A Perfect Day in England

NOTE: Conveniently, what I'm writing about took place a year ago today (May 23), but Brenna and I journaled it, and I have long wanted to get it online so we could have the pics and the narrative together. This was part of our trip to Europe for our 10th anniversary. We stayed in Esher, England with my sister and her family. Days like this just don't come along very often. As recorded in our journal:

23 May, 2007 (Wednesday)

Today was a perfect day. The sun was shining all day, and we did amazing things.

First, we slept in until about 8:30 or so. Then we ate cereal for breakfast and hung out trying to decide what to do. Kelsey and Stephanie [my niece and her friend--both on a break from college] were coming with us today, and we all agreed we wanted to go to Stonehenge, but other than that we weren't really sure. Some wanted to go to Bath, some wanted to go to Salisbury, while I wanted to drive into the west country. Unfortunately, we realized we probably wouldn't have enough time to do those things because of the additional driving from Stonehenge. So we decided to simply play it by ear once we got to Stonehenge.

(Stephanie, Kelsey and Jesse showing off our ride)

We left the McGregors around 11:00 and arrived at Stonehenge around noon. It's an incredible sight to be driving along the road and come over a rise and see these stones in the distance.

(Stonehenge from a distance)

They don't look massive at first glance, but as you get nearer you see how large they truly are. We parked and got into the sight using Bryon's English Heritage membership card. We also got audio guides, which provided a very useful and informative accompaniment to the visit. The largest stone weighs 45 tons, and there is no consensus on how they were placed in their locations. However, it is believed that the henge was begun around 3500 BC with the large stones put in place some time between 3000 and 2500 BC. Pretty remarkable.

(Stonehenge up close. I know it's over used, but this really was awe-inspiring!)

There is something amazing about standing in proximity to those stones and absorbing the magnitude of the effort to place them where they are and for the intelligence and knowledge behind their placement. There was clearly knowledge of astronomy and the workings of earth's energy fields.

We all started chatting with the English Heritage employees who were on site, and we learned so much. They talked about the history of the site and the conservation of the stones. They showed us carvings of a dagger and an axe in the stones as well as where birds were nesting. They showed us where energy fields crossed (by using copper rods),
and we could just tell how much they loved their jobs and loved the history of the site.

(Kelsey & Brenna checking out the energy fields)

The back of the Stonehenge pamphlet mentioned a Wardour Castle that is within 20 miles of Stonehenge. We asked one of the guides about that, and she wrote down directions on how to get there for us. She was so helpful. It was great!

So we left Stonehenge and headed on a drive through the English countryside.

(Brenna enjoying some of that countryside)

(Jesse joining Brenna to enjoy the countryside)

The directions she had provided were impeccable. They led us directly to the castle, but not before we drove through the most sumptuous countryside. We saw sheep, cows, lakes, rivers, rolling hills, flowering trees, horses, thatched roof cottages, small towns, one lane roads, arches over the road and so many beautiful scenes. I absolutely loved the drive--it was remarkable!

(This arch was just a few miles before Tisbury on our way to Wardour. We turned onto this little road and saw the arch and accompanying wall in front of us and got the feeling we were about to enter some private gardens. The views on the other side and the tranquility of the tranquility of the scene were unforgettable.)

Wardour Castle itself was also an amazing site. It is a castle in ruins, but we were able to walk around inside, climb the steps to the upper tower and get a feel for what the castle was like. The audio guide was extremely helpful. Interestingly, there was a wedding at the castle while we were there. I asked the guides what you had to do to have a wedding there, and the answer was simply that you had to "pay loads of money!" Too funny! It was fantastic visiting the castle, and we took many, many photos.

(Brenna improving the Wardour scenery)

(Picnic @ Wardour--Jesse, Stephanie, Kelsey)

(Jesse in Wardour's main room/dining hall)

(Wardour's missing roof--with a beautiful sky)

We then got back in the car to head home. We drove through the town of Tisbury and stopped on High Street to get Magnum Ice Cream bars. Kelsey and Stephanie hadn't had them before, and they were well impressed.

(Jesse & Brenna enjoying Magnum bars)

We also stopped at the local church and wandered among the gravestones and admired the beauty of the building. Most of the gravestones were from the 1800s. The town was simply charming and gave a beautiful feeling to our day.

(The town of Tisbury in sepia)

(More sepia - Tisbury's church)

As we drove out of town we saw some men throwing a ball in a field. We slowed down to look and realized they were practicing cricket. Some were bowling the ball while others were batting. One of them turned and saw us slowing down so he motioned us to come play . . . and we did! I pulled in and told them we were Americans and didn't understand the game. They were only too happy to explain some of the fundamentals, and they invited me out onto the pitch to practice with them. It was so fun! I got to bowl a few times and catch the ball and get a few of the batters "out."

(Jesse practicing his bowling skills)

I thoroughly enjoyed being out there with them and asking questions about the sport, which they readily answered. There are 11 people a side with one bowler, one "catcher" (I can't remember the proper name) and nine in the field. The batting team sends two batters up at a time. When one gets out he is done for the innings and a teammate joins the other batter. You can get out by hitting a ball that is caught, by not making it to the far wicket on a live ball before the fielding team hits your wicket with the ball or by allowing the bowler to hit the wickets you are protecting. Pretty cool! Once ten of the batting team's players get out the innings is over.

(Jesse on the cricket pitch!)

After about 1/2 hour I thanked them, and we continued our journey. 1 1/2 hours later we were back at the Macs. What a wonderful day! I loved spending it with Brenna and enjoying her company. Our marriage is a blessing.