Holidays in south-west England August 08 to 22, 2009
Sunday August 16
We're in Wiltshire now.
Our first stop was Avebury, a prehistoric stone circle much larger than Stonehenge, but less visible because this village sits right in the middle of it. (Thanks Google.)

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Of 180 stones there are only about 50 left standing, so they put up markers for visitor to better visualise the circle.
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Nearby Silbury Hill is closed to the public (unless you're a sheep) because of erosion. Already in the past, several tunnels were dug in by more or less competent arcaheologists, and the hill almost collapsed.
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And finally we're back at Stonehenge. When you've seen it on photographs, you're a bit disappointed at first, because it really is wedged in between two roads, one running alongside it, the other a few metres away. We didn't pay to go in as you get just the same view (and photos) through or over the fence.
At least they have the sense to not let people get right next to the stones.
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This is Salisbury. It has a cute old town and of course a famous cathedral.
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At least parking is cheaper on Sundays...
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But I shouldn't complain. In the Chapter House of the cathedral they expose one of only four remaining intact originals of the Magna Carta, and it's completely free. There isn't even a queue, only a no photography sign. (And that's perfectly justified.) That's very cool.
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About 3 miles north of Salisbury ar the ruins of Old Sarum. This was an old settlement where first iron age people lived and then the Romans built a fort, before William the Conqueror came and built a castle there. The place commands an outstanding (and strategic) view of the plains. William also had a cathedral built there, but later (1219) the soldiers and the clergy didn't get on and so the clergy decided to build a new cathedral some miles down on church land, and a market town to finance it. Thus was born Salisbury. Sarum was abandoned not much later.
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This is Woodhenge - reconstructed, obviously. The wooden columns were higher, and the colours serve to differentiate the circles (see the plaque).
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Two of a small herd of White Horses, scattered across the area. Left is the Pewsey one, from 1937, right the Cherhill one from 1780.
We saw some more later.
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