Stonehenge

I’ve been to Stonehenge. The first time I’ve seen the monoliths we were on the A-something road on our way to the circle. It was breathtaking to see them, really amazing.

I booked tickets a day before as I wanted to be sure we can visit it. It was a good idea, as it was quite busy for a week day and we arrived in the last slot available as previously we went to Windsor. The circle is managed by English Heritage and we had free entry as members.

As we had Festus with us and it was a very sunny day, hubby asked if we can visit with him. It was too warm to leave him in the car for an hour. It is possible, they told him about a different route on the National Trust land.
From the car park to the stones there is a road, there is a shuttle for those who want to go faster and there is a path on the fields.

Well, we gave him a bottle to carry, to have something to pay attention too. I was unsure about the field, maybe there were bunnies or other small animals he would be inclined to chase.

We both applaud ourselves for the decision to give him the bottle when we reached the entry to the path and saw them.

That was the National Trust land we were told about… with a herd of cattle exactly near the entrance and a rottweiler on lead. Rottweiler is a very old bread, from Roman times and in the modern era they were used to herd cattle. For Festus, herding cattle is in his DNA and he gets excited to see them.

The cows reacted to his presence too. They got up and looked at him, waiting to see what he does next.

From this cow encounter, we went on the pedestrian part of the road where the shuttle is going. I saw there were a lot of shuttles. Is quite handy and the trip is 5 minutes with it and 30 minutes on foot.

There is another entry to the stone circle and there we weren’t allowed with him, obviously. Hubby stayed with him while I walked around the circle and then we’ve swapped places. The stones were close and we took some pictures of Festus with them in the background. I would say is very easy to visit Stonehenge with the dog.

Around 3000 BCE a ditch was made where Stonehenge is, it had the role of cremation cemetery. After a few centuries, in 2500 BCE the stones were brought and the monument was built. Some of the stones were brought only from 30 km, but others were brought from Wales. It’s unknown how they were transported on such a long journey, 250 km, as the biggest stone is 5 tons.

The stones were shaped on the site, as it was discovered some waste materials. Some parts of the stone had a better finish than the rest. There are some panels to read details about the circle and there are audio guides.

I waited for hubby in a field with Festus. We’ve ran and jumped, it was fun.

We saw the cows again on our way back.

This is the visitors centre, where there is another display, very interesting. There is a timeline to understand better the history of the stones. Also there is a projection of the stones on walls so the visitors can stay in the middle of the circle.

These are reproductions of the houses the people who built Stonehenge would have lived in. They are primitive mud houses. It is strange they were able to transport for hundreds of km, carve and erect monoliths while living on willow rugs.

I enjoyed the visit a lot. I will visit Stonehenge again, it is so impressive.