Day 5--Windsor Castle, Old Sarum Castle, and Stonehenge

As you know, when planning a trip, every choice you make takes away the option of choosing something else--time, energy, and money are all factors to be considered, but despite those barriers, we often seek to plan the "perfect trip."  I wanted to go to Stonehenge but didn't think it was something that the majority of our group would want to do.  It required a long drive outside of London and there were still things that we didn't do actually in the city of London.  But when someone mentioned that they wanted to see Windsor Castle, I jumped right on that because I had seen that they were often combined in day tours.

It turned out great and I think the drive in the countryside was an additional bonus as we learned more about England outside of just London.  I highly recommend it.

Our guide was Jay/James (we couldn't quite catch his name) and he was an archaeologist by profession, but began being a tour guide in the busy season to spend more time at home with his wife and children.  Although he had an annoying habit of constantly asking if we needed to use the bathroom, he was smart and taught us so much about the history of the peoples who settled in England and the ways of village life.

Our first stop was the Windsor Castle.  This castle is the oldest and largest castle still being used by a royal family in the world.  They say that the Queen spends most of her private weekends here and it is her favorite place to be. 39 kings and queens of England have made it their home.  Of course the tours are in other parts of the castle which is very large and the grounds include a church as well as home for over 200 people (if I remember the information correctly) who serve in the castle, the grounds, and surrounding buildings.

I will be the first to admit that I do not get the whole royalty thing and how it even continues to exist in developed countries on any level.  Regardless, the amount of detail and tribute to the past that is found within this castle and many other buildings is impressive.  In general, we Americans don't live with history in quite the same way as other cultures.  Both because we are relatively new as a country but also because we were started as and even today exist as a place of immigrants leaving the past behind for a new future.  (Of course there is also that dark side that we trampled the existing life and history of peoples here, but that is a topic for another day.)  Growing up on the west coast and traveling mostly there, I don't think I saw anything man-made over a hundred years old.  Windsor Castle was built in 11th century by WIlliam the Conqueror.

Views of the castle and the surrounding buildings:

The changing of the guard at Windsor Castle

Leaving the castle, our guide proposed that we not go to the city of Bath as originally planned for the day, but head to an ancient site of the Old Saren Castle.  His reasoning was that Bath would add a considerable length of time in driving, but also the city itself and the famous Baths would be difficult to navigate with the wheelchairs.  I had also heard that as well and we had decided prior to just enjoy the city as we could as others had told us how cute the town was.

However, we were open to his suggestions and headed instead through the countryside south of London, first to a village to have lunch at a pub, and then to see the Old Saran Castle.

through the window of the van
English countryside

A village along the way

Where we had lunch:

They had fun signs everywhere.  Here are a couple:

Here be dragons--Fearless Team Members only
We would say:  Staff only

The outside of the pub

Some English roads are a bit narrow, so it was surprising to see this large truck trying to make his way down the road.

The Old Sarum Castle:

Located on the top of the only hill in miles in any direction, the castle was first started to provide a place for the local people to seek refugee in times of war or conflict with neighboring peoples.  Its height allowed a way to seek the dangers and protect themselves in war.  Overtime, the people decided to live there full time and began building a complete city on the top of the hill.  It started as home for about 400 people, but overtime it grew to over 10,000 people and began a very dangerous and dirty place to live.

In time, it was completely destroyed and rocks from the church and the castles were all removed and used to build the church in Salisbury to the south where the people were relocated.  Check the internet for more information if you are interested.  I can remember a few not so pleasant stories that we learned but don't feel a need to repeat them in my family blog.

The countryside to the north:

Gary climbing over the stile:   (I have read this word in many books set in England or in frontier America but don't remember ever seeing an example.  It was fun to see and use one.)

Portion of the old castle remaining.  As I mentioned all of the rocks that could be removed were used to build a city to the south.  What is left are the cement and mortar and rocks too cemented in to be removed by the tools and labor of the day.

Overview of the west of the hill and the foundation of the church on the site

Planted on the site near that wall was this pretty bush--I don't think I have ever seen something quite like this.  Do you know what type of bush this is?

The foundation of their Church

The town of Salisbury.  We could see the spire of the church which had been rebuilt using the rocks from the castle and old church, but it doesn't show well in this photo.

Walking along the southern edge of the fort wall.

Gary's mom was with us, but enjoyed the view from the base of the property rather than walking the walls.

Then it was off to Stonehenge:  Our driver stated that there is nothing mystical about Stonehenge or the almost 2000 stone circles around the world.  They were simply places where ancient men gather to engage in worship of whatever God their culture worshipped.  For the most part, it was the sun, moon, and other aspects of nature who were the focus of their worship.

At the visitor's center they had a small village set up like they believe the people lived back when Stonehenge was started. Life was very hard for these people.  Yet they went to extraordinary lengths to build this stone circle to their god.  To learn more you can check the internet.  This is one great link: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history-and-stories/history/

I don't even know what to say about this experience.  Our guide indicated that people's fascination with Stonehenge was due to British marketing.  They have filled the world with images of Stonehenge and created a need for people to travel from everywhere to see it.  He said that there are bigger stone circles, older ones, and more unique ones in England and other European countries--a couple even nearby--but rarely are they seen or spoken about.  Of course, Hollywood and other movie producing countries have often used this site in movies as well which have added to its fame.

Oh, well--perhaps it was a British marketing tool to get more tourists and more money, but it still was quite amazing.

These rocks are put together by making a hole in the upper rock that can the lower rock can settle into, much like a lego block fits into another one.

Different views of Stonehenge as we made the walk around the whole thing.  It is fenced so that you can not get any closer to the stone.

These peoples did not have any metals or even the use of a wheel when they gather these two types of rocks to this location.  The enormous saren stones were thought to come from about 25 miles away and weighed about 25 tons or more each.  The smaller bluestones are thought to have come from Wales a distance of 125 miles.  They weight about 8-10 tons if I remembered correctly.

And as a believer in the one True God and part of a temple building people, I understand the willingness to sacrifice all to build a tribute to worship your God.

We headed back to London as dusk was falling and enjoyed dinner at a restaurant suggested by our guide before heading home in a taxi and again falling to bed after doing a bit of packing and getting ready to leave London the next day.  The other thing I did was write my first set of postcards to be mailed to my kids and grandkids.  We were not buying souvenirs but I wanted to share the trip with my grandchildren to instill in them a love of people, countries, and history.  No matter what you ended up doing as a person and human--loving those things can help you understand so much about the world and the people you share the planet with.

A side note:  Although we were expecting that we could text while in Europe, we were unable to get that to work despite Gary's time on the internet and with the help desk of T-mobile.  So each night on the wifi at the hotels, I would send my kids a collection of photos from the day--usually 15-25 each night--to keep them informed of our travels.  They said they loved it so I hope that is true.  I told them they won't have to read the blog since they got that daily update.

Our days in London were ending and we were preparing for our next stop!

Day Four--London City tour

After breakfast, we met our guide, Marina, and headed off for our official tour of London.  This was a combination walking and taxi tour which started at the Westminster Abby, Big Ben, Parliament Building, St. James Park, Horse Guard Parade area and ended with the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.

Westminster Abby--pictures were not allowed inside, but it is quite amazing inside.  I did not realize that many famous people in addition to many kings and queens were buried inside the building.  It includes poets, famous scientists, writers, etc.

 A central garden inside the grounds of the building

The choisers...there were purposes set aside for each of the wings of the buildings for pray, etc.

After leaving the Abby we headed down to Buckingham Palace but didn't get there in time for the changing of the guard.  We stepped into St. James Park which had great views of the palace in one direction and the Horse Guard hall in the opposite direction.

Everywhere in the skyline you can see cranes as things are being built or restored everywhere you look.

Black swans in the lake

Group shot from the bridge looking towards Buckingham Palace.

Years--many years ago..some one gave a gift of pelicans to the royal family and they have lived in this area since that time.

Our guide teaching us some history of the Horse Guard area of town.

These building are all so details and beautiful in their own way--

The parade grounds for the Horse Guard.

Heading to Downing Street--

The Grey building is #10 Downing Street the home of the Prime Minister of England.

A typical London street--our guide told us that you must keep the outside looking the same whenever you remodel.  Most of these places have been made into flats rather than remaining as one family homes.  Housing is very expensive in London.

We past an usual group of protesters--not sure what their message was because they had no signs and did not speak as they passed down the street.  Up the street there was another protest group which was protesting Brexit.

Again, a shot of the details in the old buildings and arches.

That is Big Ben in the background wrapped in scaffolding.  It is being restored currently.  Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the tower, but became the name for the whole tower after years of references.

We had a bit of a problem getting taxis so when we finally got one--four of us got in with the two wheelchairs and headed to the Tower of London and left Gary and our guide to wait for another taxi.  They actually headed for the tube and made it to the Tower before we did.  We had a quick lunch and then headed for our tour of the Tower of London.

Again the contrast between the old and the new as seen from the walls of the Tower of London.

They kept wild animals in the tower--often gifts from colonies or foreign guests.  Many of them died because they had no idea at the time how to keep elephants or monkeys alive in their climate.  One animal that did well was a polar bear who was chained up with a long chain but allowed to swim daily in the River Thames right outside the wall.

More guards at the Tower of London--I assume they were changing positions at this time as well because of the pomp and ritual of their march.

We were able to see the Crown Jewels of the royal family which are stored and guarded well here.  No pictures were allowed.  These is a working collection meaning that the crowns and other items we saw are used by the royal family for important events.

Ravens are a part of the scenery in the tower as they house about 30 ravens in the area.

A view of the Tower Bridge:

We had our first rain (and only rain of the entire trip during the day) while we were in the Tower of London.  Seemed like a fitting place since many terrible things happened there.  We stepped in and bought some ponchos since our rain jackets were at the hotel, of course.

We sent Mom Hall and Vonette back to the hotel by taxi and the rest of us headed for a walk across the Tower Bridge.

 A sign on the way--does it make you want to stop and buy a hot dog?

The railing of the bridge

Our group photo moment--

Again, you see the mixing of the old and the new:

The view of the tower from the other side of the River Thames:

We had figured out that we could make it to the King's Cross Railroad station on the Tube with the wheelchair, so after crossing the bridge and saying good bye to our guide, we headed underground for another Tube adventure.  For those who haven't read Harry Potter or have forgotten key landmarks, King's Cross station is a real London spot that is featured in the books as the place where Harry Potter and the other students leave to get to Hogwarts.

I wouldn't call myself a huge Harry Potter fan, but I do love trains and spy movies and I would guess that this station has been featured in a few of them.  It was a gorgeous building.

I thought it was ironic that the Harry Potter "spot" was not located in the old part of the station, but in the newer side.

And for true Harry Potter fans, there it is:  Platform 9 3/4

And here is the line waiting to get pictures in from of the sign with some cute props they had.  This was just on a Monday afternoon.

You can see the trunks and scarf that they used for the pictures.

So we stepped to the side and got a picture of Gary K with the Platform 9 3/4 behind him...not quite as fun as using the props they had but better than an hour+ wait for your turn.  They also have a Harry Potter store next to here and Gary K was able to buy somethings including a chocolate frog.

We then got on the train and headed back to the West Side Mall stop that we had used the night before.

Close-ups of the "growing" walls-

After another great dinner at the mall where we had eaten before (and the sweet potato fries were still excellent!), we walked back to our hotel to find Mom and Vonette playing cards in Mom's hotel room.  We were all too tired by that point to join in and headed to our own rooms and fell asleep.  Touring and jetlag can wear a person out!