Yesterday began as a normal workday, with me manning the desk in an overly quiet library. Many of the students are out this week on class trips, so there's not a lot to do in terms of checking out books. I sat most of the morning reading "Station Eleven" (which is excellent, by the way).
But then a colleague asked if I knew anyone who might want to see Stonehenge. Apparently some of the students who had signed up for a field trip were suddenly unable to go, so there were spare tickets. And it wasn't just a visit to Stonehenge -- it was an evening trip billed as "Sunset at Stonehenge" which included walking among the stones.
I went to Stonehenge many years ago but usually visitors aren't permitted to go near the structure. They can only walk a paved path around its perimeter. So being able to approach the stones and see them up close was especially enticing, and after some deliberation I decided to seize the moment. After all, what else did I have to do? Read my book, then go home and watch "Seinfeld"? My fellow librarians agreed to cover the desk for the afternoon while I tagged along on the field trip.
Stonehenge, which is more than 4,000 years old, is about a two-hour drive from London -- but we had our own bus, so getting there wasn't hard. The sunset didn't quite pan out, as the sky was gray, and as the light faded it got incredibly cold out there on the windswept Salisbury Plain. I was dressed for the library, not an outdoor expedition!
But still, I'm so glad I went. Here's a little video I made so you can share the experience:
I didn't get home until about 9:30 p.m., and Dave was out as well, conducting a student concert. So Olga was lying on the couch all evening, surely wondering where we were (and where her dinner was). Her dog walker had come and gone that afternoon, though, so she was fine and was excited to see us when we finally arrived.
Before I went to bed I brought in our more tender plants. Now, as I type this, it's just above freezing.
76 comments:
Is touching permitted? I would love to lay a hand on one of the stones, just to feel. I can see the weathering, but still hope they will be standing long after man has gone.
No, we were told not to touch them. I think maybe touching could harm the lichen, which is protected.
This was an exciting surprise for us, too. Thank you for the video. And the close-ups of the stones.
In the mid 60s I spent a school holiday with my grandparents (boarding school). My grandmother took me to Stonehenge and back then there was no car park, no barriers, no tourists, nothing. I wish I had realised then how privileged I was to be able to get up close and just walk around them and absorb their magnificence.
I wish I'd been able to do a day trip there while in London long ago...Thanks for the video, and stay warm.
How wonderful to wander freely among the stones just as I did in 1960 with my family. You did exactly the right thing - seizing the moment even if you did freeze your nuts off.
Oh what luck! I would have loved to join you on your trip to Stonehenge.
Great video.
If you want to go for a similar day trip back to neolithic times, I recommend Avebury and nearby Silburry Hill.
My partner first visited Stonehenge when you could still feely wander around the stones, and put a mark on them if you desired. It is now as you say and as we experienced three years ago, very regimented. Still, well worth visiting.
I'll watch the video later when I can have sound on.
You were so fortunate!
I visited about fifty years ago or more..
Touch the stones and you feel the energy...you can do that at Avebury by the way.
How cool to be able to walk among the stones!!
Sidenote: I am scouring my bookshelves because i think I've read Station Eleven. So far, though, I haven't found the book.
Did 'Tess of the Durbervilles' come to mind as you wandered around the stones. One of my favourite books.
Briony
x
What a treat, thanks for sharing with us.
Outstanding video and perfect score to accompany it! As a fan of the series Outlander, stone circles now take up an even larger share of my imagination than they did before, so this was a real treat for me.
Well that was a nice bit of serendipity!
In my trips to England, I've had a couple opportunities to see Stonehenge and have passed them by in favor of other places. I knew that I wouldn't able to walk among the stones and there just didn't seem much benefit over what I have read and the millions of pictures I have seen of the structure. But given an opportunity to walk among the stones, I would go see it.
That video is terrific! I love the music and the notations you added. The views of all of the stones up close were amazing! I am so glad you got to go there and thanks so much for the video.
Never turn down an opportunity like seeing Stonehenge.
That was wonderful to watch, Steve. I know I'll never see Stonehenge, so this video is as close as I will get. Thank you for taking the journey.
What an excellent video Steve. What an excellent opportunity, as well! It was on my to-do list, but it did not get done. Next visit, for sure!
ps: What is the letters? Unfortunate graffiti?
I agree with everyone else ... I will never get to see Stonehenge in person, so you offered the next best thing in a lovely, personal way!
Thank you! ❤️
Oh my gosh, you are so lucky! I would love to walk among the stones like that. I LOVED your video, it's fantastic. I don't recall the little village from when I was there in 2016 but it might have been there. I loved your close-up shots of the lichens and carvings. That's something you don't get to see when you have to stay on the path. I can almost feel how cold it must have been. Both times I visited there, It was very cold and very windy.
I have always wanted to visit Stonehenge and have never gotten around to it (or, if I do get there, I would have to say I had never “got” around to it). Sorry you were chilled, but what a great experience. Thanks for the much closer look!
I've missed out on Stonehenge in all three of my trips to England. I'd like to see it one day. What a lovely video, very atmospheric!
What a great opportunity for those kids and I'm glad you decided to join them! I really enjoyed your video, so thanks for putting that together. My first trip to Stonehenge was back in the free range days when visitors could walk among the stones. It still fascinates me.
Loved that video, your video skills are very good and love the music. I was at Stonehenge once, many, many years ago. I liked it but was so disappointed to see the highway and lorries driving by. We couldn't go near the stones either so your video filled that gap for me.
What a gift to get a trip to Stonehenge. Thanks for the video, we'll probably never get there.
Good video tour of Stonehenge. I've been fascinated by it for many years and still wonder how it was accomplished.
What Allison said.
I regret not making a pilgrimage to Stonehenge when we lived in England.
We visited on our honeymoon, but like so many others, not 'up close'. You were brave stepping through them since rumor has it that if you do this at the 'right' time you risk being whisked back in time some couple of hundreds of years! :)
Oh Steve, that's wonderful. I've never been there before and always been intrigued but also a bit turned off by knowing I couldn't get close. You're so lucky to have had tat opportunity! Thank you for taking the video. I did feel like I was there -- terrific music selection. They look so much bigger when you seen them with a person walking by. Massive. I appreciate the details and excellent editing! (And thanks for stopping by the blog today!)
thank you so much for the video! You are the luckiest guy I know! That little trip just landed in your lap like magic. Great video!
How cool is that! That you got to walk among them.
Thanks!
That is SO cool! Well worth the chilly visit, I think!
It's also cool that anyone can pick up any rock and it's as old as the earth. I mean, we're not just manufacturing rocks someplace; they're all originals :)
Wow, what an unexpected delight (despite the weather)! Thank you for taking us along with you - the video made me feel like I was right there too.
Chris from Boise
A little surprise can be a good thing!
There's an exhibit in the visitor's centre of historic family photographs taken at Stonehenge, and they show people sitting on the rocks, thinking nothing of it! I guess all the rules about crowd control and not touching the rocks are relatively recent.
I'm glad you could visit with me virtually!
Well, not OFF...
Yes! Avebury has been on my list for some time. I'll get there one of these days.
Apparently the existing graffiti goes back not just decades but centuries -- some of it from the 1700s.
OK, good to know! It's on my list!
Hmmmmm...did you get it from your friendly neighborhood library? :)
I have never read that book! Does it mention Stonehenge?
You're welcome!
I'm not familiar with the Outlander series, but stone circles are inherently mystifying and intriguing, aren't they?
It was, though I had to talk myself into going. I'm glad I did!
It's pretty amazing even if you're just walking the perimeter as we did on our first visit. There's a sculptural beauty to it.
Glad you liked it!
That's what I decided, too!
Well I'm glad I could bring it to you!
The letters in the close-up are graffiti from centuries ago -- the 1600s or 1700s. The guide said no one is sure what the message means, though. It's two sets of three letters each, separated by colons and followed by more letters spelling out something like DXFERRE.
Glad you enjoyed it, Marcia!
The village would be easy to miss -- it's off to the side of the visitor centre and museum. But it may not have been there in 2016. I'm not sure.
Well, it's not going anywhere, Mitchell, so there's still an opportunity! I think there may be stone circles in Spain too? Or Portugal?
You have to want to get there. It's in the middle of nowhere in Wiltshire.
It's cool that you got to see it when access was easier!
My video "skills" are entirely self-taught and mostly a tribute to the ease of using iMovie. :)
It IS a shame that the highway is so close. We talked about that too. I think there's a plan to put it underground through a tunnel, but some are opposed because that could disturb undiscovered archaeological evidence.
Glad you enjoyed it!
It IS pretty amazing. The tour and museum included explanations of how it was probably built. They seem more certain about all that now than they did when I was a kid.
And what I told her! :)
It's still here, waiting for you!
That doesn't sound like such a bad thing, actually. I'd miss the dog, though.
I'm glad the video helped you experience the size of the stones. They ARE amazing. The guide told us that at the site where they were quarried, one was found with a skeleton beneath it. Evidently it had toppled over on someone as it was being cut. Dangerous work!
It WAS quite magical and unexpected!
I was disappointed when I visited the first time and couldn't do so, so this made up for it!
You're welcome! :)
It IS mind-boggling when you think about it -- the age of these mundane objects that surround us!
Glad you enjoyed it! (And you got to stay warm!)
I am too!
I'm fairly certain I bought it, and read it while visiting my Dad. I may have left it there!
This must have been so exciting for you. I enjoyed the video. Hugs, Edna B.
Would Give Anything For A Little Couch Time With Olga Girl - Hope You And Mr Dave Enjoyed The Performance And That Light Prism Was Radicle For Sure - Be Well Mr Reed
Cheers
Oh, Steve! Thank you for showing us the video. It looks glorious.
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