LOVELY HOLIDAY 02

Day 02 - the first full day of the trip was spent visiting sites outside of London in which Sarah or Dad or both had interest.  The most practical means to visit all the distant places west of London was by a coach tour.  Dad and Sarah got up early to catch the tube, filled with everyday commuters, to Victoria Station to catch their coach.

STONEHENGE was the first stop, just under a two hour drive through the English countryside southwest of London.  Considered as one of the most important historic sites in the world, what Dad and Sarah saw were the massive stones erected between 2000 and 3000 B.C. The area round about includes several hundred burial mounds as this was a special site for ancient people as far away as Scotland.  How and why Stonehenge was built and used remains a mystery.  The tour includes personal audio devices, a wonderful museum and a re-fabrication of a Druid village, contemporary with the builders of Stonehenge.  It started out a bit cold then turned to a little drizzle and was pouring rain by the time we got back to the coach.  The tour guide said that even in August one's face can turn blue from the cold and wind ever present at Stonehenge.

A Wall Photo from the Visitor's Center

Next stop was a wee-bit further west in Somerset - BATH.  Bath is most noted for it's Roman hot baths built AD 60 utilizing the natural hot springs, the only ones in Great Britain. The Romans built a temple to the Roman goddess of aqua and a sophisticated drainage system, hot/spa rooms (heated by water under the floor) and a lively Roman town that flourished for nearly 400 years.  Later neglect and medieval building obscured and buried the Roman elements which have been unearthed in modern times and displayed in a wonderful walking museum that includes Roman temple elements, and artifacts from the era. 

Bath is also noted for Jane Austin aficionados as her place of residence and setting in some of her stories.  Much more than a day could be spent with all the history and beauty of Bath, referred to by some, as England's most romantic city.  Sarah was not to miss the Pump Room: a building built adjacent to the baths in the late 1700's when the mineral water was much advertised for it's curative properties. The hundreds of year old fountain in Persuasion is still flowing to fill one's cup with the mystical waters.

Following the walking tour of the baths Sarah and Dad made their way up to a little Cornish Pasty (pastry) shop.  The hot steak cornish pie was perfect to make the cold rain not much of a bother. 

A Common Christmas Decoration in English Towns on their Narrow Streets are Christmas Trees on the Side of Buildings

The coach drove for a couple of hours through what is considered to be some of the most picturesque countryside in England - the Cotswolds (sheep pens on rolling hills). The final stop was the birthplace of The Bard - STRAFORD UPON AVON.  Eventide was abiding as the coach tour group were escorted into The Shakespeare Centre for a scone and champagne (or orange juice) reception with sonnet singers serenading.  Sarah and Dad visited the Shakespeare's home and then up and down the surrounding quaint shops.

It was a bit windy it appears

 

 

Dad and Sarah walked up and down the roads ducking into any little shop that caught their fancy, to where the lane terminated at the River Avon. Once loaded on the coach the driver quickly made their way to the motorway (freeway) for the 2 hour drive back to the tour's starting point at Victoria Station in London.  Sarah and Dad hopped on the nearby tube to head back to their flat at the end of a long, awesome day.