VISIT STONEHENGE FROM SALISBURY

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Day 3: BRISTOL - VISIT STONEHENGE - SALISBURY - BRISTOL

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Last night, after looking at the weather several times, we decided that today would be the day we would finally know about those “magic stones” we had heard so much about: today is the day chosen to visit Stonehenge from Salisbury.
The alarm sounds at those untimely hours that it only does when we are on vacation. We know, we go backwards from many people, who take advantage of the holidays to relax ... something that we only do on the longer trips, at the end of the trip, a few days, as we did on the trip to Indonesia, in Gili.
Shortly before 7 in the morning we are already in the breakfast room of the Hilton Gardenn, putting on our boots to face a day that promises to be full of surprises, for now we are excited to know that today we will be in Stonehenge.

How to visit Stonehenge

After breakfast we set off for Temple Meads, the same station from where we went to Bath yesterday and knowing that the trains were Salisbury They leave at hours and 22 minutes, we have in mind to take the one at 8.22h.
We return to “our particular ticket machine” and get 2 round trips for 20.30 '- pounds per person.
We look at the computer panels and see that our train leaves by platform 9 and goes to Postmouth Harbor and Salisbury It is stop number 6. We are only a few hours away from visiting Stonehenge from Salisbury.
If you are staying in London we recommend you read this post on how to go from London to Stonehenge.
We are retaining this data so that we do not stop and go with some more data than we have in the guide.
The journey takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes and will leave us in Salisbury, a city that we will visit after visit Stonehenge.

Bristol station

The train arrives on time, but when we arrive in Bath, we stop by having to let another train pass and we find ourselves with a delay of several minutes, which make us get a book to kill time.
After this "mini-delay" of just over 15 minutes, at 10 in the morning we are getting off at Salisbury, where as soon as we leave the station, on the left, we find the bus stop that will take us to today's star destination: Stonehenge.

Bus to Stonehenge from Salisbury

We ask the price and after paying 20 pounds per person, which includes the route, the entrance to Stonehenge and if you want a stop in Durum, we get on the second floor of the bus and wait about 10 minutes for all the people to arrive and get on our way.
Now the entrance to Stonehenge goes with time-limited tickets, so it is advisable to purchase the ticket in advance here, it is the only way to have the guaranteed entrance and be able to choose time.
The bus takes a little turn around Salisbury, something that allows us to take a first look at the city, which we hope will later help us to orient ourselves better.
Before getting out from Salisbury, we stop at the city station, where the bus picks up more people and is filled almost completely. What a collection!
It takes about 30 minutes to reach the area where it is located Stonehenge and before stopping, we see the "magic stones" in the distance!
We did not expect to see them from the road and that already attracts our attention and seeing so many people from afar, begins to make us notice what we hoped would not happen ... be like little ant visit Stonehenge!!
As soon as we get off the bus, we find a long line of people waiting to get their tickets and enter, but the driver tells us to stand aside and after we are all, he accompanies us through another entrance, where we get rid of the whole queue and we can go directly to the area where the audio guides are taken, something highly recommended when visiting Stonehenge.
We have forgotten to say that as soon as we get off, we notice that the cold weather is strong enough to know that today we will have a little bad time during the visit.
Then put on the audio guide and go through a kind of ramp that takes us directly to visit Stonehenge!!

Entering Stonehenge from Salisbury

Finally in Stonehenge! Visit Stonehenge from Salisbury

Already in the first section, we meet so many people that it is even difficult to take a photo, so we started to take it easy, getting the idea that we will have to spend more time than normal to take some photos and see it with some peace of mind .

Stonehenge

Stonehenge It is a megalithic monument, type Crómlech, from the end of the Neolithic, located very close to Witshire about 14 kilometers from Salisbury.
Stonehenge It consists of large blocks of stone, distributed in four concentric circles.
The exterior, about 30 meters in diameter, is formed by large rectangular sandstone stones that were originally crowned by lintels, made of stone. Today there are only 7 of these lintels left standing.

Stonehenge Images

Inside the outer row is another circle of smaller blocks of sandstone, of a more bluish tone.
Within this row, there is a horseshoe-shaped structure, with stones of the same material and tone.
Inside we find a slab, also made of sandstone, known as "The Altar".

Photographing Stonehenge

The whole set of stones Stonehenge It is surrounded by a circular pit of 104 meters in diameter, where inside, we find 56 holes, known as the "Aubrey Holes".
Those holes and the pit are split by "The Avenue", a road 23 meters wide and 3 kilometers long.

Stonehenge

Nearby we can find the "Stone of Sacrifice", where we face the "Stone of the Heel".
The circle of sand that surrounds the megaliths of Stonehenge It is considered the oldest part of the monument, believing it is from 3100 BC.

Stonehenge details

Nearby we can find the "Stone of Sacrifice", where we face the "Stone of the Heel".
At the beginning the monument of Stonehenge It had a ritual character, surrounded by a talus and a moat, very similar to others in southern England.
Stonehenge, in the end it adopted the current aspect, for which they transported 32 blocks of sandstone, from the mountains of Preseli, in Wales, and the Stone of the Altar was brought from a nearby region.

Stonehenge

Currently it is speculated with the possibility that the stones of Stonehenge they would have moved by means of balls of wood or stone by way of bearings and not with logs, as previously thought.

Going cold in Stonehenge

Stonehenge It was part of a large complex, which included stone and wood circles and ceremonial avenues.

Stonehenge

Just over three kilometers from Stonehenge, at Durrington Walls, extensive field work was found, about twenty times larger than Stonehenge, surrounded by a ditch.
There was a wooden construction, called Woodhenge, with a design very similar to Stonehenge and built in the same century.
Woodhenge was linked to the Avon River, by a ceremonial avenue built with stones.

Enjoying Stonehenge

Stonehenge

The purpose of Stonehenge, but imagine that it was used as a religious temple, funerary monument or astronomical observatory to predict the seasons.
In the summer solstice, the sun rises right through the construction axis, so it is assumed that the builders had knowledge of astronomy.
That same day, the sun goes down through the Woodhenge axis, where bones of animals and objects have been found, so it is believed that large parties were celebrated.

Stonehenge details

About 300 burials of cremated human remains have been found.
Given the low number of burials for such a long period, it is believed that it is not a cemetery for all the dead, but only for certain chosen people.
For the pagans, the stone was the symbol of the eternal.
It is believed that Stonehenge It could have been used together with Woodhenge, in religious ceremonies of worship of the dead and life.

Stonehenge

We are slow to give "the first detour" to Stonehenge, without listening to the audioguide for almost an hour and when we finish and be dead of cold, we decide that it is best to go before going around the area of the store, to warm up a little and do some shopping, including some postcards for 23 pounds…
And so we do !! After recovering the body temperature a little, we return to the audio guide, this time to listen carefully and return to the route to Stonehenge.
This time it took us a little less than the first time and seeing that we are already approaching a prudential hour in which we should set off Salisbury, we started saying goodbye to Stonehenge.

Saying goodbye to Stonehenge

There are more and more people, not only in the souvenir shop, but also in the complex of Stonehenge, so, despite the cold and the little desire we have to leave, we finally say goodbye to Stonehenge.

Farewells are never easy or pleasant and less of a place like that, so we can't do anything but look back ...

Leaving Stonehenge

Before leaving, we look at the clock and see that it is almost 1 noon, knowing that we still have a little time to reach Salisbury and that we need something that warms us a little, we ask for an American coffee and a cappuccino in one of the beach bars that for 4.20 pounds tone our stomach until the bus arrives that will take us to Salisbury.

Warming the stomach before leaving Stonehenge

Between we wait for the bus and we arrive at Salisbury, we stop at the city center stop, we see that it is almost 2 in the afternoon, so before we start visiting the city, we decide to find a place to feed!
After a few laps and seeing that most places are full, we decided on a "Fish and Chips", the Stobys, where we ordered a couple of plates of fish and chips and water and coke for 18 pounds.

Eating Fish and Chips !!

The truth is that the place is very small and despite being full, we do not find "the joke" to the food or the local. But hey, this allows us to eat fast and not recreate too much to take advantage of the time in Salisbury.
This afternoon we will go to snack somewhere else 🙂

The first thing we do after eating is to go straight to the Cathedral of Salisbury, one of the most famous in the world.

Sightseeing Salisbury Cathedral

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It does not take more than 5 minutes from Market Place to the area where we find the Cathedral of Salisbury.

Arriving at Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral

The first cathedral of Salisbury It was built in Old Sarum by St. Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, between 1075 and 1092.
In 1221 the diocese moved to New Sarum, Salisbury and that same year the construction of the new cathedral began by Bishop Richard Poore. The main nave was completed in only 38 years and is a masterpiece of English Gothic architecture.
The 123 meter high spire was built later and is the tallest in all of England.

Salisbury Cathedral

The library of the Cathedral of Salisbury It has one of the four copies that exist of the Magna Carta, one of the most important documents in the entire history of democracy. It is also very remarkable a large clock installed in the year 1386 and the oldest mechanical clock that is still preserved in England.

Interior of Salisbury Cathedral

We are touring the Cathedral of Salisbury more than 45 minutes, admiring the great architectural work that we have before us and that of course, does not disappoint us.

Interior of Salisbury Cathedral

Details of Salisbury Cathedral

Before arriving at the Chapter Hall where one of the copies of the Magna Carta is located, we pass to the area of the Cloister, where we do not cease to be amazed at its beauty.
Without a doubt, it's nice to walk around here, without having to look at the clock ...

Cloister of Salisbury Cathedral

Photographing the Cloister of Salisbury Cathedral

Photographs are not allowed in the Chapter Hall, so we pass by, keeping this image in our retina.
On departure, we take a walk and take some photos around the Cathedral of Salisbury, without a doubt one of the prettiest we've ever seen.

Salisbury Cathedral

The sky begins to get darker and darker and not only because it is already beginning to be noticed that there is little left to dusk, but because as the day progresses, time seems not to give us so much truce.
As it happened a few hours ago in Stonehenge, we cannot leave the Cathedral of Salisbury without looking back ...

Salisbury Cathedral

After this great visit to the Cathedral of Salisbury, we go to the Market Place, where the streets are full of people and we take the opportunity to walk, this time, without a fixed direction, since what we want is to get lost in the streets of a city as beautiful as it is Salisbury.

Market Place in Salisbury

We find a small market, which despite making our delights, we have to stay with the desire to buy something, since in this Trip to Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge We have not checked bags!

Market in Market Place in Salisbury

After this brief foray into the market, we go to a nearby cafeteria, a Starbucks, where we can have a coffee and take advantage of the free Wi-Fi for a while, while we take advantage of answering some emails and writing the postcards we buy at Stonehenge.

Having a coffee and taking advantage of the time in Salisbury

After being here for a while and paying our 5 pounds for coffees, we return to the streets of Salisbury, where we take a last walk, to enjoy some streets, which as the day progresses are decongesting ...

Salisbury

Details of Salisbury streets

Salisbury streets

It's almost 6 in the afternoon, but we still don't dare to leave Salisbury, so we went through one of the streets that we had not yet passed to discover a quieter area of the city, to which we found a very special charm ...

Salisbury

Taking images of Salisbury

"No Fishing" Salisbury

Color in Salisbury

After a walk through this area and seeing that now it is time to go to the train station, we take the main street that leads us, as it did this morning, but this time the other way around, it was what is our base East Trip to Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge.

Saying goodbye to Salisbury

Salisbury

We take the 18.40h train that leaves by platform 4 and will leave us in Bristol within 1 hour and 15 minutes or so.
We make a journey as quiet, arriving at 8 in the afternoon at our destination.
One of the gastronomic recommendations we had was to try the “delicattessen” offered at the stations' stalls, so today, that we are not too hungry to go to a restaurant for dinner, we pay attention and buy a sausage roll, A burrito roll, 2 soft drinks, plus some cookies, for 11 pounds in one of the beach bars of the station, which we eat on our way to the Hilton Gardenn.
Mmm ... great !!!!

Today has been a long day, a day that has left us many interesting and incredible things.
A day we will remember whenever we remember our Trip to Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge.
The day we met something more than the incredible Stonehenge!!!!!