After a short break at the hotel, we hopped on to our bus again and headed for our first travel destination in Paris… the Notre Dame (Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris).
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Stonehenge is one of the most mysterious places in England, probably around the world as well. I always wanted to visit Stonehenge; the rock formation has been on my must-visit list ever since I first learned about it on TV when I was around 5. Seems like my childhood dream came true.
Photo of the Stonehenge
The Stonehenge was first erected more than 5000 years ago and being re-modified (categorized into 3 phases in general) until the most recent at around 1600BC.
There are a number of hypothesis for Stonehenge, but nobody really knows who and why they built the monument. The stones are said to be arranged astrologically and the general belief is that it was built for worship purpose.
My sister who visited the site earlier had warned me that the stones are much smaller than expected… it’s true. Stonehenge isn’t as gigantic as I anticipated, but it’s still pretty huge though. Set the size aside; I was really glad that I was able to see Stonehenge with my own eyes, it was a wonderful feeling.
What I didn’t expect was that the location of Stonehenge is actually pretty close to a highway (you can see the cars from the site). Modern development vs. prehistoric monument… such irony.
I had never heard of Pulteney Bridge prior to the visit to Bath. According to our tour guide, the 18th century bridge is one of only four bridges in the world that has shop lots on both sides on the bridge.
Pulteney Bridge across River Avon
Photo of Bath Abbey
I grabbed a sandwich and found a bench just outside of the Bath Abbey’s West Front. They were some street performers playing musical instruments and doing some tricks at the small square; and a group of Japanese girls were there to show a short Japanese traditional dance too.
We were dropped nearby Bath Abbey and allowed our own free time. My first destination in Bath… the Roman Baths.
The Great Bath of Roman Baths
It took less than an hour for us to reach the City of Bath from Lacock. Bath looked splendid from distance with its unique yellowish architecture.
Our guide drove us around the city to see some places like the Royal Crescent and The Circus.
Most buildings in the city were built of limestone, which were originally yellowish (some said golden); but lots of the buildings looked dark and brownish because of the age and pollution.
The city was undergoing a massive restoration and cleaning during my visit in order to return the city to its yellowish appearance. Lots of roads were blocked because of this, and the traffic was pretty horrendous.
The Royal Crescent, a row of building that was built in an arch (crescent) shape. You can see from the pic that some parts of the building had been cleaned and looked more yellowish (the rest were darker)
Brief History of Bath
Bath is famous for its Roman baths which was built by the Romans during their occupation of Britain (43AD - 410AD).
Bath re-achieved its glory in the 17th century after Thomas Guidott published his work about the curative properties of the hot spring waters, which caught the attention of the country and the royals.
In the 18th and 19th century during the Georgian times, Bath was a resort city for the royals and the wealthy. Lots of the current Bath’s architecture was built during that period.
I joined a day tour to Bath and Stonehenge. The tour departed on 8am, on a Mercedes-Benz MPV, with a driver (who was also our guide), as well as 13 other tourists.
The driver stopped midway on the journey, and pointed us to a large horse-like figure, on a hill slope distance away.
Honestly I was blurred about what he said (something about chalk), as I never read or heard anything about that prior to seeing it. I only learnt later when I surfed online, that the ‘horse’ is Cherhill White Horse, or Oldbury White Horse.
Cherhill White Horse and Lansdowne Monument
Cherhill White Horse is one of the famous chalk figures that have been carved into hillsides in England; also known as hill figures.
The figures are usually created by clearing the grass and soil on the hillside, and exposed the bedrock which is normally white chalk, a form of limestone.
There are vary reasons for carving the figures; most of the white horses are believed to be carved as a symbol of good luck.
The age of the figures varied too, from as old as Bronze Age to as recent as the past century. The Cherhill White Horse that I was seeing was created in 1780.
The figures need to be maintained to stay visible; a major restoration was carried out on Cherhill White Horse in August 2002, involving re-cutting the outline of the horse, fixing shuttering to hold the chalk in place, and resurfacing the horse with 160 tonnes of fresh chalk. [reference]
Lansdowne Monument
Nearby the Cherhill White Horse is an obelisk, the Lansdowne Monument, which was erected in 1845 by the Third Marquis of Lansdowne to commemorate his ancestor, Sir William Petty. It’s said that the obelisk is the highest point between London and Bristol, interesting ain’t so? [reference]
Tower of London was already closing when I reached there (closes at 6pm, but last admission at 5pm). I was not disappointed though. I don’t know why but I am not fond of visiting the tower; some travel guides actually ranked Tower of London as the ‘must visit’ place ahead of Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge and Big Ben etc… but somehow I am just not interested.
A glimpse of the Tower of London
Note that the Tower of London is not really a tower; it’s more like a complex instead. It was first built as a fortress by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was named White Tower back then (some people still calling it this way).
The main attraction of the Tower of London is probably the Crown Jewels which have been kept in the tower since 1303; but the most interesting tale of the tower is perhaps the Tower Ravens…
According to legend, if the ravens left the tower, the White Tower would fall and a great disaster befall the Kingdom. Till these days, at least 6 ravens are kept within the tower compound at all time. [Reference]
Tower of London was also used at a prison for royals, nobles and religious dissidents in the past history. The tower is often referred as one of the most haunted places in London because of the large number of prisoners executed here.