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:
An illustration of how they think ancient man moved the Stonehenge stones from Wales to England.
A hut ancient man lived in whilst building Stonehenge (1).
A hut ancient man lived in whilst building Stonehenge (2).
Examples of pottery that ancient people would have had.
Examples of tools that ancient people would have had.
Stonehenge (1).
Obligatory Stonehenge Selfie.
Stonehenge (2).
Stonehenge (3).
Stonehenge (4).
Stonehenge (5).
Stonehenge (6).
Stonehenge (7).
Stonehenge (8).
A crow opening its beak and cawing to try and get food from tourists.
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.
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:
Concrete stones representing where the poles of Woodhenge would have been.
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.
My friend Simon and I went back up to Hadrian’s Wall to continue our adventure following the Wall from one side of the country to the other, stopping at various sites of interest along the way.
We started this adventure last year in Cumbria. You can read about and see photos from last year in the The Hadrian’s Wall AdventurePart 1 and Part 2.
The day was dry and sunny, but it did get colder in the late afternoon. So here’s where we went, along with photos:
Haydon Bridge.
Haydon Bridge Haydon Bridge is a village with an old bridge (photoed left) across River South Tyne. The village is very quaint and worth a short visit. Haydon Bridge is now a walk way, but would have been used as a crossing for people, horsemen and carts. Essential Info:
Free parking is available on roads in the village.
Public Toilets are free to use and on both sides of the bridge.
The village has several pubs, a chemist, a chippy, a Tandoori restaurant and some guest houses.
Recommended for a short visit. The bridge is the only thing of note that we saw.
We decided to stop at Hexham next. Hexham is a bigger village than Haydon Bridge, with an Abbey. However as we drove around the town centre looking for parking, all signage said Parking Disc Required, but no signage gave instructions or directions on how to get a parking disc. It was a busy Saturday afternoon, with some event on at the Abbey, so we decided to give Hexham a miss.
Chesters Fort & Museum Chesters Fort & Museum is magnificent and is a site maintained by English Heritage. It has loads to see and do including: the remains of a Fort and Bath House, a picnic area, spy holes that show where Hadrian’s Wall would have been (including across the North Tyne river), a brilliant museum full of stone works (statues, altars, depiction of Gods & Goddesses) and tools, weapons and jewellery, a gift shop, a tea room and toilets. The only downside to this fantastic attraction is that the cost of parking along with its reasonable admission price makes it an overall an expensive experience.
The signs dotted throughout the attraction are really informative and is probably the best example of signage throughout my entire Hadrian’s Wall Adventure adventure. For example, one sign read that about 500 horses and men would have been stationed at this Fort. The next sign read that a horse urinates and defecates 12KGS of waste a day. This was my Fact of the Day. Just think of all that waste, along with that of the humans.
Essential Info:
Remains of a Fort and Bath House.
Also includes a Museum, Picnic Area, Tea Room and Gift Shop.
Toilets available.
Highly Recommended.
Admission Price: £7.30 for an adult with gift aid (£6.60 without).
Opening Times: Vary throughout the year. View here.
Parking: Pay and Display at £3.00.
Here are photos from Chesters Fort & Museum:
Chesters Fort (1) – 500 Horsemen would have lived in this Fort.
Chesters Fort (2) – Remains of Stables.
Chesters Fort (3) – Entrance Gatehouse.
Chesters Fort (4) – Hadrian’s Wall will have run across the North Tyne river at this point. You can see the continuation of the Wall on the other side of the bank.
Chesters Fort (5) – The Roman Baths.
Chesters Fort (6) – The Roman Baths Porch.
Chesters Fort (7) – The Roman Baths.
Chesters Fort (8) – Presumably a trough for the horses to eat/drink from.
Chesters Fort (8) – The Roman Baths, a cold bath.
Chesters Fort (9) – The Roman Baths.
Chesters Fort (10) – The Roman Baths Steam Room.
Chesters Fort (11) – South East Angle Tower.
Chesters Fort (12) – Possibly a storage room or stronghold.
Chesters Fort (13) – A well in the main villa, which still had water in,
Chesters Fort (14) – Flooring.
Chesters Fort (15) – More flooring.
Chesters Museum (1) – The Clayton Museum was a brilliant museum full of stone works (statues, altars, depiction of Gods & Goddesses), as well as tools, weapons and jewellery.
Chesters Museum (2) – Entrance. Inside stone works lined each of the walls.
Chesters Museum (3) – A headless statue of Juno Regina (Queen Juno). Apparently Queen Juno was one of the most important deities in Roman Religion, known as the protector and special counsellor of the state.
Chesters Museum (4) – Various altars.
Then we drove through a village called Wall. After passing through Wall we saw signs for Brunton Turret.
Brunton Turret
Brunton Turret is remains of a Turret that would have been one of many along Hadrian’s Wall. It’s in a famers field and there is a designated Parking place at the side of the road. It is a quick site to visit that will take you all of 5 minutes to walk to and see. Photos are below.
Essential Info:
Remains of a Turret and some of Hadrian’s Wall, in a farmers field.
Free parking is in designated space at the side of the road.
Well signposted.
Brunton Turret (1) – Hadrian’s Wall.
Brunton Turret (2) – Where the soldiers would have been stationed.
Corbridge Roman Town – We chose not to go in, as it looked very similar to Chesters Fort & Museum which we had visited earlier in the day.
Corbridge Roman Town Corbridge Roman Town is another Roman Town, maintained by English Heritage. We opted not to visit this site, as it looked very similar to Chesters Fort & Museum. Essential Info:
Remains of a Roman Town.
Also includes a Museum, Picnic Area and Gift Shop.
Toilets available.
Admission Price: £7.20 for an adult with gift aid (£6.50 without).
Opening Times: Vary throughout the year. View here.
Free Parking on site.
Next year Simon and I plan to visit Newcastle to complete our tour across Hadrian’s Wall from one side of the country to the other.
Today my good friend Simon and I went to Astley Hall park. Here are some photos of the beautiful park, click on any photo for full size image:
Astley Hall
Astley Hall Park/Grounds (1)
Astley Hall Park/Grounds (2)
Astley Hall Park/Grounds (3)
Trees that Simon and I nicknamed ‘Teardrop Trees’ (1)
Tree that Simon and I nicknamed ‘Teardrop Trees’ (2)
Art installation (1)
Art installation – Close up (2)
Essential Info:
Free parking is available in a reasonably-sized carpark.
A super-expensive cafe is on site. Avoid due to costs and take your own food/drink.
Toilets on site.
A Chorley Remembers Experience, guided tour of Astley Hall, as well as various events are on throughout the year. For more details including Opening Times, Admission Prices, etc. See Astley Hall’s website here.
Has facilities for children such as play area/park.
I’m a really casual gamer. I play all my games on my Mac and don’t own a console. At the moment I’m super excited about the games out, in development or coming out soon. So I’m going to write about my top four favourite games which are: Prison Architect, The Universim, Sid Meier’s Starships and Civilisation 6.
1. Prison Architect
Prison Architect has Very Positive ratings on Steam.
In Prison Architect you build, manage and maintain a prison. The player manages every aspect of the prison including: the staff, the prisoners, the routine, the rehabilitation programmes, etc.
It originally started out as an Indie game by Introversion Software. I backed it on Steam as a pre-alpha and later had my brothers name put in the game. The great thing about this was each month, I got/get a free update with new content, bug fixes and improvements.
Since then it has has launched as version 1, being available on both PC and Mac. It has loads of positive reviews on Steam, tens of thousands of players and has just launched or about to launch on consoles. The creators have also recently won BAFTA for the game.
It’s a great game that I played over 128 hours on various prisons. Totally absorbing and addictive. I would highly recommend you go get it and play it. Below are screenshots of a prison that I’ve been building and managing for well over a year:
My Prison (1), I’ve been playing this prison for well over a year and for hundreds of hours.
My Prison (2), I’ve been playing this prison for well over a year and for hundreds of hours.
Here’s a trailer video for Prison Architect:
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Essential Info
About: A game where the player builds, manages and maintains a prison.
Platform: PC/Mac, Linux, XBOX & PS4.
UK Price: £19.99
Status: Version 1 released on PC/Mac a few months ago. XBOX version 1 released shortly after. PS4 version 1 release date is 28th June 2016.
The Universim is a god-game and planet management game by indie game developer Crytivo Games. It has previously received Kickstarter backing and is currently in pre-alpha. I backed it on their website, buying the DIMETRODON EDITION, which cost me $60 (US Dollars). The great thing is that they have different packages for all price ranges.
This game is visually beautiful. From the trees to the weather, to the animals, nuggets and buildings. The artwork is stunning. The game has little people, called nuggets, which the player is god over.
The Universim is in the pre-alpha stage, meaning that it is still in development. Each month a patch is released (on 15th of each month), as well as patch notes and other updates. Other updates focus on the future game development including ideas, concepts and plans. The developers are currently getting the core game mechanics right, so at the moment there isn’t much to play. If you’re looking for a finished game, as the creator and designers say, wait to purchase until sometime in the future.
If you love backing games and giving feedback on bugs and ideas to shape the game, pre-order it today. Providing that you choose a package that has pre-alpha access, you’ll be able to download the current version and play it straight away. The game has a really cool launcher built in that checks the server for updates every time the program is opened. Giving feedback and reading the feedback of others is easy on their forums.
Here are some screenshots from The Universim and a trailer video:
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Essential Info
About: A god-game and planet management game with little people (nuggets). Features to come include: god powers, research, more buildings, nuggets moving through the ages from Stone Age to Modern Age, etc.
Platform: PC/Mac/Linux
Price: From $25-$250 (US Dollars)
Status: In the early stages of development. Pre-alpha.
Okay, so this game has been out for a while, but I love it. It’s a sci-fi game where you build a fleet of ships, undertake missions and conquer the galaxy. It received mixed reviews. I like this game and keep hoping that they’ll go back an release an expansion pack with more features. It’s a good game, that could be made brilliant by adding some of these features from my Wish List:
Bigger maps and bigger fleet (or more than one fleet of space ships).
More customisation of fleet.
Meaningful diplomacy.
More missions.
Longer game play.
Here’s some game play screenshots and a trailer video:
Sid Meier’s Starships Gameplay Screenshot – About to Attack.
Sid Meier’s Starships Gameplay Screenshot – Attack in Action.
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Essential Info
About: A sci-fi game where you build a fleet of ships, undertake missions and conquer the galaxy.
Platform: PC/Mac/iOS.
Price: About £10.
Status: Has been released for sometime.
4. Civilization 6
Civilization 6 Screenshot (1)
I have played the Civilization series since I was a teenager. I own every release of Civilization from Civilzation 2 all the way up to Civilization V with the Gods & Kings expansion pack. One of my favourite releases was Civilization: Call to Power because it had a future technologies meaning that you could have sea and space cities. I pre-ordered Civilization: Beyond Earth and it could have been so good, but it just wasn’t. It was completely disappointing.
Civilization 6 has been long awaited by fans. But other than these three game play screenshots, the trailer video and the game description all below, there isn’t loads of information Civilization 6 which releases on Friday 21st October 2016.
Civilization 6 Screenshot (2)
Civilization 6 Screenshot (3)
GAME DESCRIPTION
PLATFORM: PC
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 21, 2016
FEATURES
EXPANSIVE EMPIRES: See the marvels of your empire spread across the map like never before. Each city spans multiple tiles so you can custom build your cities to take full advantage of the local terrain.
ACTIVE RESEARCH: Unlock boosts that speed your civilization’s progress through history. To advance more quickly, use your units to actively explore, develop your environment, and discover new cultures.
DYNAMIC DIPLOMACY: Interactions with other civilizations change over the course of the game, from primitive first interactions where conflict is a fact of life, to late game alliances and negotiations.
COMBINED ARMS: Expanding on the “one unit per tile” design, support units can now be embedded with other units, like anti-tank support with infantry, or a warrior with settlers. Similar units can also be combined to form powerful “Corps” units.
ENHANCED MULTIPLAYER: In addition to traditional multiplayer modes, cooperate and compete with your friends in a wide variety of situations all designed to be easily completed in a single session.
A CIV FOR ALL PLAYERS: Civilization VI provides veteran players new ways to build and tune their civilization for the greatest chance of success. New tutorial systems introduce new players to the underlying concepts so they can easily get started.
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There has already been a huge reaction among fans to the screenshots. Many of them dislike the artwork that they have described as ‘cartoony.’ I doubt at this late stage of the games’ development that the artwork will change. The artwork has grown on me a little. But I’m concerned that it might reflect a dumbing down of the game’s complexity, which is what has made previous versions so addictive to play.
I like the idea of unstacking cities and city districts and think that it will add to game play. I’m not keen on the DLC or the difference in price between the Standard and Deluxe editions of the game. I feel the standard edition is to expensive, never mind the cost of the deluxe edition, so I will most likely wait until a reduction in price and would advise you to do the same.
Essential Info
About: The latest strategy game from the award-winning Civilization series.
Platform: PC (Unsure if it will have Mac compatibility on launch, but no doubt a mac version will follow if not.)
Price: £49.99 standard edition, £69.99 deluxe edition.
Status: Releases on Friday 21st October 2016.
Are you a Doctor, Nurse, Healthcare Assistant or Other Healthcare Professional? Or a Student?
Ways The Human Body Can Go Wrong covers every system of the body, what can go wrong when the body malfunctions or fails, symptoms (including why these happen) and cures/treatments available.
It includes knowledge around essential skills for Clinical Excellence such as Assessment, All Age Observational Norms, Models of Care, Communication/Handover Tips, the role of Specialities, Medication Tips, Dealing with Errors, Documentation Advice and a list of Useful Resources.
It is written in plain English, but highlights important medical terminology. It has been written at a level where someone from a non-medical background can pick it up and learn, but that it is still valuable to those with significant Clinical Experience.
My dear friend Roy decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and enlist in the Royal Navy.
I wanted to maintain our friendship, to continue to support Roy, to make him laugh and to entertain him. So I came up with the idea of sending him a weekly email on random topics.
These emails were on a variety of topics, always being entertaining, sometimes being interesting, sometimes funny and occasionally being serious.
Topics included: Jokes, Puzzles, Inspirational Quotes, Future Technology to Be Excited About, How to Fight A Shark, How to Woo A Turtle, Some of the Most Amazing Jobs in the World, Facts About Castles, Do Aliens Exist?, The Kindest Humans, A List of Cakes, 13 Weird Body Facts, 20 Super Space Facts, Ancient Egyptian Curses, 10 Weird Olympic Games, The Great Emu War of 1932, Quiz: Flags of the World, Legendary Characters from the UK and others.
My Royal Navy Friend is a copy of these emails. In total, there are 52 emails. Dispersed throughout the book are also Royal Navy facts and stories.
This workbook has been designed for anyone that is struggling with alcohol or has struggled with alcohol in the past.
It is written in a Motivational Interviewing style, one of the key therapies used to support people with alcohol issues. It has been designed using a trauma-informed approach and is strength–based.
What you will find in this book is more than just worksheets about alcohol. You’ll find all the tools someone needs to get into recovery from alcohol and stay there. It’s a therapy-based book, not an alcohol-based book.
SpellCast is a comprehensive compendium of spells, oils, charms and talismans. It is purely a book about magic, folk magic for the 21st century. The spells are ones that are tried and tested, with some that will stand the test of time.
In SpellCast you will read about the power of Instant Magic, of Banishment & Bindings, Blessings, Cleansing, Communication, Death, Employment, Finance & Money, Fertility, Friendship, Happiness & Joy, Health, Love & Relationships, Luck Magic, Protection, Transformative Magic and WishCraft.
This book will change your life. Your life will be abundant in all meanings of the word.
This book contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness. Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
If you find my blog educational or entertaining, please consider making a purchase or donation on Ko-Fi.
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