mates to Mallorca in a few days so was meeting up with him tomorrow night. I was able to book some last minute flights that matched theirs which was handy. Yay, a few days in the sun with no 'sightseeing' really to do.





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