Seeing the Stones of Salisbury
I’ve always wanted to go to Stonehenge. Something about its mystery and scale always had me wondering how people so long ago could have built it and why and how it stood the test of time. Fortunately, a good friend of mine was completing her placement in Salisbury, so I just had to go and visit and take a look at these stones. In the middle of August, I set up a trip to stay with Irenie and see what Salisbury and surrounding areas have to offer.
I arrived on the Friday and we relaxed and planned our eventful Saturday. We booked the Stonehenge tour bus which takes you to the 3 main historical sites in and around Salisbury: Stonehenge, Old Sarum and The Abbey. The bus not only transports you but has a voice over tour that gives little bits of information on the town and the history of the sites. We started out for the bus at 10am; the journey was a surprisingly long one to the stones and when we got there it was already busy. After we picked up our tickets, we got the shuttle from the Stonehenge visitor centre to the Stonehenge and got to see it in all its glory, from a distance of 20 metres away. I don’t know if it was actually 20 metres, but we were definitely far away from touching the stones themselves. The weather was perfect for some long-distance shots and so we spent some time circling these huge pieces of rock. We walked the 20 minutes back to the visitor centre through farming fields and past burial mounds and headed into the visitor centre to eat some food. After eating we toured the museum section, they had a 360-degree virtual view of the Stonehenge from its conception all the way to present day. After finishing up in the museum we caught the tour bus to Old Sarum.
Old Sarum was up a steep hill as it was an old castle used for protecting the surrounding land from various attackers including the Romans. Many people of note had stayed there but all that remains are some walls, both internal and external, that showed the general layout of the place. The view from the top was amazing and they offered a free guided tour which talked about the history of all the rooms and structures that were once present.
After Old Sarum we bused back to Salisbury proper and walked to the Abbey. It was near Irenie’s accommodation, so we wandered over and got a peek at one of the best-preserved Magna Carters in the entire country. It was behind a curtained cubicle and was very mysterious for a very old document. It was written in tiny, elegant, Latin shorthand and so was impossible for us to read but the mystique of it was quite enchanting. The abbey itself was also quite beautiful, with a fountain in the centre and vibrant stain glass windows. The mood was also set by the local choir rehearsing in one of the chambers at the centre of the Abbey. They sounded very beautiful. At the end of the day we went and got dinner and drinks with a few of Irenie’s co-workers so overall, a busy productive day.
Sunday was spent in a much more relaxed way with a small brunch and shopping before I got the train back to London. A very enjoyable interlude and a perfect way to catch up with a friend before we see each other again at the start of uni.
