August weekend
Well, that's the end of the weekend, and what a busy weekend it proved to be, exploration and picnics with the children.
On Saturday we went to the nearby Savernake Forest, home to 1,000 year old oak trees. The Big Belly Oak is probably the oldest and it's rumoured that if one were to dance naked 12 times around the tree that the Devil himself would be summoned. Sadly, were I to dance naked anywhere I think the area would be vacated immediately, the Devil would hide his head in shame and I'd probably be carted off to the local loony bin (insane asylum)
After picnic food, snacks, dessert and an all essential cup of coffee we set off to explore a tiny portion of this ancient woodland. Sadly, the wildlife appeared to be hiding - although I did see a deer from the car when we were leaving. However, despite this lack of wildlife, everyone enjoyed themselves and the girls and I had a great game of hide and seek amongst the trees.
Sunday took us further afield. First we visited Stonehenge, the ancient stone circle that has its origins deep in the past, 3,000 yrs BC. Of course, we don't know really what it's purpose was but it is truly a magnificent and stunning piece of work, and testimony to the ingenuity of the people who moved stones (some weighing over 40 tons) hundreds of miles and then erected them in to the design we know today.
From there we drove to the lesser know Woodhenge. This dates back to 2300 BC. However, because it was comprised of wood, much less is known about the design or it's purpose and consequently, like Stonehenge, it remains shrouded in history. Because it's a lot less popular than Stonehenge - less to see so less attractive, we chose this as our location for our second picnic of the weekend. Again, standard picnic fayre of sandwiches and salad.
Moving on from Woodhenge, we went on a crop circle hunt. Wiltshire is home to a wide range of crop circles annually and Alison had heard of a particularly complex circle near Alton Barnes. This was actually a star shape with Aztec type marking on the inside. After a climb up a steep hill, we found a location which overlooked this complex design.
On the way home we passed through another ancient site, the stone circles of Avebury. En route to Avebury, we passed yet another design cut in to a cornfield. This was a more swirly pattern, but none the less interesting for that.
Avebury is the largest stone circle in Europe and pre-dates even Stonehenge. Even less is known of its purpose, but - like Stonehenge - it is believed to have some religious purpose.
After that, we took a leisurely drive home, in wonder and awe at the ancient history that lies on our doorstep. We often are so eager to explore exciting towns and cities that we are apt to overlook the history on our doorstep. The danger is that we see it every day (metaphorically speaking) and tend to take it for granted. With ancient sites like Stonehenge and Avebury comfortably less than 45 minutes from home, it is dangerous to make such assumptions. To do so would be to remain in ignorance of some of the most significant artifacts of ancient Britain.
On Saturday we went to the nearby Savernake Forest, home to 1,000 year old oak trees. The Big Belly Oak is probably the oldest and it's rumoured that if one were to dance naked 12 times around the tree that the Devil himself would be summoned. Sadly, were I to dance naked anywhere I think the area would be vacated immediately, the Devil would hide his head in shame and I'd probably be carted off to the local loony bin (insane asylum)
After picnic food, snacks, dessert and an all essential cup of coffee we set off to explore a tiny portion of this ancient woodland. Sadly, the wildlife appeared to be hiding - although I did see a deer from the car when we were leaving. However, despite this lack of wildlife, everyone enjoyed themselves and the girls and I had a great game of hide and seek amongst the trees.
Sunday took us further afield. First we visited Stonehenge, the ancient stone circle that has its origins deep in the past, 3,000 yrs BC. Of course, we don't know really what it's purpose was but it is truly a magnificent and stunning piece of work, and testimony to the ingenuity of the people who moved stones (some weighing over 40 tons) hundreds of miles and then erected them in to the design we know today.
From there we drove to the lesser know Woodhenge. This dates back to 2300 BC. However, because it was comprised of wood, much less is known about the design or it's purpose and consequently, like Stonehenge, it remains shrouded in history. Because it's a lot less popular than Stonehenge - less to see so less attractive, we chose this as our location for our second picnic of the weekend. Again, standard picnic fayre of sandwiches and salad.
Moving on from Woodhenge, we went on a crop circle hunt. Wiltshire is home to a wide range of crop circles annually and Alison had heard of a particularly complex circle near Alton Barnes. This was actually a star shape with Aztec type marking on the inside. After a climb up a steep hill, we found a location which overlooked this complex design.
On the way home we passed through another ancient site, the stone circles of Avebury. En route to Avebury, we passed yet another design cut in to a cornfield. This was a more swirly pattern, but none the less interesting for that.
Avebury is the largest stone circle in Europe and pre-dates even Stonehenge. Even less is known of its purpose, but - like Stonehenge - it is believed to have some religious purpose.
After that, we took a leisurely drive home, in wonder and awe at the ancient history that lies on our doorstep. We often are so eager to explore exciting towns and cities that we are apt to overlook the history on our doorstep. The danger is that we see it every day (metaphorically speaking) and tend to take it for granted. With ancient sites like Stonehenge and Avebury comfortably less than 45 minutes from home, it is dangerous to make such assumptions. To do so would be to remain in ignorance of some of the most significant artifacts of ancient Britain.
posted by andy at
2:19 AM
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