Skip to main content
search
Tag

stone circle

The Stonehenge Adventure (Part 3) – Stonehenge and Woodhenge

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, PaganismNo Comments

This is the third and final part of my adventure to see Stonehenge and other ancient sites nearby with my good friend Simon. In part 1 I blogged about Avebury Stone Circles. In part 2 I blogged about Glastonbury, The Chalice Well and the city of Wells. In this part I will blog about Stonehenge and Woodhenge.

Stonehenge is perhaps the most well known and one of the oldest stone circles in the world. It is not only a World Heritage Site but also 1 of the 7 Wonders of the World.

Stonehenge is managed by English Heritage and the on-site Visitor Centre includes an exhibition, reconstructed neolithic houses, audio guide handsets, a cafe and gift shop.

Stonehenge its self is a short bus ride away from the visitor centre and busses are provided as part of the admission price (as is access to the exhibition, access to neolithic houses and use of audio guides). The stones themselves are roped off, not allowing the thousands of visitors per day to get too close. Here are some photos:

stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-0

An illustration of how they think ancient man moved the Stonehenge stones from Wales to England.
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-1

A hut ancient man lived in whilst building Stonehenge (1).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-2

A hut ancient man lived in whilst building Stonehenge (2).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-3

Examples of pottery that ancient people would have had.
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-4

Examples of tools that ancient people would have had.
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-5

Stonehenge (1).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-6

Obligatory Stonehenge Selfie.
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-7

Stonehenge (2).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-8

Stonehenge (3).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-9

Stonehenge (4).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-10

Stonehenge (5).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-11

Stonehenge (6).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-12

Stonehenge (7).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-13

Stonehenge (8).
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-14

A crow opening its beak and cawing to try and get food from tourists.
stonehenge-adventure-stonehenge-15

Stonehenge Merchandise: Stonehenge as it would have looked in a tin.

Essential Info

  • Stonehenge is the remains of an ancient stone circle. The site includes a Visitor Centre which includes: exhibition, reconstructed neolithic houses, audio guide handsets, a cafe, toilets and gift shop.
  • Highly Recommended.
  • Opening Times: For opening times click here.
  • Admission Price: £18.20 (with gift aid) and £16.50 (without gift aid).
  • Parking: Free on-site.

Woodhenge is a series of concrete posts in the ground where the poles of wood that made up Woodhenge would have been. Simon and I both felt that the site, managed by English Heritage, was a missed opportunity to recreate Woodhenge, restoring it to its forma glory. Here are some photos of Woodhenge:

stonehenge-adventure-woodhenge-0

Concrete stones representing where the poles of Woodhenge would have been.
stonehenge-adventure-woodhenge-1

A burial of a baby at the centre of Woodhenge. Nothing is known about the baby or reason for burial.


Essential Info

  • Woodhenge is a series of concrete posts in the ground where the poles of wood that made up Woodhenge would have been.
  • Recommended.
  • Opening Times: Any reasonable time during daylight hours.
  • Admission Price: Free.
  • Parking: Plenty of free parking on the street.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Saturday 24 June 2017

The Stonehenge Adventure (Part 1) – Avebury Stone Circles

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, PaganismNo Comments

At the weekend my good friend Simon and I went on an adventure to see Stonehenge and other ancient sites nearby. Throughout the weekend it was gloriously sunny and hot. It was so hot that being the car was like being in an oven. Our first stop was at Avebury Stone Circles.

Avebury is a series of three stone circles, one large one with two others within it. The outer stone circle spans the size of a village. Here are some photos:

stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-0

The Dovecote – Built in the 16th century to house doves (or pigeons) which were kept as food.
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-1

Avebury outer stone circle stones (1).
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-2

Avebury outer stone circle stones (2).
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-3

Entrance to inner stone circle.
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-4

The Sanctuary an inner stone circle (from a distance).
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-5

The Sanctuary entrance stones.
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-6

The Sanctuary stone circle.
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-7

A stone nicknamed The Crown, because of its likeness to one.
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-8

An outer stone (to show the size of the stones.)
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-9

A photo of me with an outer stone (to show the size of the stones.)
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-10

The wishing trees.
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-11

Ribbons and other things tied on to the wishing trees.
stonehenge-adventure-avebury-stone-circles-12

Sheep in the shade under a tree.

Avebury stone circles were amazing. I felt the tingling of energy on my head and fingers as I entered and left the boundary of the outer stone circle. It felt like static electricity.

Essential Info:

  • A series of three stone circles (managed by English Heritage), museum, manor house and garden (managed by The National Trust).
  • Highly recommended.
  • Admission Fees & Opening Times: The stone circles are free entry and open at any reasonable time in daylight hours. For the museum, manor house and gardening admission prices and opening times click here.
  • Car Parking: Charged at around £4.00.
  • Gift shops: There are two gift shops. The first is a National Trust one. The second is a private gift shop that is extortionately over priced and makes the National Trust shop look cheap in comparison.

In Part 2 of The Stonehenge Adventure, I’ll be blogging about our stay in a Travelodge, the pagan commercial mecca which was Glastonbury, the beautiful Chalice Well and the city of Wells.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Monday 19 June 2017

Samhain 2013: Castlerigg Stone Circle

By PaganismNo Comments

For Samhain this year a friend and I visited Castlerigg Stone Circle in Cumbria. Here are some photo collages, click on any of them for the full size image:


Castlerigg Photo Collage 1

Castlerigg Photo Collage 2 Castlerigg Photo Collage 3

Blog soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Saturday 2 November 2013

Visiting: Ancient Anglesey

By Adventures, Friends & Family, HistoryOne Comment

About a month ago Chrys, Simon and I had planned to stay over at Anglesey at Chrys’ caravan for the weekend. Unfortunately Chrys was ill and unable to make it, but she kindly let Simon and I borrow her caravan. Simon had often spoke about his love of Anglesey before and it’s ancient pagan roots. So I let Simon be my guide.

First we visited an ancient burial chamber:


It was amazing to see what the ancient pagan’s had built, especially with the tools they had at the time. It had a odd feeling of death, but in a positive way.

Next we visited an ancient village with a stone circle:

Despite thousands of years of disuse, the stone circle vibrated energy and had a feeling that it wanted to be used. It made me consider the power pagans use today – more than likely we practice a much weaker version of paganism than in ancient days. This could possibly be attributed to Druids passing information down verbally, prior to the Romans invading. This possibly leading to a lot of knowledge being lost. Simon and I had a good time speculating here: what the rooms may have been used for, how the people lived and what it would have been like when the Romans arrived. We visited a little Christian Chapel before heading on to Beaumaris Castle.

Beaumaris Castle was really interesting. An in-built dock, several turrents and both an outer and an inner wall. Although it was never finished by Edward I you could see how people lived. I was amazed by the amount of toilets ha ha, they must have had weaker bladders in them days. It was great to see, but if they’d put some of the wooden floors back in it would have enhanced the experience and made it feel even more real. There was a small exhibition giving the history of the castle which was fascinating and a gift shop too. Photos:

If you’ve never been, like history and beautiful countryside then go and visit. It’s lovely. The weather was changeable while we were there going from sunny to raining. However we had good enough weather to visit what we wanted. Simon tells me there is a lot more to see on Anglesey, so I guess I’ll be going back at some point.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Sunday 12 June 2011
×