Just sitting in our little tour van having seen Stone Henge. The area is jam-packed at the moment, filled with tours down from London. We managed to arrive here before most, which made for a more leisurely experience. Also, got lucky again with truly fabulous weather.
It's actually quite an impressive site, even without being able to approach the stones. Can get tickets to go right up and around the stones, but those have to be booked way in advance.
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Just waiting for the bus to pick us up from the market cross in castlecoombe. Apparently way back when, site of where deals were made. It's been a long but pleasant day. Think I'll just head to the hotel, or maybe find a place to have cream tea and blog a bit.
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Wandered a bit after the tour looking for a place to have tea, then wound up at a place along the bridge towards my hotel. The scones aren't as nice asthe ones at the Jane Austen tea house i went to yesterday, but the value and the view of the weir and river out the window.
Anyways, turns out Im not really in the mood to blog. Ive been going full tilt these past few days and think I've tired myself out I think - will start my recap now, and then possibly finish it later after I've had a bit if a rest.
After Stone Henge, we went to the Avebury stones. They're older and much bigger, and interestingly have a town sort of going through what remains of the circles. Tried dowsing but I'm apparently no good at it personally. You hold two metal rods loosely and they're meant to spin around in your hands as they approach the stones, but mine just stayed straight ahead. I walked around the henge a bit (which I think actually refers to the circular ditch and hill around the stones, rather than the stones themselves) and took a seat on the grass partway through to write a postcard. Managed to stick it in a mailbox before heading off for our next stop, Lacock. Worth mentioning though that in-between the major stops, we did get lots of interesting commentary on the English countryside, and also notably saw two hall horses, and even a bit of a crop circle.
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Am really glad I took that break. Eventually anyways. First stopped by a supermarket to pick up some food for dinner. Then headed to one side of the river to find someplace to lounge and picnic. Where I realized that the other side of the river looked much nicer, so went back over the bridge. To find out that the other side was a park with an entrance fee, which would have been fine but it was closing. After that, walked past my hotel thinking maybe the backgarden would do, decided against that as heading in so early felt pathetic, so wandered through the park behind the Holbourne, the Holbourne itself being closed, found nowhere I wanted to linger, so ended up back at my hotel. Which ended up being just what I needed. Got some ice from the lovely staff, then sat in my room for a but checking email and watching TV, notably watching a bit of a documentary on Bath, and a bit if a gameshow on the BBC, about antique experts having to identify stuff.
I'm actually even gladder that I decided to go back out. Right now, am sitting on the terrace of Garfunkels at the Empire, where I have a view of the cathedral, the river, and the far hills. The staff here is lovely - after asking about what exactly Pimm's was, they said it was really hard to describe , though they did mention Jaggermeister, so they made me little one to try. Apparently Pimm's is always served with Sprite, and proper ones, like what I ended up ordering have fruit in them - citrus traditionally, along with strawberries, mint and a bit of cucumber, all fresh to infuse the drink. It tastes a bit like gingerale, and I'm even having the fries I ordered with it with vinegar to up the traditional brittishiness of it all. Despite the fact that I forgot my sweater and it's getting a bit chilly, and I think I ended up spending so much on food that I might aswell have gone to the baths, I remain in a good mood.
So back to the recap, after Avebury, we saw two villages I'll remember mainly for the movies which were filmed there. The first was Lacock, where bits of Harry Potter was filmed. After having lunch first, we walked around the teeny town, seeing sights of historical interest, in addition to Godrics Hollow and Slughorn's house. Well, and Lacock abbey, both historically interesting and the site of lots of bits of the movie. The second was Castlecombe, where they shot Stardust, aswell as other things like a new Steven Spielberg movie. Notably both towns are also featured in a crap load of BBC productions.
They're both so popular with movies, because they look like they're stuck in a timewarp. Take out the cars, cover the pavement and you could be 200 years in the past. No telephone wires, street lamps, satellites, anything. And it all sort if happened by accident. Essentially, when the wool market in the area crashed, development in both places stopped, and the towns were all but abandoned. I might actually look into some of the economic stuff when I get home, given my research interest in the current economic recession.
And that's really most of my day. Overall really enjoyed Bath - the town really does die down in the evening, but also makes it really relaxing. Has finished my fries, and am almost done my drink, so shower, packing and bed before heading on to Exeter in the morning.
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