Stonehenge and Stourhead, Stories and Singing

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When I say early start, I really mean an early start—we stumbled out to our coach at about 4:35, and we were late. Why leave so early? Stonehenge, my friend, Stonehenge. A lot of tourist books I’ve read say that Stonehenge is a disappointment because you just walk along this rubber trail by the stones, and that’s it. Well, apparently each morning, two or three educational groups get to actually go into Stonehenge, and guess who was in one of them. Our appointment at Stonehenge was at 5:30 am. The morning was thick with mist, so you couldn’t even see the place until we drove right by it and suddenly it emerged out of the dark. It was so amazing to be able to walk around and touch those stones that have been there for who knows how long. After taking my requisite touristy pictures, I sat down for an hour between the stones to do a sketch. Between the fog and Brooke playing her didgeridoo, the atmosphere was magical.

We packed back onto the coach and ate a cold breakfast while we traveled to our next destination: Stourhead gardens. These gardens make Blenheim Palace’s pale in comparison for sheer constructed beauty. Again, the lake is completely manmade, and everything is sculpted to perfection, but this time there are “ancient ruins” placed everywhere along the banks—interesting tunnels, statues of Greek gods, old temples. The ingenuity was very impressive. I think this definitely rates as one of the most beautiful places we’ve been thus far. Oh, and it also has the little temple where they filmed the final scene in the US version of the new Pride and Prejudice. I highly recommend Stourhead as worthy of a place on your UK itinerary.

Another coach ride puts us in Marnhull for lunch. Marnhull is not a major tourist destination, except for Thomas Hardy fans like our professor, since it’s believed that this town was the basis for Tess’ hometown in Tess of the d’Ubervilles. We visited the local church where Tess would have buried her baby along with the pub where her parents went to drink to their new found nobility. Then we trekked down the road a bit to the official Tess cottage. I find it interesting that there’s this kind of conjecture among literary circles, down to looking for the exact cottage where Tess might have been born. Then again, Thomas Hardy is notorious for basing his books on real places, as we shall soon see.

We hike about six miles up the hills surrounding the town and down into a secluded valley that’s the home of Milton Abbey. The abbey is now turned into a private school, but the architecture is worth a visit. The acoustics were superb—our group sat in the pews singing hymns for about an hour simply to enjoy the richness of the sound. We also learned the tune and words to “Jerusalem,” which my professor’s wife calls the unofficial national anthem of England, similar to “America the Beautiful” in the states. I really like the song a lot, quite powerful words.

At 5 pm, we ride the coach to our final destination, Lulworth Cove. It’s a beautiful town and our first stay by the ocean. We’re staying in a hotel again—oh happy day—and this time we’re eating out at the hotel’s restaurant since we’re about halfway through the trip! How weird that sounds. But it’s very nice to have hot food, and hot showers, and fluffy beds. Joni and I are rooming together in a separate room outback, so we have a good time. Joni says she wants to take the bed with her tomorrow. I can’t say I blame her.

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