This past weekend, I went with my friend Lauren to see Stonehenge and the town of Salisbury (which is the closest town to Stonehenge and also the home of Salisbury Cathedral). England has been bitterly cold for the past week or so, so it was a bit blustery out on the planes where the stones were. While at the market this morning the man whom I buy my eggs from told me that it hasn't been this cold for this long in England for at least 30 years. I'm guessing winter decided to follow me all the way from Michigan this year! Over the weekend the radiators weren't working in my dorm, so it was around 60 degrees in my apartment, which doesn't seem like that cold until you realize that it's around 14 degrees cooler than rooms normally are! Luckily it's fixed now, so I should start warming up!
The photo above is the Salisbury Cathedral which is quite old and also very impressive. The stone that was used to build it was donated from a woman in the community who owned a quarry and donated a certain number of years of harvesting from her quarry to the cause of building the Cathedral. As such, they built the church in an impressively few number of years (I'm guessing to take full advantage of the quarry). The photo below is of a bronze statue that was in front of the cathedral, which I thought was rather striking. The way that it was cast reminded me a bit of Giacometti, one of my favorite sculptors.
On the bus ride from Salisbury to Stonehenge, we got to hear a recording of a bit of history about the town and about Stonehenge. I have already mentioned that Southampton was bombed during WWII which is why it is less charming that it likely was at one time, but the tour taught me that after Southampton was bombed (since it was where most of the aircraft at the time was being manufactured, I believe the spitfire was mentioned specifically) those operations were moved to Salisbury. And it was lucky that they moved it there because Salisbury was being used as a landmark (due to the cathedral) to help the Germans find different targets. They would find the church, then follow the motorways and rivers to different cities of interest. This is why Salisbury was never bombed, because they so desperately needed it. I thought that was fascinating.Additionally, Salisbury was the major site of training pilots from countries part the Allied Forces. The airport, which we drove past on our way to Stonehenge was also the site of the first airplane fatality in England. The memorial is most often covered in flowers even to this day.
Finally, we arrived at Stonehenge, which turned out to be smaller than I had thought it would be based on photos and such that I had seen before. It is also more impressive from an aerial view, because that way you can get a better idea of how they are in a very specific formation. It is hard to gather that from right on top of them. We got there about a half hour before sunset, which led to some really gorgeous photos! (See below.) There is so much mystery surrounding this ancient monument that it really gives cause to pause and think about how there is so much that we don't know even of our own pasts.
