Stonehenge and Bath

I could not come all the way across the Atlantic and live in London for three months without visiting Stonehenge. Yesterday we visited Stonehenge and Bath on a day trip that was organized by FIE and included in the program fee.

We started off our day at about 7:15 am, after getting dressed and packing our bags with all the necessary items: sweatshirt, umbrella, camera, extra lens, water bottle.  Those were the necessary things but of course there were extras in my bag to keep me entertained on the bus ride since FIE warned us that we might be stuck in awful rush hour traffic on our ride back.

Anyway, we left South Kensington at about 7:45 am.  From there we drove for 45 minutes to an hour, I honestly couldn't tell you exactly how long since I fell asleep.  Our tour guide began to give us some history about Stonehenge as we got closer.  When we finally got there it met all expectations and I was so eager to get out of the bus and walk around it.

According to our guide, only two-thirds of the stone is above ground.  Also, the top pieces are not just resting on top of the supporting stones, they are actually carved to fit the form of the to of the stone.

The audio guides that we received told us about the history and the theories behind why the circle is here, what it was used for, and why it is so different from other stone circles scattered across the UK.  However, what I remember most is that one theory is the Merlin brought the stones here as a memorial to British who were killed by the Saxons, on the order of King Ambrosius, brother of Uther Pendragon.

After we finished walking around Stonehenge, listening to the audio guide, taking photos, and stopping at the giftshop for a post card or two, we headed to Bath on the bus.  According to the guide, there is no easy way to Bath, just twisty back roads.  Luckily I didn't get car sick as I usually do.  Once we got there we went right into the Roman Baths and toured the museum.

British countryside from our drive back to London.

The Roman Baths, which were built to harness the healing powers of the natural hot spring that the complex sits on top of.

A secondary floor would have been on top of these tiles so that a furnace could push hot air under the floor and warm it.

The first thing I heard after exiting the Roman Baths was "Pinball Wizard", these two were extremely good at playing.

After we exited the Roman Baths we had time to eat and explore Bath for a few hours.  We found food, and did exactly that.  At one point we ended up at a small market.  They had everything from door knobs to flatware, to vintage cameras.  Finally we returned to the bus at about 3:00 pm and headed back to London.  Again we took some twisty roads with some great views, and I didn't get car sick!  Over all, a great day.