11 / 07 / 10 Jump in my car....

China was so mind blowing. So new and exciting. So completely different – and I am sure I have more to tell...that it is almost too much to bear, the rapidity with which one shifts gears and gets into the next phase. But here are, in the UK and gear shifting time it is – literally. We loaded up the Mondeo this morning, poor car. Bit of a rude shock to it, boot crammed full and riding low at the back. We were on the road by eight thirty, heading out to Stonehenge. Shane has been there before, but the rest of us not. It took us until 11.30 to get there, where we ate our lunch in the car. We then paid our entry fee and set off. I have to admit, that I was very tempted to just look through the fence at them. I mean, they are just rocks, after all. And you can see them perfectly well from the road side. And there was an audio guide that you listened to as you walked around, and I had to wonder how many different ways they could say, 'The rocks came from a long way away. We don't know how they got them here. We don't know exactly when they did it. We don't know why they did it.” It was all a pleasant surprise, though. Very interesting, and whilst I couldn't call it a spiritual experience, it was certainly a peaceful one. I was also impressed with the way that the two big kids listened to the little hand-held guide, all of the way around.
From Stonehenge we went to Woodhenge (no, I am not trying to be funny) and learned that there are henges and Barrows (mounds of earth in circles or lines) all over the area. We went on to a site where the whole village is a circle of stones. Visited the attached museum and barn.
I should mention that we purchased a 12 month, Historical England Pass at Stonehenge, which we will only have to use a handful of times, to have paid off. It certainly makes life easier with the kids, because we don't have to weigh up before hand whether the kids will 'like' the venue. We can pop in and visit the place, and leave ten minutes later if need be. Plus, there is no queing, which, at a place like Stonehenge was a bonus!! It is because of this card, that we popped into
We are now safely ensconced in the Bath YHA. I have always longed to visit Bath, and now I am here. I want desperately to visit the pump room, and 'take a turn'. (Jane Austen fans will know what I am talking about) Then there is the Jane Austen shop to visit. They readily claim her as a resident of Bath, when in fact she lived here for a very brief period of her life only – and didn't really like it! She does describe it a lot in two of her novels though, and tomorrow we will get amongst it all for ourselves. The old parts of the town have changed little, so I feel like we will be seeing it very much Jane did, two-hundred years ago.