Easter in England
Trip Start
Apr 15, 2003
1
98
119
Trip End
Ongoing
Brackley,
United Kingdom
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Good Friday and Easter Monday are both holidays in the Netherlands, giving us a 4 day weekend. As we continue to pack in as much travel as possible before Melanie's contract ends in May, we decided to visit some friends in England and see a few stone circles at the same time. The travel to England was just as miserable as Good Friday travel is in the U.S., but once there we had a wonderful time despite unseasonable cold and snow. We saw Stonehenge and Averbury stone circles, one of the Wiltshire White Horses, and, thanks to another "flat Stanley" project, went to Banbury cross to see a fine lady upon a white horse.
The Travel Nightmare.
We made the mistake of leaving Thursday afternoon, just as the rest of the country was leaving work early for a long weekend and the truck drivers were desperate to get to their destinations. Weather was bad as well which led to very slow driving and a missed ferry. When we finally got on a ferry at 10pm it was under rough seas with water splashing 3 stories onto the passenger deck windows. Melanie (and many others on board) got seasick. Some lessons learned: 1) when traveling by night and unable to see the horizon, sit it the middle of the boat as that is the most stable part and 2) drinking water will not settle a stomach that is already sloshing about - it will only add to the sloshy-ness and increase the likelihood of sickness.
The ferry docked at midnight with an announcement that there was an overturned vehicle on the (now closed) main highway we were to take to Steve and Chris' house. So, it took 3 hours to drive from Dover to Brackley - getting us in at 3am UK time (4am our time). Chris was beat from the driving, but it felt good to be there and the rest of the weekend only improved.
Stonehenge and Avebury
On Friday morning we went to Stonehenge and Avebury. Most people know Stonehenge. Avebury is a larger and older stone circle situated around and within a village. It was an incredibly windy day - we were happy that there weren't any cliffs closeby or we would have been blown off them!
The Stonehenge site is truly incredible. The stone structure itself sits in the middle of a large field. There is no development within eyesight of the structure, so it really feels like it is in the middle of nowhere - surrounded by more fields of grazing sheep. In addition to the standing stone circle that is so familiar, there are other, less obvious, parts to the complex. Stonehenge itself sits on an earthwork in which the ground has been moved to create a circular bank and ditch around the stone circle. There are also other earthworks, such as burial mounds and an "avenue" leading to Stonehenge visible from the site. Although it is no longer possible to walk through the stone circle or to touch the stones, it is still quite a feeling to walk around the circle. Viewing it from different angles and in different lighting is interesting and the walkway does go close enough to get a sense of the place.
Avebury, on the other hand, is completely different. This stone circle (actually remnants of 3 circles plus an avenue) encompasses a village and is completely available for walking through and around, touching stones and fully experiencing the size of the site. We really enjoyed Avebury - especially since it had been pouring rain when we arrived and after our visit to the tourist center the sun came out and we could actually walk around and enjoy it! The site is older than Stonehenge and it's interesting that the stones are all different shapes. Modern stones mark where the missing stones should be.
Avebury was the setting for a 1976 British children's drama, Children of the Stone, which our hosts, Chris and Steve, happened to have on DVD. All I can say is, we're glad to have watched this after having been to Avebury rather than before. I don't know who thought this tale of people trapped in the circle and turned to stone was appropriate for kids to watch after school, but Chris confirmed that it gave him nightmares as a child!
Wiltshire White Horse
On our drive between Stonehenge and Avebury we happened upon one of the Whiltshire White Horses, the Pewsey horse from 1785. There are many of these horses in this area of England, created by removing the topsoil down to the chalk underneath. Some are thought to be Bronze Age but many were also created in the 1700s and 1800s. It was pretty cool to happen upon this.
Banbury Cross
"Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady upon a white horse
With rings on her fingers
And bells on her toes
She shall have music wherever she goes."
Just before leaving for the UK we received "Flat Matt" in mail. Like Rosie the hand puppet of previous entries, Flat Matt belongs to an elementary school student and is traveling the world providing fodder for social studies, geography, and other school subjects. We took Matt to Banbury (about 7 miles from Brackley, where we were staying) to see the Banbury cross and the statue of the lady on a white horse of nursery rhyme fame.
British Biscuit Brain
Of course, the point of Easter in England was to actually spend time with our friends over the holidays. On Saturday the weather was very cold and there was even snow and sleet. We huddled inside watching TV and eating Ginger Nuts, Chocolate covered digestives, Penguin bars and other British Biscuits (cookies). By the end of the day Chris and I were so polluted with goodies that when we went out for a drive we could hardly hold a conversation! We called it Biscuit Brain. The next day we were sure to get out and stay away (more or less) from the cookie jar!
Our thanks to Chris and Steve for letting us invade their holiday weekend - and to our friend David for introducing us to them last year. We had a really nice, relaxing weekend and got to see a few sites along the way.
Happy travels!
Melanie and Chris
============
As always, if you would like to receive (or stop receiving) an e-mail whenever we post a new entry, you can subscribe (or unsubscribe) at any time in upper section of the left column on the page.
Resources:
Ferry:
* We took the Norfolk Line ferry from Dunkerque, France to Dover, England. Normally this is a very smooth and easy crossing. We just had really rough weather one way.
Where we ate:
* Mostly home cooking, but we were exposed to a British institution: Little Chef. Apparently when on a road trip, Little Chef was the place to stop for a great meal - all day breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, fried bread, hash browns and beans. Once we were aware of them we noticed that they do dot the highways fairly frequently. It's sort of the British equivalent of the old Howard Johnson's.
Where we slept:
* Chris and Steve's house. Wonderful hosts with a great dog and 3 cats. Sorry, not open to the public.
Photos in the album are a combination of those taken by both Chrises.
