Bath: Road trip to Stonehenge

If you missed my recap of the Salisbury Cathedral, check it out here. This story continues from there, as after checking out the cathedral we drove on to see Stonehenge on June 19, 2010.

Seeing stone circles of Stonehenge has long been on my bucket list, ever since I could fully comprehend how many different stories there are explaining how they came to be. Unlike many people who visit the circle, I am not necessarily as fascinated by their wonder or mystery, but by the actual fascination of them itself. I am amazed at how many different kinds of people visit the rocks and have such widely varied ideas about them. The caretakers of Stonehenge tell us that the stones are remains of ancient civilization that used them for worship and sacrifice. Some people believe they were put there by aliens thousands of years ago. Others believe they were built by ancient civilizations whose technology far surpassed our own. Some people are modern pagans and come to visit in sincere practice of their beliefs while others believe they are signs from gods of a bygone era. Any place that holds so much mystery to so many different kinds of people all over the world is a place I am interested in visiting.

I remember studying Stonehenge as a kid and thinking visiting it in person was so far away and unattainable. Perhaps that was one reason why it hit so far up on my life to do list. It always just seemed like something I might never get to do unless I really pushed for it. And yet, almost by accident, Mark and I have found ourselves on a whirlwind tour doing and seeing things we thought might take a lifetime to get to.

When we got to there we were weaved through a maze of cones and lead to a grass car park. (That’s parking lot, in Brit speak.) Though it wasn’t very crowded, it was clear that the management was preparing for thousands of people to show up for Summer Soltice which was in 2 days from the day we were there. Generators and coned parking lots lined the road for over a mile.

We had fun playing with the camera as at this point in our trip we were still learning how to use it and we had only recently found the new lens which Mark really likes. It was really windy and cold which brought in really cool clouds and drove away lurking tourists.

So how do I feel after seeing the stones? I can’t say it changed my life. Well I did have honest expectations. I knew that ultimately they were some stones in some grass and I knew to be prepared for capitalist ventures fencing them off. It was very cool to see so many people visiting and also to see the preparation for Solstice.

When it comes to things like bucket lists and doing things you’ve always wanted to do, I think it doesn’t necessarily come down to needing to have an amazing or life altering experience. You just need to go out and do it so you can say, dude, I did that. You find your chance to do something, and when given an opportunity, you make your choice to take it and enjoy it. For us, that’s become a little bit what this trip has been about. Life only throws you so many bones. How many are you going to cast aside?