Our first port of call on our British Isles cruise was Southampton.
While a trip to London was enticing, the 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive was not. Our time in port was limited and it was an 'all aboard' by 5/30pm. Having never been to Stonehenge, we decided to make like a druid and head to the large stones! Tim booked the Princess excursion. My thoughts on the excursion were that it was too short and did not allow for enough time exploring the beautiful town of Salisbury. Happily, this was the only excursion we booked via Princess.
Our first stop was Stonehenge. The Brits have done a wonderful job of creating a very accessible and educational site to visit. Once you get to Stonehenge, you take a very short bus ride to the actual stones themselves. Sadly, one cannot get super close any more - this to preserve the site - which is understandable. To be frank, I did not appreciate how incredible the feat of creating Stonehenge was until our visit. Radiocarbon dating of the site has determined that the building of the monument began around 3100 BC and ended around 1600 BC. That means it was a 1500 year project. More nerdy facts are as follows. There are 2 types of stones - the larger verticals and arches made of sarsens, and the smaller bluestones. There are 83 stones in total. The bluestones are believed to have come from the Preseli Mountains in
Wales - that is approximately 150 miles away from Stonehenge and these stones weigh up to
four tons. So, how did they get there? Big mystery! It is believed that in the period before the first large stones appeared, the monument
housed cremated remains. While speculation runs wild as to the purpose of Stonehenge, it is generally accepted that Stonehenge was a prehistoric temple aligned with the movements of the sun
Whatever the purpose, it is just an amazing feat and well worth the trip. We spent about an hour circling the site - the audio guide is first rate! Heading back to the entrance, we made the requisite gift shop stop and had fun exploring the huts set up to mimic the times.
From Stonehenge, we made our way to Salisbury. On our way, we passed through the New Forest National Park which is home to
5000
New Forest ponies. These lovely ponies are are wild in the sense they
can roam freely but in fact they are owned by New Forest Commoners who
have the right to graze their ponies and cattle on the open forest
throughout the year.
Salisbury is a lovely town full of quaint shops and eateries. It is also home of the Salisbury Cathedral and the Magna Carta.
The Cathedral was build in 38 years with a spire that is Britian's tallest. Inside, we found the world's oldest working mechanical clock (1386) - still ticking, and the tomb of William Longespée, the half brother of King John and advsior at the 1215 Magna Carta negotiations. Also within the Cathedral is the Chapter House which holds the original 1214 Magna Carta.
The Salisbury Magna Carta is the best preserved of the 4 originals dating from June 1215 still in exitence. It is written in Latin with a quill pen on parchment. The charter had been forced on King John by barons who were unhappy with his rule. Not surprisingly, King John rejected the Magna Carta which stressed that everyone, even the king, had to treat people fairly and that no one was above the law. It was re-issued in the name of his 9 year old son, Henry III, and was supported by succeedng monarchs.
As mentioned above, we did not have time to explore the town further - but I do suggest one does. This is the challenge with ship tours. They run on a rigid clock with little to no ability for deviations to the tour. We had to make due with a quick lunch at a small cafe across from the Cathedral. A lovely day which ended too soon!
