Stone age England

After I returned to England, mom and I went for a long weekend to Bournemouth on the south coast in September. On one day out we called in to the Badbury rings, an iron-age fort. This is thought to be the site of King Arthur's successful Mount Badon battle. There are lots of other interesting folk lore about the place too. It's a crossing point of several Roman roads, so may have been important even into Roman times.

On our way back from Bournemouth to Birmingham, we stopped at Stonehenge, Woodhenge and Avebury. What a day that was!

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Stonehenge and Woodhenge

Stonehenge is one of the most amazing places imaginable. Despite all the tourists (on a freezing cold day at 10 in the morning, there were still lots), the fences and car park, it still has its mystery. The first time I saw Stonehenge was in heavy mist sometime back in the sixties, when it just welled up out of the fog. This year was a clear, if cloudy, day, heavy cloud lowering over the stones on the bleak uplands. The power of the stones, although very mixed up with all the various groups going there and making all kinds of mischievous magic, is still very apparent. It gave me a headache!

Not far from Stonehenge, is Woodhenge. An all together different kind of place. All that is left of this, once wooden circle, were the traces of the wooden posts in the ground. These they have replaced with concrete place markers. I had the place to myself. As I stood before the place of the altar, I could feel that this was a special place. If you have ever heard of "ley" lines, well I can assure you that Woodhenge is a place where many of these meet. In China these are called Fung Shui, the back of the dragon. They are natural power directions within the earth. Connecting with that power at Woodhenge cleared the headache I got at Stonehenge!

Avebury

As I approached Avebury, by the ridge they call the Sanctuary, I knew I was coming into a very special place. Avebury is one of the largest megalithic sites anywhere (except perhaps Carnac). It's certainly the largest in Britain and the largest circle anywhere. There's a whole village inside the ring! There are extra rings inside the ring, and nearby is Silbury hill, the largest artificial hill of its kind.

 Mom and I had a picnic lunch in the shadow of Silbury. Then we went off to see what the rest of it was all about. We parked in the car park for the village, and walked over the fields and the outer ramp to the village and stones. On a quiet day, you can park in village if you are lucky. This would probably be a good idea really out of season if the ground is muddy or icy, for example.