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"The White Horse" - on the way to the Cotswolds
It was a misty morning but you can just make it out on the hills We had an early start this morning, leaving the house at 6:30 am. We walked to the Ealing Broadway station, picked up a coffee and a muffin at Starbucks for breakfast again, and took the tube to Marble Arch. The mini-bus picked us up at Marble Arch and we were off. This is a small group day tour - there are a total of 16 people. It was a cloudy morning, with a little bit of drizzle on and off.
We drove through the English countryside to Lacock, an incredibly picturesque village in the Cotswolds. It was a very nice drive, and we passed lots of other lovely villages too (Box for example). Lacock has been used as a movie set numerous times, and is full of beautiful old houses. We had a walking tour of Lacock, stopping for a snack from the Lacock Bakery (I had ginger cake which was really good).
After touring Lacock we were off to Bath. What a pretty town. It's located on a series of hills and all the buildings are made of limestone. We toured the Roman Baths, which were very interesting. The Romans constructed a complex of bathhouses above Bath's natural
hot springs, and they form one of the best-preserved ancient Roman spas in the world. The original temple dates back to the 1st C CE, and the bathhouses were gradually built over the next 300 or so years. The Roman bathhouses are encircled by 18th and 19th C buildings. We also checked out the informative museum while we were there. After the Roman Bath, Susan and I wandered around Bath on our own out for a bit. We dropped into the Ale House for a half pint of local bitter which I enjoyed. We picked up some sandwiches to go, to have on the bus ride to Stonehenge. Bath is known for its glass blowing, and we bought a glass cat while we were there.
We then were on our way to Stonehenge, enjoying our sandwiches on the way. I had cheese and pickle again but it wasn't as good as the one I had in London the other day. I was surprised to suddenly come upon Stonehenge. I didn't expect it to be right beside the highway like that. It was pretty impressive, even though you can't go right up to the stones anymore. There is just a
teeny rope around it, so it doesn't obstruct photos or anything. Stonehenge was built in several stages; the stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period, about 2500 BCE. It is one of those iconic sites that we all have seen images of for years, and to finally see it in person was pretty amazing. We slowly walked on the path around the stone circle, and then visited the gift shop where we bought a woolen throw.
The weather changed today, unfortunately. It was cloudy and drizzly most of the day. It was quite cool too, especially at Stonehenge. I should have worn another layer. After Stonehenge we drove back into London and were dropped off at the Marble Arch, where we took the tube back. Once again it was crowded and hot. I was freezing all day, but hot on the train again.
We had a great day today and I really enjoyed getting to see some of the English countryside. Tomorrow we see the British Museum 😊 Yay!
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