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The Stonehenge Adventure (Part 2) – Glastonbury, The Chalice Well and The City of Wells

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. This is part 2 of my Stonehenge Adventure, part 1 can be read here.

We stayed in this Travelodge hotel. It was super cheap, clean and located close to amenities such as the various restaurants/food places in Solstice Park. Our room had a double bed and a single bed. On the single bed I could feel every spring on my back. I complained to a member of Travelodge staff, who said that all the single beds were the same and gave me a double duvet to put on top of it. The double duvet made little difference.

On the Saturday Simon and I had all you can eat cooked breakfast at the Toby Carvery on Solstice Park before heading off to Glastonbury.

Glastonbury is like a pagan commercial mecca. There are so many shops that fit into the categories of new age, spiritual or pagan. There are at least two charming courtyards with little tiny shops in. Sadly many of the shops are over priced. Some were so significantly over priced that they could be called a ripoff and make a person’s eyes water.

Some photos from Glastonbury:

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Glastonbury town centre monument.

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Entrance sign to one of a few courtyards.

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A crystal shrine in one of the courtyards.

The Goddess and The Green Man shop deserves a special mention. Their products were fantastic with many unique items, the customer service was friendly and tremendous and to top it off their prices were fair and reasonable. It felt like The Goddess and The Green Man was the only truly pagan/witchy shop in Glastonbury.

I bought this stunning Horned God Statue and Spellcraft for Hedge Witches by Rae Beth book from The Goddess and The Green Man:

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A Horned God Statue purchased from The Goddess and The Green Man.

In Glastonbury I also bought a small wand from a street seller for a bargain price of £5.

Since coming home I’ve followed The Goddess and The Green Man on Facebook and saved their website.

Essential Info:

  • Glastonbury is a town with a rich pagan history.
  • Cautiously recommended. Be cautious about rip off prices in some shops.
  • Opening Times: Normal shop opening hours.
  • Parking: Pay and display carparks, £7-8 for a full day of parking.
  • Food, Drink & Toilets: Available in the various cafes and pubs locally.

The Chalice Well is a beautiful garden and well. The atmosphere at the Chalice garden and well is that of zen-like meditation. Here are some photos from the Chalice Well:

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The Chalice Well sign.

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Chalice Well.

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You can drink from the well.

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One of a few ponds within the gardens of the Chalice Well.

Essential Info:

  • The Chalice Well is a beautiful garden and well.
  • Recommended.
  • Opening Times: See Opening Times here.
  • Admission: Adult £4.30 (without gift aid) and £4.75 (with gift aid).
  • Parking: No parking on site. Pay and display carpark a short walk away.
  • Gift shop on site.

The City of Wells was alive with the hustle and bustle of a Saturday outdoor market. Simon and I looked for somewhere to eat, but everywhere was ridiculously priced. Then I spotted a burger stall on the outdoor market. We ordered a burger each. I have never ate a burger that tasted so good. If you’re in Wells and want an tasty treat, go to the outdoor market and order yourself something from the burger stall.

Here are some photos from our time in Wells:

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Gate/Entrance to The Bishop’s Palace.

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Garden at The Bishop’s Palace.

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A watch tower on the wall at The Bishop’s Palace.

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Apparently in Wells they have a swan that can ring a bell. I didn’t see a swan, but I did see this bell.

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Fireplace in the watch tower at The Bishop’s Palace.

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Me in a arrow slit.

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A big dancing event was taking place in Wells.

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Wells Cathedral.

Essential Info:

  • The City of Wells has a Cathedral, Bishop’s Palace and some shops.
  • Recommended.
  • Opening Times: Normal shop opening hours.
  • Admission: Vary depending on attraction/places of interest.
  • Parking: Various pay and display carparks.

In part 3, I’ll be blogging about Stonehenge and Woodhenge.

Write soon,

Antony



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My India Adventure (Part 1) – The Journey, First Impressions of Delhi, The Guest House & The Family

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, Inspiration, Transportation, TravelNo Comments
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At the train station with my suitcase that I borrowed off my mum.

The Journey
I travelled by train, on Megabus and on the London Underground with plenty of walking in-between to get to Heathrow Airport.

At Heathrow I was met by Robert and Michael (Robert’s father). After big hugs had been exchanged, we boarded a British Airways (BA) flight to Delhi, India. Robert and I sat together, with Michael close by.

The BA flight was superb. Excellent service staff, that served us with a smile and timed everything on the flight perfectly. We had free food, drinks and of course alcohol. The onboard entertainment service had the latest blockbuster films and even some games that Robert and I played together. The nine hour flight felt like it flew by.

Here are some photos from plane:

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Our British Airways Plane

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Robert and I on the plane.

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A little bubbly on the flight to celebrate.

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Me tipsy on the bubbly.

We arrived at Delhi Airport which I would soon discover was so cool because of the glorious air conditioning. Robert, Michael and I had a moment of panic after a family had accidentally picked up Michael’s hand luggage and walked off the plane with it. But after a quick paced jog, the family were found and the hand luggage was safely returned. No harm done.

Then we stopped a foggy smoking room (it had no windows) so that I could feed my nicotine-addicted brain receptors and then glided through immigration, security and baggage collection without incident.

While waiting at the baggage collection, Robert took the opportunity to transform himself from Weary Traveller to Handsome Groom-to-be. It was an impressive feat and one that I understood as he hadn’t seen his fiancée Neha in quite sometime.

Stepping outside at Arrivals at Delhi Airport was like stepping into an oven on its highest setting. There were a sea of people and with lots of noise, presumably waiting to greet other travellers. Then we saw Neha – she was everything I expected and more. Gorgeous, intelligent and simply wonderful. Neha and her family helped Robert, Michael and I with our suitcases and bags into the car and then we set off away from the airport and into the city beyond.

First Impressions
My first impressions of Delhi were made in the first day or two. Delhi is a progressive city that’s under constant development. Everywhere you look infrastructure is being improved and new buildings (homes, businesses and hotels) are being built.

Driving in Delhi at first appears to be a free for all, complete with frequent sudden breaking and incessant use of horns. But the more time you send on the road, the more you realise that there’s lots of unwritten rules. That said, every car in Delhi has a body that’s covered in scratches and dents.

During the day, cows were often seen grazing at the side of the road. They were apparently owned.

At night, many dogs were seen on the streets of Delhi. These street dogs aren’t owned by anyone and have to scavenge for survival. Throughout my time in Delhi I only saw one dog on a lead that was being kept as a pet.

Delhi appeared to be a Patriarchal society. However, I was reliably informed that this is changing. More women are working, getting protection so that if they get pregnant employers can’t sack them and some are even getting maternity pay. This was good to hear and gave me the impression that Delhi is a progressively liberal city; one that’s getting more liberal as time goes by. Delhi appeared to be working towards gender equality, with other types of equality are likely to follow on from this.

The Guest House
The guest house was clean an gave Robert, Michael and I ampul space. Each of our room’s were ensuite and had air conditioning. The Wifi left a lot to be desired – but this didn’t bother me, as it turned out there would be very little time to check Facebook anyway.

Indians that call the Bathroom the Washroom. Delhi has low water pressure, so to shower you fill a big bucket (see Washroom photos below) with water and then use a smaller jug to pour water over your body as required. In my bathroom there were plugs and wiring above the toilet. I felt slightly uncomfortable with this, I growing up I had been taught that electricity and water don’t mix. But apparently there’s no health and safety in India – so I just rolled with it.

I had cold showers for three days before I realised that there was a water heater outside, wired to a plug above the toilet and that there was a separate switch in the bathroom to turn the plug socket on. The Guest House staff only spoke Hindi so I had to discover these things for myself. Here are some photos from the Guest House:

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Guest House: Room (1)

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Guest House: Room (2)

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Guest House: Washroom (1).

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Guest House: Washroom (2).

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Guest House: Washroom (3).

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Guest House: View from the balcony.

The Family
The family included Neha’s parents, Neha’s two sisters, Neha’s two brother-in-law’s and their children. They were all such lovely people. They were kind and generous and looked after Robert, Michael and I really well. We were all treated like part of the family. It was especially kind of them to treat me in this way as I was an extra who was just Robert’s friend – owe there’s my inferiority complex kicking in there. Each of the family members have left a special place in my heart. Thank you doesn’t seem like a good enough phrase to express my gratitude.

I have deliberately excluded photos of the family here, as I don’t post photos of people without permission. It was such a busy week that I did get the opportunity to ask them for their permission.

I particularly loved the family meals at the home of Neha’s parents. They were easily the best indian food I’d ever tasted – but more on that in another blog post.

On the night before Robert and Neha’s wedding, to celebrate a birthday of one of the brother-in-law’s the men in the family went to this fantastic five star hotel bar for drinks. I had a Cosmopolitan, which was buy one get one free. Just look at how fantastic the bar in this five star hotel was:

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A 5* Hotel Bar (1)

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A 5* Hotel Bar (2)

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Cosmopolitan? Why not. Buy 1 get 1 free to :).

In the next blog post in the series titled My India Adventure (Part 2) – The Wedding, I will be writing all about Robert and Neha’s Wedding. It will be coming soon, so come back for that update.

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:


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