by Ancient Britain: Salisbury
A highlight of our trip to the UK was a guided day tour to the ancient sites of Salisbury, Old Sarum, Stonehenge, West Kennet, Silbury Hill and Avebury. I don’t usually link to commercial sites but this tour pleased us so very much that I’m going to recommend at least reading it for the background so I don’t have to write so much. We truly enjoyed the knowledgeable and friendly guide/driver (I wished I’d recorded his fascinating stories) and that we were a small group of about fourteen in a van rather than an enormous bus. I’m having a hard time choosing from the many photos so each stop will merit its own post.
Being the first to be picked up, we got the choice seats at the front of the van. Once we were out of London and on smaller winding highway, we enjoyed the lovely greens and canola yellows of the Wiltshire countryside.
The town of Salisbury was our first stop. Here’s where the van was an advantage as we wove through the narrow old streets past interesting old buildings, doorways and arches towards Salisbury Cathedral.
The cathedral, consecrated 751 years ago, is a lovely example of Early English Gothic architecture. I’m always awed by the amazing skills of the craftspeople of those early days, and even more astounding is that this was built in 38 years. Note the model of the construction in progress. A modern addition is the font as a reflecting pool with the water slowly pouring out of the four corners into floor drains and being recycled back.
After a short explanatory, we were on our own to wander about the cathedral and a bit of the town. Now that’s a town we could spend more time in to explore more!
Further posts about our Ancient Britain Tour:
Old Sarum
Wiltshire Flint
Stonehenge
White Horses
Silbury & West Kennet
Avebury
June 29, 2009 in Culture, History, Travel by Marja-Leena
I am thinking that that sort of tour, a small group with a congenial guide, would be the way to go for his sort of sightseeing.
Hattie, yes indeed, that’s what I thought when planning and researching this. I don’t like large groups and the other option of going it alone meant we would have had to rent a car to get to many of the out of way spots, deal with driving on the wrong side of the road and finding our way around. Places like Stonehenge are also very busy at times and a tour group gets ahead in line. If we did go back, we now know what to expect and what we’d like to revisit in more depth.
Wow! Lucky you! I love that facade. Makes me think of Zari-cloth, with its quilted patches of embroidery and mirrors — accreted rather than schemed.
Bill, yes, it’s amazing work. Thanks for dropping by, now I see you have a blog at long last and you’ve been very busy.
I’m very grateful and delighted to see your photographs and read more about your travels in England. The London pictures brought back a lot of old memories and the Salisbury Cathedral is gorgeous. I love the new font.
Susan, glad you are enjoying these and the old memories. Isn’t travel wonderful for that?
I am so looking forward to the next posts!
I am so pleased to see a William Pye piece used as a font in the cathedral. It has reminded me that it’s long past time I returned for a visit myself. You were blessed with the absence of scaffolding on your visit and could see the cathedral in all its magnificence.
William Golding lived in Salisbury and his novel The Spire is based on the cathedral. There is also a novel entitled Sarum, by Edward Rutherford which tells a rich sweeping historical story.
Mouse, my favourite parts are coming up!
Olga, actually there is scaffolding on the side to the left in the photo. Oh, I’ve just started reading Golding’s The Inheritors (about Neanderthals) recommended by another blogger, must get The Spire next. And I was going to mention Rutherford’s Sarum in my post on Old Sarum. I’d read it many years ago and loved it.
The canola yellow fields are devoted to the cultivation of rape, a source of oil for cooking. A lady from Massachusetts whom we were driving round asked what the crop was. When told she said: “I guess it would need another name in the States.” Sounds as if it might have got one in Canada.
The photos, text, and comments fill me with the delight of learning something new and interesting.
Barrett, isn’t rapeseed called canola everywhere now? Yes, the Canadians renamed it when they developed a better form from the original rapeseed. The name was derived from “Canadian oil, low acid” in 1978, according to wikipedia. I always think of Canada wherever I see it.
Rouchswalwe, thanks for reading and commenting so faithfully!
Loved visiting you! (here)
Thanks for the share
Hi Susan, thanks for visiting!
There is a splendid little book, his first, I think, by David McCauley: http://www.librarything.com/work/33021
The book is a multi-generational delight, appealing to both artist and writer in us.
I thought of it when i saw your picture of the cathedral under construction model.
I had forgotten about The Spire. I’m sure that you will enjoy both the Golding books for their precision as well as their settings. I enjoyed the vicarious visit to Salisbury in your company. It’s years since I have been there. The reflecting pool is new to me.
Peter, thanks for the excellent sounding book suggestion, it’s on my list now!
Joe, I’m glad you enjoyed this revisit. I’m certainly enjoying The Inheritors and look forward to reading The Spire sometime as well.
It’s such a pleasure reading something that has some personal connection in theme or place, isn’t it, Peter and Joe?
So happy to see these wonderful photos of a place I visited long ago but absolutely loved!
Beth, glad you enjoyed this. It’s been fantastic for me to at last see places such as this that I’ve long read and heard about in literature, history and from friends.
Your photos of Salisbury, Stonehenge and Old Sarum, reminded me of my honeymoon. Just the trip we took and loved every minute of it. Your photos are absolutely wonderful, so crisp and beautiful. You make me feel like going back to Salisbury
Hi Claude, I’m glad these reminded you of such a special time. What great places to visit on a honeymoon and to go back and revisit now, if you can. And thanks for the compliments on the photos, I’ll pass them on to my husband who took most of them during this trip.