Salisbury Cathedral & Stonehenge

Last week Bob and I were able to go with the undergraduate students to see Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge.  Salisbury Cathedral was built in the early 13th century in only 38 years.  How did they do it?  It is incredible that they were able to construct this majestic cathedral, given the tools of their day, in such a short period of time.  Everything was designed and shaped by hand. Stones cut from the quarry had to be brought to the building site and precisely shaped and lifted into place. The size of The Cathedral is staggering and the details are remarkable.

The inside of The Cathedral is beautiful but I loved the intricate sculptures of saints and important people on the front of The Cathedral.

Ouch!

Inside Salisbury Cathedral, they have some contemporary art displayed.  This one interested me.  What do you think?  Is that his subconscious squatting on his chest while he sleeps, or is it his spirit leaving him, or is it suppose to represent his dream?

Lunch time had us looking for an interesting old pub to dine in.  We found just what we were looking for at The New Inn. (I wonder what the Old Inn looked like.)

Quaint on the inside...

amazing food also.  The best Sticky Toffee Pudding so far.

Across from Salisbury Cathedral is the Malmesbury House.  

You might recognize it from the movie Emma.

From Salisbury we headed down the road to the ancient ruins of Stonehenge.  The picture below shows what researchers believe Stonehenge looked like when it was completed.

The ancient stone circle evolved between 3,000 and 1,600 BC.  Researchers know that it is aligned with the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset but it's purpose is a mystery.

Again, I am amazed what people long ago were able to accomplish without the tools and equipment that we have now.

If you look at the center stone behind Bob's head, you can see a notch on the top of it.  All the upright stones were notched and the stones that fit on top of them had a corresponding carved out area to allow the notches to slide into place and lock the stones together.

So many questions about Stonehenge.  Why was it built and why in this particular spot?  It must have been incredibly important because the effort it took to build it was extraordinary to say the least.

Hiking The Green Belts

By the time the weekend came around, we felt the need to escape the city again and enjoy a walk among trees and along water and away from the traffic and crowds.  We have a big trip planned for next week so we didn't want to go away this weekend.  Instead, Bob suggested trying a 7 1/2 mile walk he found on line. The walk wove us through quiet suburban neighborhoods, through parks, green belts and fields, over and along the Brent River, by a canal and locks and through a very grand estate from the 1700's.  Wow, who knew all this was here and just a short tube ride away on the outskirts of London!

Grand Union Canal Walk

A canal boat was just coming through the first of several locks as we were walking by.

Slowly letting the water out of the lock so the boat could be lowered down to the level of the next lock.

We helped the boat owner open the lock so she took our picture for us.

Our hike took us by football pitches (soccer fields),

along archery ranges,

and past cricket pitches.

Towards the end of the walk we passed through the Osterley Estate which is now a lovely park to play and picnic in and the historic home is open for tours.

One of several duck ponds at Osterley Park.

The back view of Osterley Park.

The Tube

The underground subway system in London is known as "The Tube."  It is the oldest subway system in the world.  The first line opened in 1863.  It is a marvel!  It is clean, efficient and so much fun to use to get around London, especially if you are a people watcher like me.  The picture above shows the easy to follow color coded tube map that I consult every time I venture out.

South Kensington Station is my home station.  It is just a five minute walk from the Pepperdine House.

I love the way Bill Bryson in his book, Notes From A Small Island describes The Tube.

"There's something surreal about plunging into the bowels of the earth to catch a train.  It's a little world of its own down there, with its own strange winds and weather systems, its own eerie noises and oily smells.  Even when you've descended so far into the earth that you've lost your bearing utterly and wouldn't be in the least surprised to pass a troop of blackened miners coming off shift, there's always the rumble and tremble of a train passing somewhere on an unknown line even further below."

All that is true, but there are also the wonderful sounds of street musicians playing for spare change.  The sounds of their instruments vibrating and reverberating off the tunnel walls makes me so happy.

If you like their music, they like your spare change.

Do you see the musician at the bottom of this long escalator at Piccadilly Circus tube stop? 

Here comes the train.

Hop on the train but please remember to, "MIND THE GAP."

London Theater

One of the best aspects of being in London is enjoying their theater productions.  Amazing!!!
Most of the theaters are intimate and beautifully designed with great views from almost any spot.  A real treat is that for many of them you can get same day half price tickets on performances.  We decided to enjoy a play while Robbie was visiting with us this week.  He had never seen Phantom Of The Opera before so we went to see it.  I have been humming the tunes ever since.

Another theater that Rob wanted to see was the Globe theater.  I'm so happy that Rob came to London with the Globe on his "To Do" list because it was not even on my radar. It's a gem!

This Globe Theater is not the same theater from Shakespeare's time but it was constructed using the same tools and methods that would have been used back then.  It sits along the banks of the Thames River not far from the spot where the original theater once stood.

During our tour of the theater we learned that there were several options for seating.  You could come and stand during the performance and have the best spots in the theater for the least amount of money or you could pay a little more and sit on the wooden benches in the galleries.  In Shakespeare's time, when personal hygiene was nearly nonexistent, the crowds that paid a penny to stand and watch the performance were called the "stinking groundlings."  It was a little better in the galleries but even the Queen bathed only four times a year, whether she needed to or not.

View of the galleries.

We decided to see the performance of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe at The Globe Theater.  Robbie and Bob chose to stand during the performance and be  "stinking groundlings" while I chose a nice hard bench and a side view of the stage.  Here is how the stage looked from my vantage point.

The production was outstanding!!!

This is Bob and Robbie's view.

If you are ever in London, put this on your "bucket list."

Edinburgh - A Castle On A Hill

I have fallen in love with trains!!!  This past weekend was our third excursion out of London by train and by far the longest.  On a train I can sit back and relax and enjoy spectacular views of the English and, this time also, Scottish countryside.   The views remind me so much of the fields and farmland that I love in Virginia but when I glimpse the occasional castle or stately manor house or quaint village, I know that I could only be traveling in Great Britain.

Our first stop was Kings Cross Train Station  platform 9 3/4 for a quick picture.  

Yes, I'm a Harry Potter fan!

Then, off to catch our real train to Edinburgh.  Edinburgh, with its medieval castle situated high on a hill overlooking lovely gardens and Georgian districts is thought by many to be one of Europe's loveliest capitals.  We agree, it is lovely even during the occasional burst of rain.

Climbing the hill up to the old part of town to see the castle and walk along the "Royal Mile."

I love Scotland too!

Another view of the castle on the mound.

The entrance gate to the castle added on by Queen Victoria.

A view from the castle out over the oldest section of Edinburgh and the bay beyond called the Firth of Forth.

Rob by one of the cannons in the castle.

Delightful bagpipe music filled the air.

We saw a couple more weddings coming and going into St. Giles Cathedral but this was my favorite "fascinator."  I have to have one!

Here comes the bride.

After a full day of touring historical sites, we wanted to get out of the crowds and enjoy nature.  Edinburgh has that too.  At the end of the Royal Mile you come to a volcanic mound named Salisbury Crags.  We headed up the mountain toward the highest point called Arthur's Seat.

Beautiful views all the way up.

If we had another day in Edinburgh, we would have loved to pack a lunch and spent the whole day climbing these hills and enjoying the views.  It was so lovely!