Our first destination for the day was to Salisbury, a city that is over 800 years old and originally moved from Old Sarum, an important historical site in southern England. We arrived and headed straight for the Salisbury Cathedral – beautiful and grand. The cathedral is the tallest medieval structure in the world, with a spire that’s 404 ft (123 m) tall. It’s considered a masterpiece of Early English architecture and contains one of the four surviving copies of Magna Carta. The cathedral also has a clock that’s one of the oldest working mechanical clocks in the world, installed in 1386.
After seeing the Cathedral, we wandered around town a bit. You know you’re in England when you see the red phone booth!
We stopped for some coffees and juice and then went to a local comic bookstore where Ryan bought a souvenir comic that featured Europe. While Ryan and I were in the shop, John hustled to a nearby famous pub to snap a few photos. The pub is called the Haunch of Venison and is considered by some to be haunted. It is one of the region’s oldest hostelries and the first record is circa 1320 when the building was used to house craftsmen working on the Cathedral spire. Two things that make the pub famous beyond its age and the haunted factor: 1 – there is a mummified hand in the pub that is believed to be from an 18th century demented whist player who lost it in a card game due to cheating. The hand has been stolen a few times, but now it is securely locked up in a museum and a replica stands in its place. Ew. 2 – The pub was reputedly used by Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower during the planning of D-Day landings back in 1944. So that’s fun.
After our ~hour wandering of Salisbury, we headed for Stonehenge – the big treat for the day! Being perhaps the most well-known prehistoric site in England, Stonehenge is equally intriguing. Although built in three stages, the iconic stone circle that now stands at Stonehenge was constructed about 2500 BC in the late Neolithic period. UNESCO declared Stonehenge a World Heritage site for being the world’s most architecturally sophisticated prehistoric stone circle. Its massive stones were transported as far as 150 miles and erected using precise interlocking joints. Exactly how Stonehenge was constructed and its ultimate purpose are not completely understood, but the guide offered some theories as we walked around the structure.
We had a little bit of time with our guide and a lot of time on our own. It was cloudy and cold – the usual for the area. Shame on us for not bringing our coats!
A fun aside: Also present on our visit today was Clucky, a rubber chicken that our cruise director, Ray, takes around the world and documents on Instagram. He (Ray) was supposed to be on our excursion for the day but wound up having a meeting, so he asked if we could take Clucky and get a photo of him with Stonehenge. Of course we obliged.
After wandering around the structure, we took some time and explored the museum inside and some neolithic model homes outside that helped paint a picture of how people back then likely lived. There were also large stones that you could touch to get an up-close idea of how the stones feel and how heavy they are.
PHOTO HOME
On our way back to the ship, we drove through a preserve area where animals can roam freely. At times we had to stop the bus to allow animals to cross the road. We saw sheep, cows, horses, and pigs. I think the horses were my favorite.
All in all, this was a fun day. We got lots of souvenirs to remember our time at Stonehenge. I would definitely recommend seeing it if you have a chance, and swinging through Salisbury to see the Cathedral. Fun times.