Day 7: Stonehenge and the Jurassic CoastStonehenge
We set off early for Stonehenge and arrived about 30 minutes before they opened. We were the first bus there and the only ones in line for the first shuttle to the site. Our guide, John, said he’d been coming here for 30 years, and this was the first time he’d been first in line. The weather was perfect with white puffy clouds, and we were the first ones at the site. We got to experience it in all of its glory without hoards of tourists around it. It was really special. After learning about the site and taking a bunch of pictures, we headed back to the center. We decided to walk back and were joined by our buddies Jane and Jenny. It was about a mile and a quarter walk. We saw several of the burial mounds called barrows in the fields and then walked through a path with beautiful wild flowers. Back at the center, we went through the multimedia exhibit and walked through the thatched hut exhibit which speculates on what former inhabitants of Stonehenge may have lived in. |
On to the Jurassic Coast
After Stonehenge, we headed to the Jurassic Coast, an area where they discovered many layers of fossils that greatly informed paleontologists. Along the way, we stopped along the Dorset Coast for pictures. We also stopped to tour St. Nicholas Church in Abbotsberry before having tea and scones at the Old Schoolhouse Tea Rooms and Gardens. It was delicious, and we shared a table with Barb and Ariana. After that it was off to the Jurassic coast where we checked out another church and viewed the dramatic bluffs along the English Channel. At Chagford, we checked into our rooms and had a group dinner of Cottage Pie and Etonmess for dessert. We shared a table with Craig and his parents and enjoyed a lot of laughs. After supper, we hit the grocery store, walked around a bit, and then headed back to our room for a little laundry. Interesting note: The hedgerows are really tight to the sides of the roads, and it felt like we were driving through tunnels. Even John mentioned that it makes it really hard to see anything out of a car when driving through. It’s even hard out of a coach bus. Yet they are not allowed to tear them out. |