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Final Fling: Stonehenge!

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Of all stone circles, Stonehenge is the biggest and most amazing! Massive rocks moved from other parts of the country about 3000 - 2500 B.C.E. Some of the stones weigh as much as 30 tons! While exact meaning and usage is unknown, it is clear that it was built to align with sunrise and sunset on both winter solstice and summer solstice. A masterpiece of engineering, for sure! As the largest stone circle, it has so many visitors and no one is allowed near them. Even so, it is awe-inspiring. Doug says he was pleasantly surprised at how impressed he was by this prehistoric monument. It sets my imagination into overdrive, thinking about the people who built such places, how they worked and celebrated, raised families, laughed and mourned, lived and died here. This arrow is the alignment of sunrise and sunset on solstice. The likely way stones of this magnitude were moved long distances. Truly this was a great way to end...
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Salisbury Cathedral: Magna Carta and Tapestry Repairers

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We caught our trains (all on time today) to Salisbury where we'll be for the last two nights before flying home. The Salisbury Cathedral (completed in 1258) is where we spent the afternoon until we could get into our hotel room. The cathedral had several noteworthy things, besides its awe-inspiring and massive construction and the intriguing gargoyles. 1) It houses one of four original copies of the Magna Carta (1219), the document that first specified that everyone, even kings, must obey the law, and guaranteed trial rights and protected people from illegal imprisonment. It has been referred to (e.g. by Nelson Mandela and Eleanor Roosevelt) and used as a model for other documents (our own U.S. Constitution and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The cathedral has a chapel dedicated to international human rights and to prisoners of conscience around the world. According to the Cathedral's website " Salisbury Cathedral – like...
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Day of Rest: Bridges and Doors and Scones

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We spent a leisurely day in Chepstow. In the morning it was raining, so we read and waited. Our 3-hour walk was essentially a meander in comparison to our days in the Cotswolds. Chepstow has several self-guided history walks so we grabbed a map and set off. There was a 19th century bridge that connects England and Wales, an 11th century castle, an old city wall, and a Sunday market. We stopped often to admire doors and door knockers, then ended with tea and scones with clotted cream and jam. We're in Wales and all signs are in both Welsh and English. Such an intriguing language with lots of Y's and W's and double letters in unusual places (like an ff at the word's beginning or dd at the end.) And then there was this: someone isn't happy with their town council.
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A Delayed Train and Tintern Abbey

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This was a transition day, moving from the Cotswolds to Cheptow, Wales. Our first train was late and we rerouted, adding more transfers, but arriving only slightly later than anticipated. We quickly checked and dropped our luggage, then caught a local bus to Tintern Abbey. I do love efficient and (mostly) reliable public transportation. Tintern Abbey! A ruins set in a beautiful valley along the River Wye. I can see why William Wordsworth came here to write poetry, meditate, and rejuvenate. I felt it, too, just being here briefly. In July 1798, Wordsworth wrote "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey." In which the heavy and the weary weight / Of all this unintelligible world, / Is lightened ... ... While with an eye made quiet by the power / Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, / We see into the life of things ... _______ Tintern Abby (a Cistercian order) was built in 1131, then destroyed in the 16th century by Henry VIII when he decided it was necessary to get rid ...
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Walking Day 2: Forest Trails, Bird Songs, and a Brewery Visit

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With a good night's rest, the soreness (mostly) dissipated and we set out again. Today we only walked 8.6 miles total. The Windrush Path had nimerous steep climbs, but they were relatively short ones. We didn't walk the entire loop, just walked the part I was most interested in, and returned. Then we walked a mile on the path at the other end of the loop walk -- and returned. The part we missed was the part with long climbs upward of 200 feet and more. There were more blackberries along the way and lots of singing birds. We set a more leisurely pace, so I took the time to open my Merlin app to identify some trills. I never actually saw them, but delighted in their accompaniment, a soundtrack to our walk. Merlin identified these bird calls: Long-tailed Tit Eurasian Jackdaw European Robin Eurasian Green Woodpecker  Common Raven Goldcrest Common Chaffinch We started the morning following the River Windrush, a pleasant name for a beautiful river. Walking along this river, I half ex...
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