Avebury

My brother Jim arrived on Friday and we have been having a great time. Just like Mary and me, he managed to catch a bit of a cold in London but a few days of restful country life here has him on the road to recovery. Mary planned an excellent day's outing for us--there is an amazing amount of history to see in the vicinity.

First we saw the white horse (pictured above)--it is carved into the hillside and filled with chalk. Very impressive to see! There are tons of these around this area--no one really knows what the inspiration for them was. Then we headed to Avebury, where you can walk around the stone circle. It's amazing how close you can get to them, and how uncrowded with people it felt--especially considering it was Mother's Day here! we also saw Silberry Hill (not pictured)--it is the oldest prehistoric artifact in Europe. But it is just a hill sitting in the middle of a field--no one knows it's purpose, and I have to admit all I could think of was Centennial Hill, in the suburbs of Toronto, which is a ski hill formed out of garbage.

But back to the tour! Then we had lunch in a beautiful old country pub, where Charles Dickens apparently used to eat. After that it was on to Lacock, an old English village that has been used to film some of the Jane Austen films. Mary and I had gone there in the fall, but this time the Abbey was open--it's pictured above. It was very impressive--HUGE rooms, archways, stone floors. It was built in 1137 or some incredibly early year like that. The grounds were impressive too, and you can see one field where tons of purple crocusses were in bloom.

Finally we headed to Castle Combe, another gorgeous quaint village with amazing stone buildings with slate roofs. We were gettting tired by then so just drove through, and I didn't get any pictures, but Mary and I are planning to return and explore a little more.

Jim is in Bath today, exploring the Roman Baths, then he and I will go back tomorrow to see more of the sites...and then Wednesday we are off to Nice! More pictures and stories after our return.

Karen