Jenn
and I had visited before on her first trip to England, and although we were happy
and excited to be there, they now have it set up so that you can’t get close to
the stones (for me it would have made all the difference in the world to touch
them). Set upon the Salisbury plain, it
was on our way and therefore a must stop.
The thought of how the stones were moved here is still a mystery, as
well as knowing why it was done. But it
is a must see for any visitors. However,
this visit I didn’t pay to enter and got my pictures from the road. Dave and I got back on the road and headed
down to Salisbury.
Salisbury
is noted for its cathedral, with the tallest church spire (over 400 feet),
largest cloister and cathedral close (the area enclosed around the cathedral from
support buildings) in the UK. It also
has a surviving copy of the Magna Carta (worth the trip to see this piece of
history by itself). Salisbury Cathedral
(officially known as the Cathedral of Saint Mary) recently celebrated the 750th anniversary of its consecration. Dave and I found parking outside the center
of the city, and walked in the High Street gate to visit. Dave and I walked around the close (it really
was big), and were disappointed that two CAMRA recommended pubs were not open
yet. We went to the Queen’s Arms of
Elizabeth (a 16th Century Public House) for lunch, splitting a
ploughman’s, while enjoying a Flack Double Drop (a proper English Bitter) and a
Flack Catcher (a Golden Ale) by Flack Manor brewery in nearby Romsey. We then made our way back to the cathedral
for the tour. I loved the inside,
especially with a group of singers practicing for a concert. The acoustics in these medieval marvels is
impressive, I wish Jenn was here so that she could share the experience with
me. We stopped for Tetley’s Gold by the
River Avon at the King’s Head Inn on our way out, remaking on our journey so
far. But we had another stop to make, so
we got on the road and headed over to Windsor Castle.
Windsor is conveniently situated near to Heathrow, so it
took away my trepidation on getting back to the airport and returning the
car. Garmin took me the long way around
for parking, but we made it to the castle safe and sound. We were there a little too late for the tour,
but there were a couple of nice pubs nearby that we popped in to. The first was the Carpenter’s Arms which was
very busy, and the next was the Horse & Groom (http://www.horseandgroomwindsor.co.uk/). Both places were full of history, located
right next to Windsor Castle. I got a
St. Austell Nicholson’s Pale Ale (it was a Nicholson pub after all) at eh Arms
and a Windsor & Eton Knights of the Garter at the Horse & Groom. We didn’t get any food, but my folks ate at
the Horse & Groom a few weeks later and loved the fish & chips. Dave even could have made a friend there, but
they went separate ways when we departed.
We walked down to the river and back, trying to get the best view, but
it was getting to be dinner time and we stopped in at Pasta Di Piazza for a change
of pace and a pasta meal that was awesome (and no beer for this stop!). It was a great pit stop, but we needed to get
to the airport and turn in the car.
It
was a good day of travel, and we got back to the airport without incident. That was until I tried to return the car to Enterprise. Beware, in the UK there is a deposit taken by
the rental car companies, and Enterprise is notorious for creating issues so
they can keep their deposit (like those nasty landlords in college). In this case, it was a 2mm gash in the tire
that cost me (actually my company covered it) ~$150. The ironic part was this was my first visit
when I didn’t hit any curbs that
might cause the damage. Here’s a
picture, you can be the judge. – 6324/13995
“It is better to think of church in the alehouse then to think of the alehouse in church.” – Martin Luther
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