Stonehenge and Old Sarum

Stonehenge is simultaneously breathtaking and disappointing. The construction of the stone circle is mind-boggling, yet the experience of seeing it feels more like standing in line than standing in awe. I wish I had walked all night through the rain to get there for the five a.m. druid ceremony where I could have actually walked among the stones. All trace of the druids was gone by the time I arrived, and instead I saw Stonehenge the way it really looks these days: 

I'm hardly going to have better pictures of Stonehenge than ones you've seen before, but I did take some that illustrate how calculated and deceptive the usual shots are. One has to aim strategically to avoid showing the massive highway in the background:

There was a proposal to make the highway a tunnel under the fields to preserve the peace and serenity of the area. Sadly, this motion was deemed too expensive, so any magic of the place is dispelled by the sound and sight of cars whizzing past. 

To give credit where credit is due, the guide on the bus ride there had interesting and informative commentary, and the audio guide that was part of the ticket was okay. The staff was very knowledgeable, and I had a long amiable chat with one of the English Heritage workers. 

I wandered about some of the nearby related sites, but they don't really look like much despite their archaeological significance. The bus then took us to Old Sarum, which was the perfect counterpoint to the let down. 

It is hard to do justice to the Iron Age hill fort that was occupied by everyone from the Romans to the Saxons to William the Conqueror and one of his cathedrals. This aerial photograph best captures the place's magnitude: 

The steep double-layer or earthen walls and ditches would have been nearly unassailable. 

There are the remains of a castle and a royal palace built by Henry I, which was used by Henry II to imprison his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. 

There are also the ruins of a cathedral's foundations. The cathedral was abandoned in favor of a new one built upon the banks of the Avon river. The town that sprung up around it was New Sarum, which eventually came to be known as Salisbury. 

Like the archbishop, I also went from here to Salisbury. I actually went inside of the Cathedral and revisited St. Thomas's church to actually look at the doom painting.  There was also a worthwhile museum with artifacts from both Stonehenge and Old Sarum. I had noticed that among the timber-frame buildings, most small towns in England had a small shop selling Warhammer figurines and hosting games. I was curious and had a staffer run me through a sample game. I'll stick with Dungeons and Dragons, which at its best is collaborative storytelling. War simulation is fairly interesting, but there doesn't seem to be much story to it, so I'll just watch a Peter Jackson film if I want to see armies of dwarves and orcs clash. Back at the hostel I cooked some pasta for myself and sat around frustrated at the internet not working. In the common room a woman asked if I would mind if she put on seven nations rugby, and was shocked when I told her -- in my American accent -- that I had played rugby in college.